Topological fractal braiding of non-Hermitian bands
Braiding is one of the oldest crafting techniques in human history, yet today it plays a key role across a wide range of scientific disciplines, from biology to physics. However, how fractal geometry interplays with non-Hermitian band braiding remains unexplored. Here, we bridge fractal physics and non-Hermitian topology by introducing topological fractal braiding, which can produce self-similar topological winding matrices. Furthermore, through tight-binding lattice model construction, we prove these fractal winding matrices govern non-Hermitian skin modes, yielding a scale-invariant skin effect where the ratio of left- to right-localized skin modes remains conserved through fractal iterations. We design and fabricate reconfigurable non-Hermitian topoelectrical circuits to experimentally reconstruct the fractal braiding of non-Hermitian bands, confirming our theory. Our work resolves how fractal geometry manifests in non-Hermitian band braiding and impacts skin effects, demonstrating scalable control of complex spectral topologies. While non-Hermitian physics and fractal geometry have been widely studied, their interplay in band braiding remains largely unexplored. The authors establish topological fractal braiding in non-Hermitian systems with scale-invariant skin effects, experimentally demonstrated using reconfigurable circuits.
Authors
- Weixuan Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2459-8134)
- Xiaoqi Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9229-1743)
- Wenhui Cao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6793-7824)
- Xiangdong Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7725-8814)
- X.C. Qin
Institutions
- Beijing Institute of Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Communications Physics
- Published
- 2025-09-30
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-025-02299-4
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Quantum Mechanics and Non-Hermitian Physics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.25
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- National Natural Science Foundation of China