Direct measurement of acoustic spectral density and fractional topological charge

Abstract: Local density-of-states (LDOS) is a fundamental spectral property that plays a central role in various physical phenomena such as wave-matter interactions. Here, we report on the direct measurement of the LDOS of acoustic systems and derive from which the fractional topological number in an acoustic Su-Schrieffer-Heeger system. The acoustic LDOS is quantified here with a state-of-the-art technique through the measurement of the volume flow rate and the acoustic pressure with a local excitation-probe configuration. Based on this method, we study the acoustic Purcell effect and establish experimentally the important relation between the near-field LDOS and the far-field acoustic emission power. Moreover, we detect the LDOS in the one-dimensional acoustic Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model and observe the fractional topological number of the system. Our work unveils the important role of the LDOS in acoustic phenomena and paves the way toward characterizing and tailoring the LDOS in topological systems.