Interaction-Induced Topological Transport of Extended Doublons

Abstract

Topological boundary states are a defining feature of topological systems, providing robust transport protected against perturbations. While such states are commonly engineered in non-interacting systems, how to realize interaction-induced topological states composed of only few particles has remained experimentally unexplored thus far. In this work, we realize such states using a driven photonic lattice as a linear analogue platform. We observe the formation of spatially extended bound states of two interacting particles, in which the particles remain correlated while occupying different lattice sites. At discrete values of the local interaction, these bound states support robust transport governed by a topological phase arising from drive-induced correlated hopping. Our results establish an experimentally accessible route to interaction-driven topology beyond single-particle physics and provide a versatile framework for exploring correlated few-particle phenomena across different physical platforms.