Fractional solitons in non-Euclidian elastic plates

Abstract

We show that minimal-surface non-Euclidean elastic plates share the same low-energy effective theory as Haldane's dimerized quantum spin chain. As a result, such elastic plates support fractional excitations, which take the form of charge-$1/2$ solitons between degenerate states of the plates, in strong analogy to their quantum counterpart. These fractional solitons exhibit properties similar to fractional excitations in quantum fractional topological states, including deconfinement and braiding, as well as unique new features such as holographic properties and diode-like nonlinear response, demonstrating great potentials for applications as mechanical metamaterials.