Topologically non-trivial Floquet band structure in a system undergoing photonic transitions in the ultra-strong coupling regime

Abstract: We consider a system of dynamically-modulated photonic resonator lattice undergoing photonic transition, and show that in the ultra-strong coupling regime such a lattice can exhibit non-trivial topological properties, including topologically non-trivial band gaps, and the associated topologically-robust one-way edge states. Compared with the same system operating in the regime where the rotating wave approximation is valid, operating the system in the ultra-strong coupling regime results in one-way edge modes that has a larger bandwidth, and is less susceptible to loss. Also, in the ultra-strong coupling regime, the system undergoes a topological insulator-to-metal phase transition as one varies the modulation strength. This phase transition has no counter part in systems satisfying the rotating wave approximation, and its nature is directly related to the non-trivial topology of the quasi-energy space.