Topological behaviour spotted in quasicrystals

A surprising connection between quasicrystals and topological insulators has been demonstrated in the lab by physicists in Israel. The team has studied how light propagates through a 1D quasicrystal and found that it is similar to how electrons conduct in a 2D topological insulator. The surprising result suggests that quasicrystals could be used to create systems with dimensionality higher than 3D – something that could be useful both in studying fundamental physics and creating materials with new and useful properties.