It is known that there is also a topological phase in the SSH coupled-spring system with the fixed-end boundary conditions. When this is the case, there would exist edge modes on its boundaries. In contrast, if the system satisfies the free-end boundary conditions, there is no edge mode, even if it is the topological phase. We show that by varying the force constant of the spring by the boundary in such a system, edge modes would generally appear independent of whether the bulk of the system is in the topological or trivial phases. Moreover, edge modes could exist even if the system satisfies the free-end boundary conditions.
Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures