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There is today a growing need to accurately model the angular scattering response of metasurfaces for optical analog processing applications. However, the current metasurface modeling techniques are not well suited for such a task since they are limited to small angular spectrum transformations, as shall be demonstrated. The goal of this work is to overcome this limitation by improving the modeling accuracy of these techniques and, specifically, to provide a better description of the angular response of metasurfaces. This is achieved by extending the current methods, which are restricted to dipolar responses and weak spatially dispersive effects, so as to include quadrupolar responses and higher-order spatially dispersive components. The accuracy of the newly derived multipolar model is demonstrated by predicting the angular scattering of a dielectric metasurface placed in a vacuum. This results in a modeling accuracy that is substantially better than the standard dipolar model.

Calculations involving polarization propagation in dielectric media require the adoption of various, often unstated, conventions, an important one of which is the sign of the complex argument ±i(ωt - βz). In this paper we show that the form of the dielectric tensor and, hence, the forms of both the Jones and Stokes representations of states, operators, and transformations depend on that sign choice. We show that, while physical observables cannot depend on the choice of convention, errors and ambiguities can occur if adherence to the various conventions is not followed consistently. By methodically developing polarization propagation in both sign conventions we provide a means for unambiguous comparison of results from analyses that employ different, sometimes mixed, conventions. We also include conventions such as assignment of Pauli matrices to Stokes axes and choice of chirality for circular polarizations.

Spontaneous symmetry breaking in crystalline solid often produces exotic nonreciprocal phenomena. As one such example, the unconventional optical rotation with nonreciprocity, which is termed gyrotropic birefringence, is expected to emerge from the magnetoelectric coupling. However, the fundamental nature of gyrotropic birefringence remains to be examined. Here w`e demonstrate the gyrotropic birefringence enhanced by the dynamical magnetoelectric coupling on the electrically active magnon resonance, i.e. electromagnon, in a multiferroic helimagnet. The helical spin order having both polarity and chirality is found to cause the giant gyrotropic birefringence in addition to the conventional gyrotropy, i.e. natural optical activity. It is demonstrated that the optical rotation of gyrotropic birefringence can be viewed as the nonreciprocal rotation of the optical principal axes, while the crystallographic and magnetic anisotropies are intact. The independent control of the nonreciprocal linear (gyrotropic birefringence) and circular (natural optical activity) birefringence/dichroism paves a way for the optically active devices., Gyrotropic birefringence is expected to emerge from the magnetoelectric coupling. Here, the authors find polarity and chirality arising from the helical spin order exhibit enhanced optical activities, gyrotropic birefringence and natural optical activity, on the electromagnon resonance.

Coupled plasmonic systems are of great interest and have many applications such as information processing and sensing. By choosing proper geometric configurations of coupled plasmonic systems, one can obtain various optical properties. However, some interesting and important effects could not be described by earlier methods. We develop an improved method for coupled plasmonic nanoparticle systems that maps geometric configurations to optical properties more accurately. With the improved method, we realize a low-loss cavity of metallic nanoparticles through a proper geometric configuration, and we find a limit to the loss in the metallic nano-cavity. We also use this method to realize an exceptional point and exceptional nexus in a hybrid plasmonic system. Finally, we predict asymmetric coupling, which leads to chirality and directional energy transfer.

Many chiroptical spectroscopic techniques have been developed to detect chirality in molecular species and probe its role in biological processes. Raman optical activity (ROA) should be one of the most powerful methods, as ROA yields vibrational and chirality information simultaneously and can measure analytes in aqueous and biologically relevant solvents. However, despite its promise, the use of ROA has been limited, largely due to challenges in instrumentation. Here, we report a new approach to ROA that exploits high-frequency polarization modulation. High-frequency polarization modulation, usually implemented with a photoelastic modulator (PEM), has long been the standard technique in other chiroptical spectroscopies. Unfortunately, the need for simultaneous spectral and polarization resolution has precluded the use of PEMs in ROA instruments. We combine a specialized camera system (the Zurich Imaging Polarimeter, or ZIMPOL) with PEM modulation to perform ROA measurements. We demonstrate performance similar to the current standard in ROA instrumentation while reducing complexity and polarization artifacts. This development should aid researchers in exploiting the full potential of ROA for chemical and biological analysis.

Skyrmion and antiskyrmion spin textures are axisymmetric inhomogeneous localized objects with distinct chirality in magnetic systems. These spin textures are potential candidates for the next generation energy-efficient spintronic applications due to their unique topological properties. Controlled and effective creation of the spin textures is required to use in conventional and neuromorphic computing applications. Here we show by micromagnetic simulations creating an isolated skyrmion, skyrmion lattice and antiskyrmion lattice through the magnetization reversal in Co/Pd multilayer nanostructure using spin-polarized current. The spin textures' stability depends on the spin-polarized current density, current pulse width, and Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI). Antiskyrmions are evolved during the formation of a single skyrmion and skyrmion lattice. Skyrmion and antiskyrmion lattices together are observed for lower pulse width, 0.05 ns. Our micromagnetic studies suggest that the two distinct lattice phases' evolution could help to design the topological spin textures-based devices.

The chiral anomaly is the predicted breakdown of chiral symmetry in a Weyl semimetal with monopoles of opposite chirality when an electric field is applied parallel to a magnetic field. It occurs because of charge pumping between monopoles of opposite chirality. Experimental observation of this fundamental effect is plagued by concerns about the current pathways. Here we demonstrate the thermal chiral anomaly, energy pumping between monopoles, in topological insulator bismuth–antimony alloys driven into an ideal Weyl semimetal state by a Zeeman field, with the chemical potential pinned at the Weyl points and in the absence of any trivial Fermi surface pockets. The experimental signature is a large enhancement of the thermal conductivity in an applied magnetic field parallel to the thermal gradient. This work demonstrates both pumping of energy and charge between the two Weyl points of opposite chirality and that they are related by the Wiedemann–Franz law. A thermal signature of the chiral anomaly is reported in an ideal Weyl semimetal.

A multiscale discrete-continuum mosaic (MDCM) method for nonlinear mechanical behaviors of periodic micro/nano-scale structures is presented in this paper. The representative cell including nonlinearity and chirality of a micro/nano-scale structure can be combined with the corresponding virtual continuum counterpart for establishing the multiscale “bone-flesh” model. The moving least-square (MLS) approximation is utilized for bridging the macroscale and microscale deformation fields. Furthermore, a MDCM contact model is developed with the real discrete particles as the force points of their non-bonded van der Waals (vdW) interactions. The discreteness of the non-bonded interactions can be taken into account naturally. Based on the proposed MDCM method, a variationally consistent meshless computational scheme is constructed for simulating nonlinear mechanical responses of micro/nano-scale components. Benefiting from the order-N nature, this method can deal with large scale problems with less computational efforts.

One of the most straightforward methods to actively control optical functionalities of metamaterials is to apply mechanical strain deforming the geometries. These deformations, however, leave symmetries and topologies largely intact, limiting the multifunctional horizon. Here, we present topology manipulation of metamaterials fabricated on flexible substrates by mechanically closing/opening embedded nanotrenches of various geometries. When an inner bending is applied on the substrate, the nanotrench closes and the accompanying topological change results in abrupt switching of metamaterial functionalities such as resonance, chirality, and polarization selectivity. Closable nanotrenches can be embedded in metamaterials of broadband spectrum, ranging from visible to microwave. The 99.9% extinction performance is robust, enduring more than a thousand bending cycles. Our work provides a wafer-scale platform for active quantum plasmonics and photonic application of subnanometer phenomena.

A vortex is a universal and significant phenomenon that has been known for centuries. However, creating vortices to the atomic limit has remained elusive. Very recently, it was demonstrated that intervalley scattering induced by the single carbon defect of graphene leads to phase winding over a closed path surrounding the defect. Motivated by this, we demonstrate that the single carbon defects at A and B sublattices of graphene can be regarded as pseudospin-mediated atomic-scale vortices with angular momenta l = +2 and -2, respectively. The quantum interference measurements of the vortices indicate that the vortices cancel each other, resulting in zero total angular momentum, in the |A| = |B| case, and they show aggregate chirality and angular momenta similar to a single vortex of the majority in the |A| ≠ |B| case, where |A| (|B|) is the number of vortices with angular momenta l = +2 (l = -2).

Spontaneous flexoelectricity in transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) nanotubes is critical to the design of new energy devices. However, the electronic properties adjusted by the flexoelectric effect in TMD nanotubes remain vague. In this work, we investigate the effect of flexoelectricity on band engineering in single- and double-wall MS2 (M = Mo, W) nanotubes with different diameters based on first-principles calculations and an atomic-bond-relaxation method. We find that the energy bandgap reduces and the polarization and flexoelectric voltage increase with decreasing diameter of single-wall MS2 nanotubes. The polarization charges promoted by the flexoelectric effect can lead to a straddling-to-staggered bandgap transition in the double-wall MS2 nanotubes. The critical diameters for bandgap transition are about 3.1 and 3.6 nm for double-wall MoS2 and WS2 nanotubes, respectively, which is independent of chirality. Our results provide guidance for the design of new energy devices based on spontaneous flexoelectricity.

In this research article, a multiband circular polarization selective (CPS) metasurface is presented. A reciprocal bi-layered metasurface is designed by introducing the chirality in the structure. The top layer of the proposed metasurface is composed of circular split-ring resonator with a cross shape structure inside it. The same structure is printed on the bottom side of the proposed metasurface by rotating it at an angle of 90° to achieve chirality in the structure. The proposed metasurface is able to add CPS surface capability between 5.18 and 5.23 GHz for y-polarized incident wave. For the frequency band of 5.18–5.23 GHz, the transmission goes up to − 4 dB, while the polarization extinction ratio (PER) reaches up to − 27.4 dB at 5.2 GHz. Similarly, for x-polarized incident wave, three strategic CPS operating bands are achieved within the frequency ranges of 10.64–10.82 GHz, 12.25–12.47 GHz, and 14.42–14.67 GHz. The maximum PER of 47.16 dB has been achieved for the 14.42–14.67 GHz frequency band at 14.53 GHz. Furthermore, the response of the metasurface does not vary against oblique incidences up to 45°. The simple structure, angular stability, multiband and miniaturized size make this metasurface an outstanding applicant for polarization conversion and biomedical applications.

The dynamics of a transverse domain wall in a narrow magnetic permalloy nanowire in an external field is studied by the method of micromagnetic simulation. It was found that in the limit of a very small nanowire width (less than 40 nm), a precession of the domain wall is observed, accompanied by a change in its chirality. It is shown that the precession frequency increases with an increase in the external field and with an increase in the damping constant and decreases with an increase in the nanowire width. This effect imposes restrictions on the possibility of reducing the width of the nanowire used to create racetrack memory.

The incommensurate magnetic structure (0.47, 0, 0.49) of NaYNiWO6 exhibits unconventional spin-density waves (SDWs) along the [100] direction, in which up and down spins alternate in each half-wave. This is in contrast to conventional SDWs, in which only one type of spin is present in each half-wave. We probed the formation of these unconventional SDWs by evaluating the spin exchanges of NaYNiWO6 based on density functional theory calculations and analyzing the nature of the spin frustration in NaYNiWO6 and by noting that a SDW is a superposition of two cycloids of opposite chirality. The unconventional SDWs along the [100] direction originate from the spin-frustrated antiferromagnetic chains of Ni2+ ions along that direction, leading to conventional SDWs along the [101] direction and unconventional SDWs along the [001] direction.

Molecular behavior and functionality are affected by their prevailing immediate environment. Molecular machines function according to conformational variations and have been studied largely in solution states. In order to access more highly complex functional molecular machines, it is necessary to analyze and control them in various environments. We have designed and synthesized a bisbinaphthyldurene (BBD) molecule that has two binaphthyl groups connected through a central durene moiety, allowing for the formation of several conformers. In density functional theory (DFT) calculations, BBD has five major conformers, denoted

Electronic properties of monolayer tellurium (Te) with three proposed atomic configurations under external electric field were investigated through first-principles calculations. The calculated results demonstrate that α-Te and γ-Te have indirect band gaps, whereas β-Te, when no electric field is applied, can be considered as a direct semiconductor. An interesting structural change occurs in α- and γ-phase Te under a specific electric field strength, as does a change in structural chirality. In the presence of a perpendicular electric field, the band gaps can be modified and drawn close to 0 eV at a certain critical electric field strength. Before that, the band gaps of α-Te and γ-Te are nearly constant, while that of β-Te shows a quadratic relationship to electric field strength. These findings not only enrich our understanding of the electronic properties of monolayer tellurium but also show that monolayer tellurium has tremendous potential in nanoscale electronic devices owing to its tunable band gaps.

Transition metal dichalcogenides, whose valley degrees of freedom are characterized by the degree of circular polarization (DCP) of the photoluminescence, draw broad interests due to their potentia...

The properties of radio frequency electromagnetic systems can be manipulated by changing the 3D geometry of the system. Most reconfiguration schemes specify different conductive pathways using electrical switches in mechanically static systems, or they actuate and reshape a continuous metallic structure. Here, we demonstrate a novel strategy that utilizes soft continuum robots to both dynamically assemble electrical pathways and mechanically reconfigure 3D electromagnetic devices. Our concept consists of using soft robotic actuation to conductively connect multiple subwavelength-scale metallic building blocks, which form into electromagnetic structures when joined together. Soft robots offer an exciting avenue for electromagnetic device construction because they can form complex, high curvature shapes from low-loss dielectric materials using straightforward manufacturing methods. As a proof of concept, we experimentally implement a helical antenna that can switch chirality through tendon actuation of a soft pneumatic continuum robot. Our work introduces a new paradigm for electromagnetic reconfiguration using soft robotic platforms.

The electrical control of topological magnetism is an intensive topic in spintronic devices. Here, using first-principles calculations and micromagnetic simulations, we show the potential of two-dimensional (2D) magnetoelectric multiferroics in the area of topological magnetism. Intrinsic Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions (DMIs) can promote the stabilization of sub-10 nm skyrmions or bimerons in 2D multiferroics. In addition, the electric polarization in 2D multiferroics provides an opportunity for the electrical control of interfacial DMI chirality and thereby the topological magnetism. These results provide a promising route for the modulation of topological magnetism in 2D spintronic devices.

We investigate the topological pumping effect in multi-Weyl semimetals, modulated by two orthogonal ac electric fields. In order to investigate the influence of the anisotropic energy–momentum relation on the pumping, we consider two different electric field configurations, i.e., (I) the electric fields along x and y directions, and (II) along y and z directions. It is found that both in the two configurations, there appear a pumping current in the direction perpendicular to electric field plane, whose direction is determined by the chirality, and the amount of the Weyl fermions pumped per cycle is given by the monopole charges. This indicates that the pumping effect is isotropic though the energy dispersion is anisotropic. Because the Weyl points of opposite chiralities always come in pairs in Weyl semimetals, the total particle current is vanishing, the pump giving rise to a net valley current. However, by using a valley-polarized electrode, one Weyl valley will be suppressed, and a charge current could be measured.

The determination of chirality of circularly polarized light (CPL) is of great significance to the development of various optical techniques. In this paper, a miniature circular polarization analyzer (CPA) based on surface plasmon polariton (SPP) interference is proposed. The proposed CPA consists of a micron scale long sub-wavelength slit and two groups of spatially arranged periodic sub-wavelength rectangular groove pairs, which are etched in a metal layer. Under the illumination of a CPL with a given chirality, the proposed CPA is capable of forming SPP-mediated interference fringes with different periods in far field. The chirality of CPL can be directly and quantitatively differentiated by the frequency value of the far field SPP-mediated interference fringes. Different from the existing SPP-based CPAs, the proposed CPA can directly image the chirality information in far field, avoiding near-field imaging of the SPP field.

Magnetic skyrmion, a topological magnetic domain with complex non-coplanar spin texture, appears a disk-like structure in two dimensions. Exploring three-dimensional spin texture and related chirality switching has drawn enormous interests from the perspective of fundamental research. Here, the three-dimensional magnetic moment of the skyrmion bubbles in centrosymmetric Mn-Ni-Ga were reconstructed with the vector field tomography approach via Lorentz transmission electron microscopy. The type of the bubbles was determined from investigating the magnetic vectors in entire space. We found that the bubbles switched their chirality easily but still keep the polarity to remain the singularity of the bubbles within the material. Our results offer valuable insights into the fundamental mechanisms underlying the spin chirality flips dynamics of skyrmion bubbles.

An investigation of spin waves interacting with antiferromagnetic spin textures is meaningful for future spintronic and magnonic-based memory and logic applications. In this work, we numerically study the skyrmion dynamics driven by circularly polarized spin waves in antiferromagnets and propose a method of suppressing the Hall motion. It is demonstrated that the application of two circularly polarized spin waves with opposite chirality allows the skyrmion motion straightly along the intersection line of the two spin wave sources. The skyrmion speed depending on these parameters of the spin waves and system is estimated, and a comparison with other methods is provided. Furthermore, two depinning behaviors of the skyrmion related to the strengths of the defect are also observed in the simulations. Thus, the proposed method could be used in precisely modulating the skyrmion dynamics, contributing to skyrmion-based memory device design.

Several bottom-up chemical routes have been developed in the last few years to find ways to grow new forms of nanocarbon by devising a strategical selection of molecular precursors. Here, theoretical calculations are performed on 2D nanocarbon allotropes obtained from the fusion of triphenylene-like units through tetragonal rings. This 2D triphenylene structure has a metallic character in a closed shell configuration, but it also features a spin-polarized semiconducting state. The behavior of the electronic properties of the system is investigated when the structure is cast into nanoribbon forms. It is found that to be metallic in the nonpolarized case, the ribbons must be sufficiently wide while narrow 1D systems are semiconducting. A lower threshold width is also needed for the emergence of a spin-polarized semiconducting configuration in these nanoribbons. These behaviors are robust as they do not depend on edge geometry and chirality, thus offering opportunities for their possible applications in nanoscale devices.

Made available in DSpace on 2021-06-25T12:24:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2020-11-11 Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) It is shown that the paper Energy spectrum of a Dirac particle with position-dependent mass under the influence of the Aharonov-Casher effect, by Oliveira et al. (Braz. J. Phys. 49, 801 2019), is based on a series of ingredients clearly incorrect. Univ Estadual Paulista, Dept Fis, Guaratingueta, SP, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Dept Fis, Guaratingueta, SP, Brazil FAPESP: 2019/06734-2 CNPq: 09126/2019-3

Charged amphiphiles in solution usually self-assemble into flat nanoribbons that spontaneously twist into different shapes. The role of electrostatics in this process is still under strong debate. This work studies the electrostatic free energy of twisting a nanoribbon at the level of the nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann approximation. It is shown that helicoid-shaped ribbons are more stable than flat ribbons, while other shapes under consideration (cylindrical helixes and bent ribbons) are always less stable than the flat ribbon. The unexpected electrostatics-driven twisting of the ribbon into a helicoid is ascribed to the increase in its perimeter with increasing degree of twisting, as charges near the edge of the ribbon are electrostatically more stable than those near its center. This argument successfully explains the effects of salt concentration and the width of the ribbon on the optimal twisting period and allows us to approximately describe the problem of ribbon twisting in terms of two dimensionless variables that combine the helicoid twisting period, the Debye length of the solution, and the width of the ribbon. The magnitude of the electrostatic twisting energy predicted by our calculations is comparable to that of restoring elastic forces for typical ribbons of self-assembled amphiphiles, which indicates that electrostatics plays an important role in determining the equilibrium shape of charged nanoribbons.

The coherent light source is one of the most important foundations in both optical physics studies and applied photonic devices. However, the whispering gallery microcavity, as a prime platform for novel light sources, has the intrinsically chiral symmetry and severely rules out access to directional light output, all-optical flip-flops, efficient light extraction, etc. Here, we demonstrate a reconfigurable symmetry-broken microlaser in an ultrahigh-Q whispering gallery microcavity with the symmetric structure, in which a chirality of lasing field is empowered spontaneously by the optical nonlinear effect. Experimentally, the ratio of counter-propagating lasing intensities is found to exceed 160:1, and the chirality can be controlled dynamically and all-optically by the bias in the pump direction. This work not only presents a distinct recipe for coherent light sources with robust and reconfigurable performance, but also opens up an unexplored avenue to symmetry-broken physics in optical micro-structures., The directional lasing emission in whispering gallery microcavities typically resorts to breaking the structure symmetry. Here the authors demonstrate a reconfigurable symmetry-broken microlaser in a symmetric ultrahigh-Q whispering gallery microcavity, in which a chirality of lasing fields is empowered spontaneously by nonlinear effects.

It remains a grand challenge to prepare anisotropic crystal superstructures with sensitive optical properties in polymer science and materials field. This study demonstrates that semicrystalline polymers develop into anisotropic hollow spherulitic crystals spontaneously at interfaces of liquid drops. In contrast to conventional spherulites with centrosymmetric optics and grain boundaries, these anisotropic spherulitic crystals have vanished boundary defects, tunable aspect ratios, and noncentrosymmetric, orientation-sensitive birefringence. The experimental finding is elaborated in poly(l-lactic acid) crystals and is further verified in a broad class of semicrystalline polymers, irrespective of molecular chirality, chemical constitution, or interfacial modification. The facile methods and general mechanism revealed in this study shed light on developing new types of optical microdevices and synthesis of anisotropic semicrystalline particles from liquid emulsions.

Colloidal interactions in nematic liquid crystals can be described as interactions between elastic multipoles that depend on particle shape, topology, chirality, boundary conditions and induced topological defects. Here, we describe a nematic colloidal system consisting of mesostructures of gold capable of inducing elastic multipoles of different order. Elastic monopoles are formed by relatively large asymmetric mesoflower particles, for which gravity and elastic torque balancing yields monopole-type interactions. High-order multipoles are instead formed by smaller mesoflowers with a myriad of shapes corresponding to multipoles of different orders, consistent with our computer simulations based on free energy minimization. We reveal unexpected many-body interactions in this colloidal system, ranging from de-mixing of elastic monopoles to a zoo of unusual colloidal crystals formed by high-order multipoles like hexadecapoles. Our findings show that gold mesoflowers may serve as a designer toolkit for engineering colloidal interaction and self-assembly, potentially exceeding that in atomic and molecular systems., Elasticity-mediated particle interaction in a hosting medium holds promise for material engineering of unusual structures. Yuan et al. show that the gold microparticles can induce elastic multipoles of different symmetries when dispersed in a nematic liquid crystal as building blocks for various crystals.

The need to measure the concentration of selected ions and small organic molecules in both in vivo and in vitro processes is continuously increasing beyond the borders of various research fields. This need has been fulfilled using "host-guest chemistry", or in general, by the use of "molecular recognition". The basic idea in these research fields was derived from the 1 : 1 host-guest interaction based on the "key-and-lock" concept. However, we have experienced that only with this classical concept, more precise, higher-order recognition faces serious difficulty. In this review article, I wish to explain that the introduction of two new concepts, i.e., the dynamic action of molecular systems and the amplification effect of molecular assemblies, overcame the limitation of the "key-and-lock" concept. In fact, we have found that even "complete" chirality segregation can be achieved under optimal conditions.

The splay, twist and bend elastic constants (K11, K22 and K33) have been measured as a function of temperature in bent-core/calamitic mixtures based on three different calamitic materials (5CB, 8CB and ZLI1132) and two bent-core dopants. The behaviour of the splay and bend constants are as expected; a reduction in K33 of ~20%, in line with predictions from mixing rules and other observations. Interestingly, no change is seen in the splay constant, K11 of the calamitic hosts. Surprisingly though, the twist elastic constant exhibits a reduction of 30–40% in all mixtures across the nematic range, an effect not previously reported and much larger than mixing rules can explain. The elastic behaviour is universal in our mixtures. We explain part of the reduction in the twist deformation by considering the influence of the chiral conformer fluctuations of the bent-core molecules on the twist elastic constants of the mixtures. However, the dramatic reduction can only be fully explained by also including contributions from chiral conformer fluctuations of the calamitic host, a form of chiral amplification.

We study the relationship between the winding number of magnetic merons and the Gaussian curvature of two-dimensional magnetic surfaces. We show that positive (negative) Gaussian curvatures privilege merons with positive (negative) winding number. As in the case of unidimensional domain walls, we found that chirality is connected to the polarity of the core. Both effects allow to predict the topological properties of metastable states knowing the geometry of the surface. These features are related with the recently predicted Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya emergent term of curved surfaces. The presented results are at our knowledge the first ones drawing attention about a direct relation between geometric properties of the surfaces and the topology of the hosted solitons.

A material’s properties are derived from its constituent material composition and its structural hierarchy across length scales down to the nanometer level. At submicron length scales, materials exhibit unique size-affected mechanical properties such as enhanced strength, ductility, and flaw tolerance, but these are generally lost in bulk materials. Emerging fabrication methods have enabled the creation of materials with controllable architectures down to the nanoscale. These micro- and nanoarchitected materials utilize both resilient architectures and size-affected constituent materials to achieve unprecedented mechanical properties such as ultrahigh strength at low density, recoverability after large applied strains in intrinsically brittle materials, and metamaterial properties such as chirality and negative static compressibility. In this article, we describe the governing principles behind these materials and outline recent progress in the field. We unravel the details of the deformation and failure processes to facilitate a fundamental understanding of effective materials properties and provide a guideline for the design of the next generation of nanoarchitected materials.

Controlling the flow of light emitted from structures in micro/nanoscale is crucial for on-chip active photonic devices and their tremendous applications. Although previous reports focus on improvi...

Interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) of a heavy metal (HM)/ferromagnetic (FM) metal heterostructure is vital to the current-induced fast domain wall motion. The tilting of the moving Dzyaloshinskii domian wall (DW) has been paid much attention. In this work, using the micromagnetic simulation, we find the DW tilting is originated from different initial DW velocity at two edges because of the initial antisymmetric magnetic structure at two edges. In the very early stage of DW motion, the DMI energy traps the DW motion at one edge. For a track whose width is smaller than a critical value, the edge effect plays a major role for DW tilting. This modifies the track width dependence of tilting angle and relaxation time derived from the collective coordinate method without considering edge effect. When the track is wide enough, a temporary vortex-like moment structure inside DW and variation of DW chirality at the edge appear in the process of generating DW tilting for reducing DMI and demagnetization energy.

Magnetic Skyrmions are energetically stable entities formed in a ferromagnet with a diameter of typically below 100 nm and are easily displaceable using an electrical current of 102 A/cm2, resulting the Skyrmions to be more advantageous than domain walls for spintronic memory applications. Here, we demonstrated switching of a chirality of magnetic Skyrmions formed in magnetic thin films by introducing a pulsed heat spot using micromagnetic simulation. Skyrmions are found to expand with a pulsed heat spot, which induces the magnetic moments surrounding the Skyrmion to rotate by this expansion, followed by the chirality switching of the Skyrmion. Such simple controllability can be used as a fundamental building block for memory and logic devices using the chirality of Skyrmions as a data bit.

Blue phase liquid crystals are soft 3D photonic crystals in which the liquid crystal molecules self-assemble to form a cubic structure with lattice spacing of a few hundred nanometers resulting in selective reflection of colours in the visible spectrum. The corresponding wavelength or the ‘photonic band gap’ can be tuned using various external stimuli such as thermal, electric, magnetic and optical fields. Here, we report efficient tuning of photonic band gap by utilising the combination of electric and optical fields in a blue phase liquid crystalline system. The studies indicate that the chirality of the medium has a direct bearing on the direction of the wavelength shift and the extent of the photonic band gap tunability. More importantly, the synergistic effect of the two fields helps in reversible tuning of the band gap. (Colour online)

We study the domain wall depinning from a triangle-shaped notch in Ni80Fe20/Pt bilayer nanostrips using electrical detection technique. It is found that for the 630 nm wide strip, the depinning fields are distributed in a narrow range. While for the 300 nm wide strip, the depinning fields are distributed in two distinctly separated ranges. Micromagnetic simulations show that for the 630 nm wide strip, the depinning corresponds to vortex domain wall, while for 300 nm wide strip, the depinnings of both the vortex wall and the transverse wall are observed. The chirality of vortex wall and the polarity of transverse wall have strong influence on the depinning field. Electrical current has a clear impact on the depinning, but its influence is different for different wall configuration. It can decrease or slightly increase the depinning field of the vortex domain wall depending on the wall chirality and the current direction. The depinning field of the transverse domain wall exhibits an oscillation variation with the current density. Compared to the depinning process of the domain wall in a control sample Ni80Fe20/Au, it can be inferred the current influence on the domain wall depinning is caused mainly by the current-induced spin-orbit torque.

Over the past few years, the rapid development in the fields of condensed matter physics, electronic, and photonic systems have inspired the design and experimental demonstration of various acoustic topological insulators (TIs). Among these, the topologically protected one-way propagation is a phenomenon that is gaining increased attention. Pseudospin states, which is the analogue of the quantum spin Hall effect from electronic systems, has been proven to enable topological edge states in acoustics. Similarly, the valley Hall (VH) effect is also observed in acoustic systems and provides a pair of valley vortex states with opposite chirality. These valley vortex states can similarly form topologically protected edge states and, in turn, realize robust one-way propagation. However, the differences in the physics behind these acoustic systems give rise to distinct features such as different angle selections and immunization levels to various types of defects. This article conducts a comparison study between topological states in valley Hall phononic crystals and TIs that reveals the differences and similarities in several aspects. Both of them have topologically protected edge states and thus the robust one-way propagation. For the maximum transmission incident angle and defect immunization, however, VH topological waveguides and TI waveguides show different characteristics.

Virtually all of the many active matter systems studied so far are made of units (biofilaments, cells, colloidal particles, robots, animals, etc.) that move even when they are alone or isolated. Their collective properties continue to fascinate, and we now understand better how they are unique to the bulk transduction of energy into work. Here we demonstrate that systems in which isolated but potentially active particles do not move can exhibit specific and remarkable collective properties. Combining experiments, theory, and numerical simulations, we show that such subcritical active matter can be realized with Quincke rollers, that is, dielectric colloidal particles immersed in a conducting fluid subjected to a vertical DC electric field. Working below the threshold field value marking the onset of motion for a single colloid, we find fast activity waves, reminiscent of excitable systems, and stable, arbitrarily large self-standing vortices made of thousands of particles moving at the same speed. Our theoretical model accounts for these phenomena and shows how they can arise in the absence of confining boundaries and individual chirality. We argue that our findings imply that a faithful description of the collective properties of Quincke rollers need to consider the fluid surrounding particles.

We discuss angular-momentum conservation law for spin and orbital angular momentum for a vortex generated by a silicon photonic gear, which is a ring resonator with an inner grating. The gear is coupled to two bus-waveguides to control the chirality of the emitted vortex out of the gear.

We show that relic vector fields can significantly impact a spectrum of primordial gravitational waves in the post-inflationary era. We consider a triplet of U(1) fields in a homogeneous, isotropic configuration. The interaction between the gravitational waves and the vector fields, from the end of reheating to the present day, yields novel spectral features. The amplitude, tilt, shape, and net chirality of the gravitational wave spectrum are shown to depend on the abundance of the electric- and magnetic-like vector fields. Our results show that even a modest abundance can have strong implications for efforts to detect the imprint of gravitational waves on the cosmic microwave background polarization. We find that a vector field comprising less than two percent of the energy density during the radiation dominated era can have a greater than order unity effect on the predicted inflationary gravitational wave spectrum., Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures, comments welcome

The fractional quantum Hall state at Landau level (LL) filling factor 5/2 is extremely interesting because it is likely the first non-Abelian state, but its precise nature remains unclear after decades of study. We demonstrate this can be resolved by studying the chirality of its graviton excitations, using circularly polarized Raman scattering. We discuss the advantage of this bulk probe over the existing edge probes., 6 pages, 6 figures

Quasi-bound states in the continuum provide an effective and observable way to improve metasurface performance, usually with an ultra-high-quality factor. Dielectric metasurfaces dependent on Mie resonances have the characteristic of significantly low loss, and the polarization can be affected by the parameter tuning of the structure. Based on the theory of quasi-bound states in the continuum, we propose and simulate a bifunctional resonant metasurface, whose periodic unit structure consists of four antiparallel and symmetrical amorphous silicon columns embedded in a poly(methyl methacrylate) layer. The metasurface can exhibit an extreme Huygens’ regime in the case of an incident plane wave with linear polarization, while exhibiting chirality in the case of incident circular polarized light. Our structure provides ideas for promoting the multifunctional development of flat optical devices, as well as presenting potential in polarization-dependent fields.

Liquid crystals (LCs) are known to have a facile response under external electric and optical fields, which in the past have led to various technological applications such as LC displays or self-focusing flat lenses. In this contribution, we describe how chirality can increase the overall nonlinear optical response of frustrated liquid crystal samples based on the formalism of Green functions. We describe how such an effect can be leveraged to generate low-power spatial optical solitons in diverse sample geometries, and also suggest possible applications that could be derived from this theoretical and numerical work.

Surface plasmons (SPs) is a vital form of electromagnetic wave confined to the metal-dielectric interface. Since the capability of guiding light within subwavelength scale, a great deal of plasmonic devices emerged successively. Over the past few years, in-plane SPs controlled by artificially structured surfaces are of great promise for information transmission in ultracompact integrated optical circuit, especially in terahertz (THz) near-field photonics. Owing to the exploitation of holographic principles in two-dimensional surface, we theoretically and experimentally demonstrate a generic design strategy to steer the SP waves to several focus spots depending on the wavelength and chirality.

In this work, a new mechanism to combine a non-volatile behaviour with the spin diode detection of a vortex-based spin torque nano-oscillator (STVO) is presented. Experimentally, it is observed that the spin diode response of the oscillator depends on the vortex chirality. Consequently, fixing the frequency of the incoming signal and switching the vortex chirality results in a different rectified voltage. In this way, the chirality can be deterministically controlled via the application of electrical signals injected locally in the device, resulting in a non-volatile control of the output voltage for a given input frequency. Micromagnetic simulations corroborate the experimental results and show the main contribution of the Oersted field created by the input RF current density in defining two distinct spin diode detections for different chiralities. By using two non-identical STVOs, we show how these devices can be used as programmable non-volatile synapses in artificial neural networks.

Conventional nanoscale logic gates involve several critical challenges, such as the appearance of leakage currents, and so new approaches to logic calculation devices have been exploited. However, although polarization switching in ferroelectrics has certain advantages in this regard, including nonvolatility, these materials are not leading candidates for logic gates because they disappear at the nanoscale and do not typically allow the two-inputs--one-output operation which is necessary for logic gates. Here, we demonstrate the possibility that ultrasmall ferroelectric nanoscale logic gates can be generated from mixed dislocations in ${\mathrm{SrTiO}}_{3}$. Phase-field simulations show that the unique strain field associated with a mixed dislocation induces a few nanometer polarization spiral, the chirality of which can be switched by electric fields that are both horizontal and vertical to the spiral. Due to this polarization structure, or, and, and not operations can be performed depending on the strength of the electric fields. These results suggest a different means of fabricating ultrathin logic gates, and could potentially lead to energy-efficient ultrahigh logic density devices.

In this talk, I discuss our recent research activity in nano-optics, polaritonics and electromagnetics, showing how suitably tailored metamaterials open exciting venues to realize new light phenomena and devices. I discuss in particular the role of broken symmetries in tailoring nano-optical phenomena, including tunable diffraction-free wave propagation and topological phenomena based on tailored lattice symmetries, time-reversal symmetry breaking in optical metamaterials, and parity-time symmetric phenomena.

Cholesteric liquid crystals have attracted the scientific community's attention in the last decades due to the impressive textures displayed in various experiments. In particular, when varying the temperature of a cholesteric liquid crystal sample with homeotropic anchoring, complex textures arise, which resemble labyrinthine patterns built on the connections of the so-called cholesteric fingers. Near the winding/unwinding transition, we proposed a minimal phenomenological model that accounts for the first-order type transition and the symmetries in the system. At this transition, localized cholesteric fingers suffer a tip-splitting instability and the merging of pointed tips. We discuss the emergence of cholesteric labyrinths using experimental, analytical, and numerical techniques.