Topological edge solitons and their stability in a nonlinear Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model

Abstract: We study continuations of topological edge states in the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model with on-site cubic (Kerr) nonlinearity, which is a 1D nonlinear photonic topological insulator (TI). Based on the topology of the underlying spatial dynamical system, we establish the existence of nonlinear edge states (edge solitons) for all positive energies in the topological band gap. We discover that these edge solitons are stable at any energy when the ratio between the weak and strong couplings is below a critical value. Above the critical coupling ratio, there are energy intervals where the edge solitons experience an oscillatory instability. Though our paper focuses on a photonic system, we also discuss the broader relevance of our methods and results to 1D nonlinear mechanical TIs.