Higher-Order Topological Insulators via Momentum-Space Nonsymmorphic Symmetries

Abstract

<p>We theoretically construct a higher-order topological insulator (HOTI) on a Brillouin real projective plane enabled by momentum-space nonsymmorphic (𝐤−NS) symmetries from synthetic gauge fields. Two anicommutative 𝐤−NS glide reflections appear in a checkerboard 𝐙2 flux model, impose nonsymmorphic constraints on Berry curvature, and quantize bulk and Wannier-sector polarization nonlocally across different momenta. The model’s bulk exhibits an isotropic quadrupole phase diagram, where the transition appears intrinsically from bulk gap closure. The model hosts the simultaneous presence of intrinsic and extrinsic HOTI features: in a ribbon geometry where one pair of boundaries gets open, the edge termination can induce boundary-obstructed topological phase within the symmetry-protected topological phase due to the breaking of 𝐤−NS symmetry. At last, we present a concrete design for the real projective plane quadrupole insulator and show how to measure the momentum glide reflection based on acoustic resonator arrays. Our results shed light on HOTIs on deformed Brillouin manifolds via 𝐤−NS symmetries.<span> </span></p>