Observation of robust corner states in photonic crystals without global symmetries
Abstract
Robust corner states have attracted considerable attention in recent years, particularly in photonic systems. They are typically realized in second-order topological insulators, including shrunken-expanded lattices and breathing Kagome lattices, where global symmetries are essential in their formation. This reliance on symmetry, however, can make these states highly sensitive to structural disorder. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a class of robust corner states in photonic crystals that require neither global symmetry nor nontrivial topology. By locally tailoring the corner geometry of an otherwise topologically trivial structure, we create strongly localized modes that remain stable under both position and radius disorder. These states are not accidental; rather they originate from a pair of Dirac points in the bulk band structure. Geometric tuning shifts the flatband edge states connecting the Dirac points into an otherwise trivial bandgap, thereby inducing strongly localized corner states. Our findings uncover a previously overlooked class of symmetry-independent, disorder-resilient corner states, extend robust localization beyond conventional topological protection, and provide a route toward light localization in all-dielectric photonic systems.
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BibTeX
@misc{ji2026observation,
title = {{Observation of robust corner states in photonic crystals without global symmetries}},
author = {Zitao Ji and Jianfeng Chen and Yidong Zheng and Zhaogang Dong and Zhi-Yuan Li},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.12062},
eprint = {2610.12062},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.12062},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Observation of robust corner states in photonic crystals without global symmetries
AU - Zitao Ji
AU - Jianfeng Chen
AU - Yidong Zheng
AU - Zhaogang Dong
AU - Zhi-Yuan Li
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/08
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.12062
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.12062
AB - Robust corner states have attracted considerable attention in recent years, particularly in photonic systems. They are typically realized in second-order topological insulators, including shrunken-expanded lattices and breathing Kagome lattices, where global symmetries are essential in their formation. This reliance on symmetry, however, can make these states highly sensitive to structural disorder. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a class of robust corner states in photonic crystals that require neither global symmetry nor nontrivial topology. By locally tailoring the corner geometry of an otherwise topologically trivial structure, we create strongly localized modes that remain stable under both position and radius disorder. These states are not accidental; rather they originate from a pair of Dirac points in the bulk band structure. Geometric tuning shifts the flatband edge states connecting the Dirac points into an otherwise trivial bandgap, thereby inducing strongly localized corner states. Our findings uncover a previously overlooked class of symmetry-independent, disorder-resilient corner states, extend robust localization beyond conventional topological protection, and provide a route toward light localization in all-dielectric photonic systems.
ER -