Hidden-symmetry-enforced nexus points of nodal lines in layer-stacked dielectric photonic crystals

It was recently demonstrated that the connectivities of bands emerging from zero frequency in dielectric photonic crystals are distinct from their electronic counterparts with the same space groups. We discover that in an AB-layer-stacked photonic crystal composed of anisotropic dielectrics, the unique photonic band connectivity leads to a new kind of symmetry-enforced triply degenerate points at the nexuses of two nodal rings and a Kramers-like nodal line. The emergence and intersection of the line nodes are guaranteed by a generalized 1/4-period screw rotation symmetry of Maxwell's equations. The bands with a constant k _z and iso-frequency surfaces near a nexus point both disperse as a spin-1 Dirac-like cone, giving rise to exotic transport features of light at the nexus point. We show that spin-1 conical diffraction occurs at the nexus point, which can be used to manipulate the charges of optical vortices. Our work reveals that Maxwell's equations can have hidden symmetries induced by the fractional periodicity of the material tensor components and hence paves the way to finding novel topological nodal structures unique to photonic systems.

Monopoles and fractional vortices in chiral superconductors

I discuss two exotic objects that must be experimentally identified in chiral superfluids and superconductors. These are (i) the vortex with a fractional quantum number (N = 1/2 in chiral superfluids, and N = 1/2 and N = 1/4 in chiral superconductors), which plays the part of the Alice string in relativistic theories and (ii) the hedgehog in the;l field, which is the counterpart of the Dirac magnetic monopole. These objects of different dimensions are topologically connected. They form the combined object that is called a nexus in relativistic theories. In chiral superconductors, the nexus has magnetic charge emanating radially from the hedgehog, whereas the half-quantum vortices play the part of the Dirac string. Each half-quantum vortex supplies the fractional magnetic flux to the hedgehog, representing 1/4 of the "conventional" Dirac string. I discuss the topological interaction of the superconductor's nexus with the 't Hooft-Polyakov magnetic monopole, which can exist in Grand Unified Theories. The monopole and the hedgehog with the same magnetic charge are topologically confined by a piece of the Abrikosov vortex. Such confinement makes the nexus a natural trap for the magnetic monopole. Other properties of half-quantum vortices and monopoles are discussed as well, including fermion zero modes.