Topological edge modes in non-Hermitian plasmonic waveguide arrays

We investigate the topological edge modes of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in a non-Hermitian system composed of graphene pair arrays with alternating gain and loss. The topological edge modes emerge when two topologically distinct graphene arrays are connected. The gain and loss present in the system provide additional ways to control the propagation loss and field distributions of the topological edge modes. Moreover, the existence of the topological edge modes is related to the broken parity-time (PT) symmetry. We show the beam diffraction can be steered by tuning the chemical potential of graphene. Thanks to the strong confinement of SPPs, the topological edge modes can be squeezed into a lateral width of ~λ/70. We also show such modes can be realized in lossy graphene waveguides without gain. The study provides a promising approach to realizing robust light transport and optical switches on a deep-subwavelength scale.