Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Hu, Haiping
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.03325
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866918482835144704
author Hu, Haiping
author_facet Hu, Haiping
contents Time boundaries (TBs), temporal analogues of spatial interfaces, offer a powerful handle to engineer quantum systems. However, unlike the well-developed stationary scattering theory at spatial interfaces, a unified framework for quantum scattering at TBs has been missing. Here we develop a Bloch-wave scattering theory for TBs by introducing a temporal scattering matrix $S$ between incoming and outgoing Bloch channels. We uncover topological resonant transmissions (RTs) -- poles of $S$ that yield perfect interband transmission and dynamical freezing of the quantum state. We establish a bulk-time-boundary correspondence for all integer Altland-Zirnbauer classes: the number of RTs equals the jump of the bulk topological invariant across the TB. In one dimension this gives a time-domain Levinson's theorem. A topological analysis further reveals a striking dimensional dependence. In even dimensions RTs are robust to temporal modulations and disorder, whereas in odd dimensions they can be destroyed by dynamical symmetry breaking. Our work places temporal and spatial scattering on the same footing and opens new avenues for engineering and probing quantum dynamics.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_03325
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Time-boundary scattering and topological resonant transmissions
Hu, Haiping
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Quantum Gases
Quantum Physics
Time boundaries (TBs), temporal analogues of spatial interfaces, offer a powerful handle to engineer quantum systems. However, unlike the well-developed stationary scattering theory at spatial interfaces, a unified framework for quantum scattering at TBs has been missing. Here we develop a Bloch-wave scattering theory for TBs by introducing a temporal scattering matrix $S$ between incoming and outgoing Bloch channels. We uncover topological resonant transmissions (RTs) -- poles of $S$ that yield perfect interband transmission and dynamical freezing of the quantum state. We establish a bulk-time-boundary correspondence for all integer Altland-Zirnbauer classes: the number of RTs equals the jump of the bulk topological invariant across the TB. In one dimension this gives a time-domain Levinson's theorem. A topological analysis further reveals a striking dimensional dependence. In even dimensions RTs are robust to temporal modulations and disorder, whereas in odd dimensions they can be destroyed by dynamical symmetry breaking. Our work places temporal and spatial scattering on the same footing and opens new avenues for engineering and probing quantum dynamics.
title Time-boundary scattering and topological resonant transmissions
topic Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Quantum Gases
Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.03325