Search

An analog of nuclear magnetic resonance is realized in a microwave network with symplectic symmetry. The network consists of two identical subgraphs coupled by a pair of bonds with a length difference corresponding to a phase difference of $\pi$ for the waves traveling through the bonds. As a consequence all eigenvalues appear as Kramers doublets. Detuning the length difference from the $\pi$ condition Kramers degeneracy is lifted, which may be interpreted as a Zeeman splitting of a spin 1/2 in a magnetic field. The lengths of another pair of bonds are modulated periodically with frequencies of some 10 MHz by means of diodes, thus emulating a magnetic radiofrequency field. Features well-known from NMR such as the transition from the laboratory to the rotating frame, and Lorentzian shaped resonance curves can thus be realized., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2410.07031

In a previous paper, we realized a microwave network with symplectic symmetry simulating a spin 1/2 (Rehemanjiang et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 064101 (2016)]), following a suggestion by Joyner et al. [Europhys. Lett. 107, 50004(2014))]. The network consisted of two identical sub-units coupled by a pair of bonds with a length difference corresponding to a phase difference of $\pi$ for the waves traveling through the bonds. In such a symmetry each eigenvalue appears as a two-fold degenerate Kramers doublet. Distorting the symmetry the degeneracy is lifted which may be interpreted in terms of the Zeeman splitting of a spin 1/2 in an external magnetic field. In the present work, a microwave analog of a spin resonance is realized. To this end, two magnetic fields have to be emulated, a static and a radio-frequency one. The static one is realized by detuning the length difference from the $\pi$ condition by means of phase shifters, the radio-frequency field by modulating the length difference of another pair of bonds by means of diodes with frequencies up to 125 MHz. Features well-known from magnetic resonance such as the transition from the laboratory to the rotating frame, and Lorentzian shaped resonance curves can thus be realized., Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures

We analyze the Kitaev model on the $\{9,3\}$ hyperbolic lattice. The $\{9,3\}$ is formed by a regular 3-coordinated tiling of nonagons, where the 3-color coding of bonds according to the inequivalent Kitaev Ising spin couplings yields the natural generalization of the original Kitaev model for Euclidean regular honeycomb tiling. Upon investigation of the bulk spectrum for large finite size droplets, we identify a gapless chiral $\mathbb{Z}_2$ spin liquid state featuring spontaneous time reversal symmetry breaking. Due to its non-commutative translation group structure, such type of hyperbolic spin liquid is conjectured to feature chiral quasiparticles with a potentially non-Abelian Bloch profile.

We study experimentally the manifestation of non-Weyl graph behavior in open systems using microwave networks. For this a coupling variation to the network is necessary, which was out of reach till now. The coupling to the environment is changed by indirectly varying the boundary condition at the coupling vertex from Dirichlet to Neumann using a dangling bond with variable length attached the coupling vertex. A transformation of equal length spectra to equal reflection phase spectra of the dangling bond allows to create spectra with different fixed coupling strength. This allows to follow the resonances in the complex plane as a function of the coupling. While going from closed (Dirichlet) to fully open (Neumann) graph we see resonances escaping via a superradiant transition leading to non-Weyl behavior if the coupling to the outside is balanced. The open tetrahedral graph displays a rich parametric dynamic of the resonances in the complex plane presenting loops, regions of connected resonances and resonances approaching infinite imaginary parts., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures

If we prepare an isolated, interacting quantum system in an eigenstate and perturb a local observable at an initial time, its expectation value will relax towards a thermal expectation value, even though the time evolution of the system is deterministic. The eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH) of Deutsch and Srednicki suggests that this is possible because each eigenstate of the full quantum system acts as a thermal bath to its subsystems, such that the reduced density matrices of the subsystems resemble thermal density matrices. Here, we use the observation that the eigenvalue distribution of interacting quantum systems is a Gaussian under very general circumstances, and Dyson Brownian motion random matrix theory, to derive the ETH and thereby elevate it from hypothesis to theory. Our analysis provides a derivation of statistical mechanics which neither requires the concepts of ergodicity or typicality, nor that of entropy. Thermodynamic equilibrium follows solely from the applicability of quantum mechanics to large systems and the absence of integrability., Comment: 27 pages, 19 figures

Quantized adiabatic transport can occur when a system is slowly modulated over time. In most realizations however, the efficiency of such transport is reduced by unwanted dissipation, back-scattering, and non-adiabatic effects. In this work, we realize a topological adiabatic pump in an electrical circuit network that supports remarkably stable and long-lasting pumping of a voltage signal. We further characterize the topology of our system by deducing the Chern number from the measured edge band structure. To achieve this, the experimental setup makes use of active circuit elements that act as time-variable voltage-controlled inductors., Comment: main (5 pages, 3 figures) plus supplement (8 pages, 4 figures)

A graph on at least ${{k+1}}$ vertices is uniformly $k$-connected if each pair of its vertices is connected by $k$ and not more than $k$ independent paths. We reinvestigate a recent constructive characterization of uniformly $3$-connected graphs and obtain a more detailed result that relates the number of vertices to the operations involved in constructing a respective uniformly $3$-connected graph. Furthermore, we investigate how crossing numbers and treewidths behave under the mentioned constructions. We demonstrate how these results can be utilized to study the structure and properties of uniformly $3$-connected graphs with minimum number of vertices of minimum degree.

We observe a localized cnoidal (LCn) state in an electric circuit network. Its formation derives from the interplay of non-linearity and the topology inherent to a Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) chain of inductors. Varicap diodes act as voltage-dependent capacitors, and create a non-linear on-site potential. For a sinusoidal voltage excitation around midgap frequency, we show that the voltage response in the non-linear SSH circuit follows the Korteweg-de Vries equation. The topological SSH boundary state which relates to a midgap impedance peak in the linearized limit is distorted into the LCn state in the non-linear regime, where the cnoidal eccentricity decreases from edge to bulk.

Curved spaces play a fundamental role in many areas of modern physics, from cosmological length scales to subatomic structures related to quantum information and quantum gravity. In tabletop experiments, negatively curved spaces can be simulated with hyperbolic lattices. Here we introduce and experimentally realize hyperbolic matter as a paradigm for topological states through topolectrical circuit networks relying on a complex-phase circuit element. The experiment is based on hyperbolic band theory that we confirm here in an unprecedented numerical survey of finite hyperbolic lattices. We implement hyperbolic graphene as an example of topologically nontrivial hyperbolic matter. Our work sets the stage to realize more complex forms of hyperbolic matter to challenge our established theories of physics in curved space, while the tunable complex-phase element developed here can be a key ingredient for future experimental simulation of various Hamiltonians with topological ground states., Comment: 6 pages + methods + supplementary information

We study the properties of ultrametric matrices aiming to design methods for fast ultrametric matrix-vector multiplication. We show how to encode such a matrix as a tree structure in quadratic time and demonstrate how to use the resulting representation to perform matrix-vector multiplications in linear time. Accompanying this article, we provide an implementation of the proposed algorithms and present empirical results on their practical performance.

Quantum graphs and their experimental counterparts, microwave networks, are ideally suited to study the spectral statistics of chaotic systems. The graph spectrum is obtained from the zeros of a secular determinant derived from energy and charge conservation. Depending on the boundary conditions at the vertices, there are Neumann and Dirichlet graphs. The first ones are realized in experiments, since the standard junctions connecting the bonds obey Neumann boundary conditions due to current conservation. On average, the corresponding Neumann and Dirichlet eigenvalues alternate as a function of the wave number, with the consequence that the Neumann spectrum is described by random matrix theory only locally, but adopts features of the interlacing Dirichlet spectrum for long-range correlations. Another spectral interlacing is found for the Green's function, which in contrast to the secular determinant is experimentally accessible. This is illustrated by microwave studies and numerics., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures

The Laplace operator encodes the behavior of physical systems at vastly different scales, describing heat flow, fluids, as well as electric, gravitational, and quantum fields. A key input for the Laplace equation is the curvature of space. Here we discuss and experimentally demonstrate that the spectral ordering of Laplacian eigenstates for hyperbolic (negatively curved) and flat two-dimensional spaces has a universally different structure. We use a lattice regularization of hyperbolic space in an electric-circuit network to measure the eigenstates of a "hyperbolic drum", and in a time-resolved experiment we verify signal propagation along the curved geodesics. Our experiments showcase both a versatile platform to emulate hyperbolic lattices in tabletop experiments, and a set of methods to verify the effective hyperbolic metric in this and other platforms. The presented techniques can be utilized to explore novel aspects of both classical and quantum dynamics in negatively curved spaces, and to realise the emerging models of topological hyperbolic matter., Comment: Main text and methods (8 pages, 4 figures) + supplementary information (13 pages, 8 figures). Supplementary data available at https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000503548. (v2) updated with accepted version

In this article we investigate the structure of uniformly $k$-connected and uniformly $k$-edge-connected graphs. Whereas both types have previously been studied independent of each other, we analyze relations between these two classes. We prove that any uniformly $k$-connected graph is also uniformly $k$-edge-connected for $k\le 3$ and demonstrate that this is not the case for $k>3$. Furthermore, uniformly $k$-connected and uniformly $k$-edge-connected graphs are well understood for $k\le 2$ and it is known how to construct uniformly $3$-edge-connected graphs. We contribute here a constructive characterization of uniformly $3$-connected graphs that is inspired by Tuttes Wheel Theorem. Eventually, these results help us to prove a tight bound on the number of vertices of minimum degree in uniformly $3$-connected graphs.

The edge-connectivity matrix of a weighted graph is the matrix whose off-diagonal $v$-$w$ entry is the weight of a minimum edge cut separating vertices $v$ and $w$. Its computation is a classical topic of combinatorial optimization since at least the seminal work of Gomory and Hu. In this article, we investigate spectral properties of these matrices. In particular, we provide tight bounds on the smallest eigenvalue and the energy. Moreover, we study the eigenvector structure and show in which cases eigenvectors can be easily obtained from matrix entries. These results in turn rely on a new characterization of those nonnegative matrices that can actually occur as edge-connectivity matrices.

We employ electric circuit networks to study topological states of matter in non-Hermitian systems enriched by parity-time symmetry $\mathcal{PT}$ and chiral symmetry anti-$\mathcal{PT}$ ($\mathcal{APT}$). The topological structure manifests itself in the complex admittance bands which yields excellent measurability and signal to noise ratio. We analyze the impact of $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetric gain and loss on localized edge and defect states in a non-Hermitian Su--Schrieffer--Heeger (SSH) circuit. We realize all three symmetry phases of the system, including the $\mathcal{APT}$ symmetric regime that occurs at large gain and loss. We measure the admittance spectrum and eigenstates for arbitrary boundary conditions, which allows us to resolve not only topological edge states, but also a novel $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetric $\mathbb{Z}_2$ invariant of the bulk. We discover the distinct properties of topological edge states and defect states in the phase diagram. In the regime that is not $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetric, the topological defect state disappears and only reemerges when $\mathcal{APT}$ symmetry is reached, while the topological edge states always prevail and only experience a shift in eigenvalue. Our findings unveil a future route for topological defect engineering and tuning in non-Hermitian systems of arbitrary dimension., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 6 pages supplement (separate file)

In the last two decades, the ubiquitous effect of dissipation has proven to entail astonishing non-Hermitian features, rather than just being an inescapable nuisance. As an alternative route to non-Hermiticity, we tailor the anisotropy of a lattice, which constitutes an, up to now, barely exploited degree of freedom. In this case, the appearance of an interface dramatically alters the entire eigenmode spectrum, leading to the exponential localization of all modes at the interface, which goes beyond the expectations for Hermitian systems. This effect is dubbed "non-Hermitian skin effect". We experimentally demonstrate it by studying the propagation of light in a large scale photonic mesh lattice. For arbitrary excitations, we find that light is always transported to the interface, realizing a highly efficient funnel for light.

A system is non-Hermitian when it exchanges energy with its environment and non-reciprocal when it behaves differently upon the interchange of input and response. Within the field of metamaterial research on synthetic topological matter, the skin effect describes the conspiracy of non-Hermiticity and non-reciprocity to yield extensive anomalous localization of all eigenmodes in a (quasi) one-dimensional geometry. Here, we introduce the reciprocal skin effect, which occurs in non-Hermitian but reciprocal systems in two or more dimensions: Eigenmodes with opposite longitudinal momentum exhibit opposite transverse anomalous localization. We experimentally demonstrate the reciprocal skin effect in a passive RLC circuit, suggesting convenient alternative implementations in optical, acoustic, mechanical, and related platforms. Skin mode localization brings forth potential applications in directional and polarization detectors for electromagnetic waves., Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, accepted manuscript

The study of the laws of nature has traditionally been pursued in the limit of isolated systems, where energy is conserved. This is not always a valid approximation, however, as the inclusion of features like gain and loss, or periodic driving, qualitatively amends these laws. A contemporary frontier of meta-material research is the challenge open systems pose to the established characterization of topological matter. There, one of the most relied upon principles is the bulk-boundary correspondence (BBC), which intimately relates the properties of the surface states to the topological classification of the bulk. The presence of gain and loss, in combination with the violation of reciprocity, has recently been predicted to affect this principle dramatically. Here, we report the experimental observation of BBC violation in a non-reciprocal topolectric circuit. The circuit admittance spectrum exhibits an unprecedented sensitivity to the presence of a boundary, displaying an extensive admittance mode localization despite a translationally invariant bulk. Intriguingly, we measure a non-local voltage response due to broken BBC. Depending on the AC current feed frequency, the voltage signal accumulates at the left or right boundary, and increases as a function of nodal distance to the current feed., Comment: 36 pages, 9 figures

Knots are intricate structures that cannot be unambiguously distinguished with any single topological invariant. Momentum space knots, in particular, have been elusive due to their requisite finely tuned long-ranged hoppings. Even if constructed, probing their intricate linkages and topological "drumhead" surface states will be challenging due to the high precision needed. In this work, we overcome these practical and technical challenges with RLC circuits, transcending existing theoretical constructions which necessarily break reciprocity, by pairing nodal knots with their mirror image partners in a fully reciprocal setting. Our nodal knot circuits can be characterized with impedance measurements that resolve their drumhead states and image their 3D nodal structure. Doing so allows for reconstruction of the Seifert surface and hence knot topological invariants like the Alexander polynomial. We illustrate our approach with large-scale simulations of various nodal knots and an experiment that maps out the topological drumhead region of a Hopf-link., Comment: 37 pages, 14 figures, 14 tables

We propose an electric circuit array with topologically protected uni-directional voltage modes at its boundary. Instead of external bias fields or floquet engineering, we employ negative impedance converters with current inversion (INICs) to accomplish a non-reciprocal, time-reversal symmetry broken electronic network we call topolectrical Chern circuit (TCC). The TCC features an admittance bulk gap fully tunable via the resistors used in the INICs, along with a chiral voltage boundary mode reminiscent of the Berry flux monopole present in the admittance band structure. The active circuit elements in the TCC can be calibrated to compensate for dissipative loss., Comment: 11 pages double column style, 6 figures; further material added to previous version

We develop an approach to design, engineer, and measure band structures in a synthetic crystal composed of electric circuit elements. Starting from the nodal analysis of a circuit lattice in terms of currents and voltages, our Laplacian formalism for synthetic matter allows us to investigate arbitrary tight-binding models in terms of wave number resolved Laplacian eigenmodes, yielding an admittance band structure of the circuit. For illustration, we model and measure a honeycomb circuit featuring a Dirac cone admittance bulk dispersion as well as flat band admittance edge modes at its bearded and zigzag terminations. We further employ our circuit band analysis to measure a topological phase transition in the topolectrical Su-Schrieffer-Heeger circuit., Comment: 4+e pages, 4 pages supplement, 5 figures

Arguably the biggest "buzz word" of the current year has been "learning or knowledge object". To understand the learning object and why it should be such a highly desirable commodity, it is necessary to unpack not only this concept but more importantly revisit some contributing concepts and constructs (more buzz words) that support the building of truly pedagogically informed reusable objects (Boyle & Cook 2001). The words and relationships explored in this paper are: learning or knowledge objects--the desirable construct in today's E-learning environment; ontologies and ways of expressing them through topic maps as they allow users to define and describe the components of an entity; metadata and XML used to create categorize, label and communicate the value of these objects; and hermeneutics and phenomenology as they refer to the interpretation of experience and events and evaluation of learning events. (Contains 23 references.) (Author)