Adiabatic and non-adiabatic topological transport: an anti-Thouless pump

Aalto Quantum Physics Seminar (Nanotalo). Speaker: Ms. Mariya Lizunova (Utrecht University and University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands).

Electron pumping in topological materials has attracted a lot of attention recently. Even in the most intensely studied example, the integer quantum Hall cylinder, the detailed dynamics of topological charge transport remains difficult to visualize, due to the presence of gauge symmetry. Here, we exploit the absence of gauge freedom in one-dimensional charge ordered systems subject to an external driving force, to demonstrate details of their topological pumping. Inspection of the instantaneous eigenstates of a particular mean-field charge ordered model reveals an interplay between topological edge states and the mobility edge. The results also allow us to visualize adiabatic (Thouless) pumping in general charge ordered materials and other topological systems.