Screened topological plasmons in graphene plasmonic crystals

Abstract: We study topological effects in an one-dimensional plasmonic crystal formed by the screened acoustic plasmons emerging in a periodically modulated graphene sheet, placed on top of a metallic substrate. To this end, we develop the theory of quantization of screened plasmons, as appropriate for lossless graphene described by a Drude conductivity. By analyzing the resulting band structure, we show that the crystal sustains nontrivial topological bands, with quantized geometric phase. We further show that in a finite, open system, edge states appear within the band gap, which undergo a topological phase transition and merge with bulk states as the modulation increases. Our work provides a robust theoretical framework for the study of band structure and topology of layered media, and extends the possibilities for engineering two-dimensional materials with external modulation.