近日，美国宾夕法尼亚大学Feng, Liang团队提出了杂化伪自旋的共传播光子拓扑界面态。2026年2月2日，《自然—物理学》杂志发表了这一成果。

量子自旋霍尔系统中的拓扑界面态具有自旋-动量锁定特性，可实现各自旋分量的鲁棒单向传输。传统上，此类界面在每个传输方向上仅支持单个拓扑态，这一限制阻碍了多通道信号切换等应用的发展。

研究组在光子拓扑绝缘体系统中展示了同向传播的拓扑界面态。这一现象通过两个拓扑结构相同的畴之间界面处发生的杂化赝自旋翻转耦合机制实现。该耦合机制促进了功率传输与模式切换，且继承了两个畴中本征态所具有的拓扑保护特性。引入光学增益后，即使在存在几何缺陷的情况下，系统仍能实现灵活的切换功能。该研究为多通道拓扑光子学提供了一种新策略，有望应用于光子集成电路中的光传播调控。

附：英文原文

Title: Co-propagating photonic topological interface states with hybridized pseudo-spins

Author: Feng, Xilin, Wu, Tianwei, Ge, Li, Feng, Liang

Issue&Volume: 2026-02-02

Abstract: Topological interface states in quantum spin Hall systems, which are characterized by spin–momentum locking, enable robust unidirectional propagation for each spin component. Conventionally, such interfaces support only a single topological state in each propagation direction. This limitation impedes applications, such as those requiring multichannel signal switching. Here we demonstrate co-propagating topological interface states in a photonic topological insulator system. This is enabled by a hybridized pseudo-spin-flipping coupling mechanism that occurs across the interface between two topologically identical domains. The coupling mechanism facilitates power transfer and mode switching, which inherit the topological protection of the underlying states in each domain. The incorporation of optical gain further activates flexible switching, even in the presence of geometric defects. Our work introduces a strategy for multichannel topological photonics that could control light propagation in photonic integrated circuits.

DOI: 10.1038/s41567-026-03172-z

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-026-03172-z