ABSTRACT
Topology is a mathematical term to describe the shape of objects, such as the sphere, torus, and even coffee mug. The main idea is to count the number of ‘holes’ in the geometrical objects, which remains unchanged by smooth deformation. It then becomes more interesting after this idea has been utilized to characterize materials, i.e., the number of holes becomes the so-called topological invariant, and importantly, the property of being robust against deformation is inherited. In this talk, I will firstly show how the geometrical concept is connected to materials. I will then give a few examples on how topological invariants can be implemented with metamaterials. I will further show that the topological invariants can manifest as matrices that lead to non-Abelian characteristics.
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Wang received his Ph.D. in 2018 from Tianjin University, and he was a visiting student at the University of Birmingham during 2015-2017. Dr. Wang did his postdoctoral research at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) from 2019 to 2023, and he then joined the University of Southampton as an Anniversary Fellow in 2023. Dr. Wang’s research focuses on topological photonics and metamaterials. His work leads to the observation of the first photonic magnetic Weyl point, the super-imaging effect with topological metamaterials, and the unveiling of non-Abelian band topology in general optics.
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