Square-root Floquet topological phases and time crystals

Periodically driven (Floquet) phases are attractive due to their ability to host unique physical phenomena with no static counterparts. We propose a general approach in nontrivially devising a square-root version of existing Floquet phases, applicable both in noninteracting and in interacting setting. The resulting systems are found to yield richer physics that is otherwise absent in the original counterparts and is robust against parameter imperfection. These include the emergence of Floquet topological superconductors with arbitrarily many zero, $\ensuremath{\pi}$, and $\ensuremath{\pi}/2$ edge modes, as well as $4T$-period Floquet time crystals in disordered and disorder-free systems ($T$ being the driving period). Remarkably, our approach can be repeated indefinitely to obtain a ${2}^{n}\mathrm{th}$-root version of any periodically driven system, thus, allowing for the discovery and systematic construction of exotic Floquet phases.