Solvable Topological Boundaries

The hallmark of topological phases of matter is the presence of robust boundary states. In this dissertation, a formalism is developed with which analytical solutions for these states can be straightforwardly obtained by making use of destructive interference, which is naturally present in a large family of lattice models. The validity of the solutions is independent of tight-binding parameters, and as such these lattices can be seen as a subset of solvable systems in the landscape of tight-binding models. The approach allows for a full control of the topological phase of the system as well as the dispersion and localization of the boundary states, which makes it possible to design lattice models possessing the desired topological phase from the bottom up. Further applications of this formalism can be found in the fields of higher-order topological phases—where boundary states localize to boundaries with a codimension larger than one—and of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians—which is a fruitful approach to describe dissipation, and feature many exotic features, such as the possible breakdown of bulk-boundary correspondence—where the access to exact solutions has led to new insights.At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 7: Submitted. Paper 8: Manuscript.