We give a topological classification of quantum walks on an infinite 1D lattice, which obey one of the discrete symmetry groups of the tenfold way, have a gap around some eigenvalues at symmetry protected points, and satisfy a mild locality condition. No translation invariance is assumed. The classification is parameterized by three indices, taking values in a group, which is either trivial, the group of integers, or the group of integers modulo 2, depending on the type of symmetry. The classification is complete in the sense that two walks have the same indices if and only if they can be connected by a norm continuous path along which all the mentioned properties remain valid. Of the three indices, two are related to the asymptotic behaviour far to the right and far to the left, respectively. These are also stable under compact perturbations. The third index is sensitive to those compact perturbations which cannot be contracted to a trivial one. The results apply to the Hamiltonian case as well. In this case all compact perturbations can be contracted, so the third index is not defined. Our classification extends the one known in the translation invariant case, where the asymptotic right and left indices add up to zero, and the third one vanishes, leaving effectively only one independent index. When two translationally invariant bulks with distinct indices are joined, the left and right asymptotic indices of the joined walk are thereby fixed, and there must be eigenvalues at 1 or −1 (bulk-boundary correspondence). Their location is governed by the third index. We also discuss how the theory applies to finite lattices, with suitable homogeneity assumptions.

We outline a theory of symmetry protected topological phases of one-dimensional quantum walks. We assume spectral gaps around the symmetry-distinguished points +1 and -1, in which only discrete eigenvalues are allowed. The phase classification by integer or binary indices extends the classification known for translation invariant systems in terms of their band structure. However, our theory requires no translation invariance whatsoever, and the indices we define in this general setting are invariant under arbitrary symmetric local perturbations, even those that cannot be continuously contracted to the identity. More precisely we define two indices for every walk, characterizing the behavior far to the right and far to the left, respectively. Their sum is a lower bound on the number of eigenstates at +1 and -1. For a translation invariant system the indices add up to zero, so one of them already characterizes the phase. By joining two bulk phases with different indices we get a walk in which the right and left indices no longer cancel, so the theory predicts bound states at +1 or -1. This is a rigorous statement of bulk-edge correspondence. The results also apply to the Hamiltonian case with a single gap at zero.

We provide a classification of translation invariant one-dimensional quantum walks with respect to continuous deformations preserving unitarity, locality, translation invariance, a gap condition, and some symmetry of the tenfold way. The classification largely matches the one recently obtained (arXiv:1611.04439) for a similar setting leaving out translation invariance. However, the translation invariant case has some finer distinctions, because some walks may be connected only by breaking translation invariance along the way, retaining only invariance by an even number of sites. Similarly, if walks are considered equivalent when they differ only by adding a trivial walk, i.e., one that allows no jumps between cells, then the classification collapses also to the general one. The indices of the general classification can be computed in practice only for walks closely related to some translation invariant ones. We prove a completed collection of simple formulas in terms of winding numbers of band structures covering all symmetry types. Furthermore, we determine the strength of the locality conditions, and show that the continuity of the band structure, which is a minimal requirement for topological classifications in terms of winding numbers to make sense, implies the compactness of the commutator of the walk with a half-space projection, a condition which was also the basis of the general theory. In order to apply the theory to the joining of large but finite bulk pieces, one needs to determine the asymptotic behaviour of a stationary Schrödinger equation. We show exponential behaviour, and give a practical method for computing the decay constants.

We study topological phenomena of quantum walks by implementing a novel protocol that extends the range of accessible properties to the eigenvalues of the walk operator. To this end, we experimentally realise for the first time a split-step quantum walk with decoupling, which allows for investigating the effect of a bulk-boundary while realising only a single bulk configuration. The experimental platform is implemented with the well-established time-multiplexing architecture based on fibre-loops and coherent input states. The symmetry protected edge states are approximated with high similarities and we read-out the phase relative to a reference for all modes. In this way we observe eigenvalues which are distinguished by the presence or absence of sign flips between steps. Furthermore, the results show that investigating a bulk-boundary with a single bulk is experimentally feasible when decoupling the walk beforehand.

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