Dimerization, trimerization and quantum pumping

• The work systematically shows the connection of one-dimensional topological models and quantum pumping.
• The mechanism of trimerization generated by the optical superlattice is explained.
• The quantum pumping process is demonstrated by the instantaneous energy spectrum and local current.

We study one-dimensional topological models with dimerization and trimerization and show that these models can be generated using interaction or optical superlattice. The topological properties of these models are demonstrated by the appearance of edge states and the mechanism of dimerization and trimerization is analyzed. Then we show that a quantum pumping process can be constructed based on each one-dimensional topological model. The quantum pumping process is explicitly demonstrated by the instantaneous energy spectrum and local current. The result shows that the pumping is assisted by the gapless states connecting the bands and one charge is pumped during a cycle, which also defines a nonzero Chern number. Our study systematically shows the connection of one-dimensional topological models and quantum pumping, and is useful for the experimental studies on topological phases in optical lattices and photonic quasicrystals.