Topological edge states with skin effect in a trimerized non-Hermitian lattice

Abstract

In recent years, exploring new topological quantum model structures and in depth analyzing the novel physical properties in various multimerized topological lattices have become a hot topic in the field of quantum optics. Among the different model structures, the multimerized non-Hermitian lattice controlled by different parameters in the future research of topological quantum materials, we believe, can exhibit more meaningful novel topological properties. As one of the most classic topological models, the one-dimensional Aubry-André-Harper (AAH) model has received more and more attention in the study of multimerized lattices. In this paper, we focus on the novel topological properties of a trimerized non-Hermitian lattice, and extend the trimer model structure from a one-dimensional chain to a quasi-one-dimensional zigzag structure. The results show that firstly, if the nearest-neighbor forward coupling coefficient in the unit cell is not equal to the backward coupling coefficient, the chiral inversion symmetry of the system is destroyed. It can be observed that the bulk states and the edge states in the trimerization model will be localized on the same edge of the lattice, and the skin effect will appear in the system. With the increase of the nearest-neighbor coupling coefficient, the width of the edge state changes in which the lower edge state of the imaginary part of the spectrum is narrowed until it disappears. The degree of degeneracy of the system changes, and the number of edge states is reduced from four to two. Remarkably, the generalized bulk-boundary correspondence is shown in certain non-Hermitian topological systems. Secondly, when the trimerization model considers the influence of the next-nearest-neighbor coupling, the numerical results show that the upper and lower energy gaps in the energy spectrum and the edge states in the energy spectrum are asymmetrical as the next-nearest-neighbor coupling coefficient is modulated in an appropriate range. The upper energy gaps and the edge states are narrowed, and the edge states of the lower energy gaps are widened. At the same time, the novel topology features of the system can also be used to achieve the quantitative control of the energy spectrum edge states, and other interesting directions are worth exploring.