Topological zero modes and bounded modes at smooth domain walls: Exact solutions and dualities

Abstract

Topology describes global quantities invariant under continuous deformations, such as the number of elementary excitations at a phase boundary, without detailing specifics. Conversely, differential laws are needed to understand the physical properties of these excitations, such as their localization and spatial behavior. For instance, topology mandates the existence of solitonic zero-energy modes at the domain walls between topologically inequivalent phases in topological insulators and superconductors. However, the spatial dependence of these modes is only known in the idealized (and unrealistic) case of a sharp domain wall. Here, we find the analytical solutions of these zero-modes by assuming a smooth and exponentially-confined domain wall. This allows us to characterize the zero-modes using a few length scales: the domain wall width, the exponential decay length, and oscillation wavelength. These quantities define distinct regimes: featureless modes with "no hair" at sharp domain walls, and nonfeatureless modes at smooth domain walls, respectively, with "short hair", i.e., featureless at long distances, and "long hair", i.e., nonfeatureless at all length scales. We thus establish a universal relation between the bulk excitation gap, decay rate, and oscillation momentum of the zero modes, which quantifies the bulk-boundary correspondence in terms of experimentally measurable physical quantities. Additionally, we reveal an unexpected duality between topological zero modes and Shockley modes, unifying the understanding of topologically-protected and nontopological boundary modes. These findings shed some new light on the localization properties of edge modes in topological insulators and Majorana zero modes in topological superconductors and on the differences and similarities between topological and nontopological zero modes in these systems.