Near-Field Imaging and Time-Domain Dynamics of Photonic Topological Edge States in Plasmonic Nanochains

Abstract

Time-domain dynamic evolution properties of topological states play an important role in both fundamental physics study and practical applications of topological photonics. However, owing to the absence of available ultrafast time-domain dynamic characterization methods, studies have mostly focused on the frequency-domain-based properties, and there are few reports demonstrating the time-domain-based properties. Here, we measured the dynamic near-field responses of plasmonic topological structures of gold nanochains with the configuration of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model by using ultrahigh spatial-temporal resolution photoemission electron microscopy. The dephasing time of plasmonic topological edge states increases with increasing the bulk lattice number that has a threshold requirement and finally reaches saturation. We directly revealed through simulation that there is a transient bulk state in the evolution of topological edge states, that is, the energy undergoes relaxation from oscillation between the bulk lattice and the edge. This work shows a new perspective of time-domain dynamic topological photonics.