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The Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model on a two-dimensional square lattice has been considered as a significant platform for studying topological multipole insulators. However, due to the highly-degenerate bulk energy bands protected by $ C_{4v} $ and chiral symmetry, the discussion of the zero-energy topological corner states and the corresponding physical realization have been rarely presented. In this work, by tuning the hopping terms to break $ C_{4v} $ symmetry down to $ C_{2v} $ symmetry but with the topological phase invariant, we show that the degeneracies can be removed and a complete band gap can be opened, which provides robust protection for the spectrally isolated zero-energy corner states. Meanwhile, we propose a rigorous acoustic crystalline insulator and therefore these states can be observed directly. Our work reveals the topological properties of the robust zero-energy states, and provides a new way to explore novel topological phenomena., Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures

Acoustic systems that are without limitations imposed by the Fermi level have been demonstrated as significant platform for the exploration of fruitful topological phases. By surrounding the nontrivial domain with trivial "environment", the domain-wall topological states have been theoretically and experimentally demonstrated. In this work, based on the topological crystalline insulator with a kagome lattice, we rigorously derive the corresponding Hamiltonian from the traditional acoustics perspective, and exactly reveal the correspondences of the hopping and onsite terms within acoustic systems. Crucially, these results directly indicate that instead of applying the trivial domain, the soft boundary condition precisely corresponds to the theoretical models which always require generalized chiral symmetry. These results provide a general platform to construct desired acoustic topological devices hosting desired topological phenomena for versatile applications., Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures

The bulk band topology of symmetry invariant adiabatic systems in the thermodynamic limit are considered to be determined by the hopping energy. In this work, we present that in closed classical systems, due to generalized chiral symmetry broken, the on-site energy cannot always be regarded as identical and can crucially impact the topological properties of the systems. Based on a finite one-dimensional chain, we demonstrate that the non-equivalent on-site energy of bulk lattices affects the topological phases of the bands, and the on-site energy of end lattices affects the existence of the topological states. Along these lines, the correspondence with generalized chiral symmetry in acoustic system is rigorously proposed. Our work provides a new degree of freedom for topological classical systems, and can be generalized to higher-dimensions and non-Hermitian conditions., Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures

How to manipulate acoustic waves through thinner structures is always a challenging problem due to the linear proportional relationship between the structural thickness and the acoustic wavelength. Here, we show the possibility of breaking this relationship by the strong-coupling effects of the radiated waves on the zero-thickness two-dimensional perforated plane, rather than reducing the thickness of the three-dimensional structure by the resonance mechanism of the cavity structure. The strong-coupling effects can be achieved and regulated by the self and mutual radiation between acoustic waves from different holes in the zero-thickness plane. We experimentally demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach by implementing acoustic focusing and holography. Our work introduces a different perspective for manipulating acoustic waves and will enable the application of ultrathin acoustic devices.

Non-Hermitian systems always play a negative role in wave manipulations due to inherent non-conservation of energy as well as loss of information. Recently, however, there has been a paradigm shift on utilizing non-Hermitian systems to implement varied miraculous wave controlling. For example, parity-time symmetric media with well-designed loss and gain are presented to create a nontrivial effect of unidirectional diffraction, which is observed near the exceptional points (EPs) in the non-Hermitian systems. Here, we report the design and realization of non-Hermitian acoustic metamaterial (NHAM) and show that by judiciously tailoring the inherent loss, the phase and amplitude of reflection can possibly be tuned in a decoupled manner. Such decoupled tuning of phase and amplitude is closely related to the EPs. As a demonstration of functionality, we experimentally generate a high-quality acoustic hologram via NHAM. Our work may open a new degree of freedom for realizing the complete control of sound.

The recently-emerged concept of "invisible gateway" with the extraordinary capability to block the waves but allow the passage of other entities has attracted great attentions due to the general interests in illusion devices. However, the possibility to realize such a fascinating phenomenon for acoustic waves has not yet been explored, which should be of paramount significance for acoustical applications but would necessarily involve experimental difficulty. Here we design and experimentally demonstrate an acoustic invisible gateway (AIG) capable of concealing a channel under the detection of sound. Instead of "restoring" a whole block of background medium by using transformation acoustics that inevitably requires complementary or restoring media with extreme parameters, we propose an inherently distinct methodology that only aims at engineering the surface impedance at the "gate" to mimic a rigid "wall" and can be conveniently implemented by decorating meta-structures behind the channel. Such a simple yet effective design of AIG also enables analyzing the physics behind this extraordinary phenomenon in an analytical manner, which agrees quite well with the numerical and experimental results. Furthermore, our scheme offers possibility to manipulate the symmetry of AIGs freely, which is proven both theoretically and experimentally by demonstrating two distinctive examples of one-way and two-way AIGs. We anticipate the realization of AIGs will open new avenues to illusion acoustics with potential applications in acoustic measurement and acoustic device, and provide inspirations for similar researches in other fields., Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures

The emergence of "acoustic diode" (AD) capable of rectifying acoustic wave like electrical diodes do to electricity has been believed to be able to offer unconventional manipulation on sound, e.g., to isolate the wrong-way reflection, and therefore have great potential in various important scenarios such as medical ultrasound applications. However, the existing ADs have always been suffering from the problem that the transmitted wave must have either doubled frequency or deviated direction, lacking the most crucial features for achieving such expectations in practice. Here we design and experimentally demonstrate a broadband yet compact non-reciprocal device with hitherto inaccessible functionality of maintaining the original frequency and high forward transmission while virtually blocking the backscattered wave, which is close to what a perfect AD is expected to provide and is promising to play the essential role in realistic acoustic systems like electric diodes do in electrical circuits. Such an extreme ability comes from inherently distinct mechanism based on the exploration of the acoustic characteristics in complex domain, in comparison to the previous designs that only utilize the real part of acoustical parameters. Furthermore, our design enables improving the sensitivity and the robustness of device simultaneously by tailoring an individual structural parameter, which can be regarded as the unique advantage over its electrical or thermal counterparts. We envision our design will take a significant step towards the realization of applicable acoustic one-way devices with potential applications in many scenarios, and inspire the research of non-reciprocal wave manipulation in other fields like electromagnetics.

We have designed and experimentally realized an ultra-broadband acoustic metasurface (UBAM) capable of going beyond the intrinsic limitation of bandwidth in existing designs of optical/acoustical metasurfaces. Both the numerical and experimental results demonstrate that the UBAM made of subwavelength gratings can manipulate the reflected phase-front within a bandwidth larger than 2 octaves. A simple physical model based on the phased array theory is developed for interpreting this extraordinary phenomenon as well as obtaining deeper insight to the underlying physics of our design. We anticipate the UBAM to open new avenue to the design and application of broadband acoustical devices.

Metasurfaces with subwavelength thickness have exhibited unconventional phenomena in ways that could not be mimicked by traditional materials. Here we report the analytical design and experimental realizations of acoustic metasurface with hitherto inaccessible functionality of manipulating the reflected waves arbitrarily. By suitably designing the phase shift profile covering 2 range induced by labyrinthine units, the metasurface can reflect acoustic waves in an unusual yet controllable manner. Anomalous reflection and ultrathin planar lens with adjustable focal point were both demonstrated with carefully designed metasurfaces. Remarkably, the free manipulation of phase shifts offers great flexibility in the design of non-paraxial or paraxial acoustic self-accelerating beams with arbitrary trajectories. With the extraordinary wave-steering ability, the metasurface should open exciting possibilities for designing compact acoustic components with versatile potential and may find a variety of applications ranging from ultrasound imaging to field caustic engineering.

Acoustic cloaks that make object undetectable to sound waves have potential applications in a variety of scenarios and have received increasing interests recently. However, the experimental realization of a three-dimensional (3D) acoustic cloak that works within broad ranges of operating frequency and incident angle still remains a challenge despite the paramount importance for the practical application of cloaking devices. Here we report the design and experimental demonstration of the first 3D broadband cloak capable of cancelling the scattering field near curved surfaces. Unlike the ground cloaks that only work in the presence of a flat boundary, the proposed scheme can render the invisibility effect for an arbitrarily curved boundary. The designed cloak simply comprises homogeneous positive-index anisotropic materials, with parameters completely independent of either the cloaked object or the boundary. With the flexibility of applying to arbitrary boundaries and the potential of being extended to yield 3D acoustic illusion effects, our method may take major a step toward the application of acoustic cloaks in reality and open the avenue to build other acoustic devices with versatile functionalities., Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures