Manipulation of edge states in microwave artificial graphene

Abstract. Edge states are the main ingredient to understand transport properties of graphene nanoribbons. We study experimentally the existence and the internal structure of edge states under uniaxial strain of the three main edges: zigzag, bearded, and armchair. The experiments are performed on artificial microwave graphene flakes, where the wavefunctions are obtained by direct imaging. We show that uniaxial strain can be used to manipulate the edge states: A single parameter controls their existence and their spatial extension into the ribbon. By combining tight-binding approach and topological arguments, we provide accurate description of our experimental findings. A new type of zero-energy states appearing at the intersection of two edges, namely corner states, are also observed and discussed