Topological atomic spinwave lattices by dissipative couplings

Abstract

Recent experimental advance in creating dissipative couplings provides a new route for engineering exotic lattice systems and exploring topological dissipation. Using the spatial lattice of atomic spinwaves in a vacuum vapor cell, where purely dissipative couplings arise from diffusion of atoms, we experimentally realize a dissipative version of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model. We construct the dissipation spectrum of the topological or trivial lattices via electromagnetically-induced-transparency (EIT) spectroscopy. The topological dissipation spectrum is found to exhibit edge modes within a dissipative gap. We validate chiral symmetry of the dissipative SSH couplings, and also probe topological features of the generalized dissipative SSH model. This work paves the way for realizing non-Hermitian topological quantum optics via dissipative couplings.