A simple scheme to realize the Rice-Mele model in acoustic system
Abstract
The Rice-Mele (RM) model, as a paradigmatic extension of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) chain, plays a pivotal role in understanding topological phases and quantized adiabatic transport in one-dimensional systems. Its realization in acoustic systems, however, has been hindered by the need for simultaneous precise modulation of on-site potentials and couplings. In this work, we demonstrate a method to linearly tune on-site potentials and couplings, thus realizing an acoustic Rice-Mele model. During parameter evolution, the system exhibits a Thouless pump, with the acoustic field distribution adiabatically shifting from the left edge through the bulk to the right edge, fully consistent with tight-binding model predictions. Moreover, the strategy of leveraging geometric parameters to linearly and precisely control on-site potentials and couplings is highly effective and universal for designing acoustic metamaterials, and it can be extended to other classical wave systems.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2603.02932,
title = {A simple scheme to realize the Rice-Mele model in acoustic system},
author = {Tianzhi Xia and Xiying Fan and Qi Chen and Yuanlei Zhang and Zhe Li},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2603.02932},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
10 pages, 4 figures, article in press (Chinese Physics B). https://doi.org/10.1088/1674-1056/ae3473. v2: Added references[17-19] to acknowledge the prior work on shift currents