Observation of Higher-Order Topological States in Acoustic Twisted Moir\'e Superlattice

Abstract

Twisted moir\'e superlattices (TMSs) are fascinating materials with exotic physical properties. Despite tremendous studies on electronic, photonic and phononic TMSs, it has never been witnessed that TMSs can exhibit higher-order band topology. Here, we report on the experimental observation of higher-order topological states in acoustic TMSs. By introducing moir\'e twisting in bilayer honeycomb lattices of coupled acoustic resonators, we find a regime with designed interlayer couplings where a sizable band gap with higher-order topology emerges. This higher-order topological phase host unique topological edge and corner states, which can be understood via the Wannier centers of the acoustic Bloch bands below the band gap. We confirm experimentally the higher-order band topology by characterizing the edge and corner states using acoustic pump-probe measurements. With complementary theory and experiments, our study opens a pathway toward band topology in TMSs.