Quadrupole Insulator without Corner States in the Energy Spectrum

Abstract: The quadrupole insulator is a well-known instance of higher-order topological insulators in two dimensions, which possesses midgap corner states in both the energy spectrum and entanglement spectrum. Here, by constructing and exploring a model Hamiltonian under a staggered $\mathbb{Z}_2$ gauge field that respects momentum-glide reflection symmetries, we surprisingly find a quadrupole insulator that lacks zero-energy corner modes in its energy spectrum, despite possessing a nonzero quadrupole moment. Remarkably, the existence of midgap corner modes is found in the entanglement spectrum. Since these midgap states cannot be continuously eliminated, the quadrupole insulator cannot be continuously transformed into a trivial topological insulator, thereby confirming its topological nature. We show that the breakdown of the correspondence between the energy spectrum and entanglement spectrum occurs due to the closure of the edge energy gap when the Hamiltonian is flattened. Finally, we present a model that demonstrates an insulator with corner modes in the energy spectrum even in the absence of the quadrupole moment. In this phase, the entanglement spectrum does not display any midgap states. The results suggest that the bulk-edge correspondence of quadrupole insulators generally manifests in the entanglement spectrum rather than the energy spectrum.