Nontrivial low-frequency topological waves at the boundary of a magnetized plasma

Abstract

The topological properties of a magnetized cold gaseous plasma have recently been explored and the existence of topologically protected edge states has been established. These studies are limited to a magnetized plasma, where ions are infinitely massive and provide a neutralizing background. When ion motion is included, a new class of low-frequency unidirectional topological waves (TSPWs) emerges in the dispersion relation. The group velocity of these waves is in the opposite direction of high-frequency topological electron waves for a given magnetic field direction. The Berry curvature and Chern numbers are calculated to establish nontrivial topological phase. Additionally, we demonstrate a unique characteristic of ion dominated TSPW propagating above the ion cyclotron frequency: their collisionless damping via coupling to the continuum of lower-hybrid resonant modes localized inside a smooth plasma-vacuum interface. These finding broadens the possible applications and observations of these exotic excitations in space and laboratory plasmas.