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Topology in Nonlinear Mechanical Systems

Cornell Affiliated Author(s)

Author

Po-Wei Lo
Christian Santangelo
Bryan Chen
Chao-Ming Jian
Krishanu Roychowdhury
Michael Lawler

Abstract

Many advancements have been made in the field of topological mechanics. The majority of the work, however, concerns the topological invariant in a linear theory. In this Letter, we present a generic prescription to define topological indices that accommodates nonlinear effects in mechanical systems without taking any approximation. Invoking the tools of differential geometry, a Z-valued quantity in terms of a topological index in differential geometry known as the Poincaré-Hopf index, which features the topological invariant of nonlinear zero modes (ZMs), is predicted. We further identify one type of topologically protected solitons that are robust to disorders. Our prescription constitutes a new direction of searching for novel topologically protected nonlinear ZMs in the future. © 2021 American Physical Society.

Date Published

Journal

Physical Review Letters

Volume

127

Issue

7

URL

https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85113167362&doi=10.1103%2fPhysRevLett.127.076802&partnerID=40&md5=eac460cac375aa188408a0b5db30b078

DOI

10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.076802

Group (Lab)

Chao-Ming Jian Group
Michael Lawler Group

Funding Source

PHY-1554887
1822638
1240441

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