Scientists Achieve Major Breakthrough in Preserving Integrity of Sound Waves
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Scientists achieve major breakthrough in preserving integrity of sound waves:
In a breakthrough for physics and engineering, researchers from the Photonics Initiative at the Advanced Science Research Center at The Graduate Center, CUNY (CUNY ASRC) and from Georgia Tech have presented the first demonstration of topological order based on time modulations. This advancement allows the researchers to propagate sound waves along the boundaries of topological metamaterials without the risk of waves traveling backwards or being thwarted by material defects.
The new findings, which appear in the journal Science Advances, will pave the way for cheaper, lighter devices that use less battery power, and which can function in harsh or hazardous environments. Andrea Alu, founding director of the CUNY ASRC Photonics Initiative and Professor of Physics at The Graduate Center, CUNY, and postdoctoral research associate Xiang Ni were authors on the paper, together with Amir Ardabi and Michael Leamy from Georgia Tech.
[...] "The result is a breakthrough for topological physics, as we have been able to show topological order emerging from time variations, which is different, and more advantageous, than the large body of work on topological acoustics based on geometrical asymmetries," Alu said. "Previous approaches inherently required the presence of a backward channel through which sound could be reflected, which inherently limited their topological protection. With time modulations we can suppress backward propagation and provide strong topological protection."
[...] As a bonus, their design allows for programmability. This means they can guide waves along a variety of different reconfigurable paths, with minimal loss. Ultrasound imaging, sonar, and electronic systems that use surface acoustic wave technology could all benefit from this advance, Alu said.
Journal Reference:
Amir Darabi, Xiang Ni, Michael Leamy, et al. Reconfigurable Floquet elastodynamic topological insulator based on synthetic angular momentum bias [open], Science Advances (DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba8656)
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