Witnessing edge modes in trimerized circuit quantum electrodyamic lattice

Abstract

We propose a scheme to investigate and witness edge modes of general one-dimensional (1D) photonic trimers in a circuit quantum electrodynamic (QED) lattice. These in-gap edge modes are strictly and analytically solved and the criteria for their emergence are indicated respectively. Moreover, the energy spectrum of the system shows two different regimes characterized by a discrepancy in the number of edge modes. Specifically, while there are always a couple of edge modes only present at one single boundary in both the regimes, one of the regimes also shows another pair of edge modes localized on the opposite boundary. Furthermore, these edge modes are witnessed with the aid of continuous-time quantum walks and average photon number measurements. Our scheme provides a comprehensive method for studying the edge modes of matter.