Dynamic melting and condensation of topological dislocation modes

Bulk dislocation lattice defects are instrumental in identifying translationally active topological insulators (TATIs), featuring band inversion at a finite momentum Kinv. As such, TATIs host robust gapless modes around the dislocation core, when the associated Burgers vector b satisfies Kinv center dot b = 7r (modulo 27r). From the time evolution of appropriate density matrices, we show that when a TATI via a real time ramp enters into a trivial or translationally inert topological insulating phase, devoid of gapless dislocation modes, the signatures of the preramp defect modes survive for a long time. More intriguingly, as the system ramps into a TATI phase from any translationally inert insulator, the signature of the dislocation mode dynamically builds up near its core, which is prominent for slow ramps. We exemplify these generic outcomes for two-dimensional time-reversal symmetry breaking insulators. Proposed dynamic responses at the dislocation core can be experimentally observed in quantum crystals, optical lattices, and metamaterials with a time tunable band gap.

Automated summary

Bulk dislocation lattice defects are crucial for studying translationally active topological insulators. These defects can lead to the presence of gapless modes under certain conditions. Through the time evolution of density matrices, we find that the signatures of dislocation modes persist for a long time even when entering a phase without gapless modes. Furthermore, when transitioning from a translationally inert insulator to a topological insulator, the signature of the dislocation mode dynamically builds up near its core.