Out of equilibrium higher-order topological insulator: Floquet engineering and quench dynamics

Higher order topological (HOT) states, hosting topologically protected modes on lower-dimensional boundaries, such as hinges and corners, have recently extended the realm of the static topological phases. We here demonstrate the possibility of realizing a two-dimensional \emph{Floquet} second-order topological insulator, featuring corner localized zero quasienergy modes and characterized by quantized Floquet qudrupolar moment $Q^{\rm Flq}_{xy}=0.5$, by periodically kicking a quantum spin Hall insulator (QSHI) with a discrete four-fold ($C_4$) and time-reversal (${\mathcal T}$) symmetry breaking mass perturbation. We also analyze the dynamics of a corner mode after a sudden quench, when the $C_4$ and ${\mathcal T}$ symmetry breaking perturbation is switched off, and find that the corresponding survival probability displays periodic appearances of complete, partial and no revival for long time, encoding the signature of corner modes in a QSHI. Our protocol is sufficiently general to explore the territory of dynamical HOT phases in insulators (electrical and thermal) and gapless systems.