Higher-Order Topological In-Bulk Corner State in Pure Diffusion Systems

Abstract: Compared with conventional topological insulator that carries topological state at its boundaries, the higher-order topological insulator exhibits lower-dimensional gapless boundary states at its corners and hinges. Leveraging the form similarity between Schrodinger equation and diffusion equation, researches on higher-order topological insulators have been extended from condensed matter physics to thermal diffusion. Unfortunately, all the corner states of thermal higher-order topological insulator reside within the band gap. Another kind of corner state, which is embedded in the bulk states, has not been realized in pure diffusion systems so far. Here, we construct higher-dimensional Su-Schrieffer-Heeger models based on sphere-rod structure to elucidate these corner states, which we term ``in-bulk corner states". Due to the anti-Hermitian properties of diffusive Hamiltonian, we investigate the thermal behaviour of these corner states through theoretical calculation, simulation, and experiment. Furthermore, we study the different thermal behaviours of in-bulk corner state and in-gap corner state. Our results would open a different gate for diffusive topological states and provide a distinct application for efficient heat dissipation.