Symmetry-protected topological corner modes in a periodically driven interacting spin lattice

Periodic driving has a longstanding reputation for generating exotic phases of matter with no static counterparts. This work explores the interplay between periodic driving, interaction effects, and Z2 symmetry that leads to the emergence of Floquet symmetry protected second-order topological phases in a simple but insightful two-dimensional spin-1/2 lattice. Through a combination of analytical and numerical treatments, we verify the formation of corner-localized 0 and π modes, i.e., Z2 symmetry broken operators that commute and anticommute, respectively, with the one-period time evolution operator, as well as establish the topological nature of these modes by demonstrating their presence over a wide range of parameter values and explicitly deriving their associated topological invariants under special conditions. Finally, we propose a means to detect the signature of such modes in experiments, and we discuss the effect of imperfections.