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arXiv:0708.0631 · Europhysics Letters (EPL)

An exactly soluble model with tunable p -wave paired fermion ground states

Yue Yu, Ziqiang Wang

Published Nov 25, 2008• 24 citations
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Abstract

Motivated by the work of Kitaev, we construct an exactly soluble spin-½ model on a honeycomb lattice whose ground states are identical to Δ 1 x p x +Δ 1 y p y + i (Δ 2 x p x +Δ 2 y p y )-wave paired fermions on a square lattice, with tunable paring order parameters. We derive a universal phase diagram for this general p -wave theory which contains a gapped A-phase and a topologically non-trivial B-phase. We show that the gapless condition in the B-phase is governed by a generalized inversion (G-inversion) symmetry under p x ↔ (Δ 1 y / Δ 1 x ) p y . The G-inversion symmetric gapless B-phase near the phase boundaries is described by (1+1)-dimensional gapless Majorana fermions in the asymptotic long-wavelength limit, i.e. the c =1/2 conformal field theory. The gapped B-phase has G-inversion symmetry breaking and is the weak pairing phase described by the Moore-Read Pfaffian. We show that in the gapped B-phase, vortex pair excitations are separated from the ground state by a finite energy gap.

DOI
10.1209/0295-5075/84/57002

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Motivated by the work of Kitaev, we construct an exactly soluble spin-½ model on a honeycomb lattice whose ground states are identical to Δ 1 x p x +Δ 1 y p y + i (Δ 2 x p x +Δ 2 y p y )-wave paired fermions on a square lattice, with tunable paring order parameters. We derive a universal phase diagram for this general p -wave theory which contains a gapped A-phase and a topologically non-trivial B-phase. We show that the gapless condition in the B-phase is governed by a generalized inversion (G-inversion) symmetry under p x ↔ (Δ 1 y / Δ 1 x ) p y . The G-inversion symmetric gapless B-phase near the phase boundaries is described by (1+1)-dimensional gapless Majorana fermions in the asymptotic long-wavelength limit, i.e. the c =1/2 conformal field theory. The gapped B-phase has G-inversion symmetry breaking and is the weak pairing phase described by the Moore-Read Pfaffian. We show that in the gapped B-phase, vortex pair excitations are separated from the ground state by a finite energy gap.
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Phase diagram of a Hubbard model for Majorana fermions on the honeycomb lattice is explored using a combination of field theory, renormalization group, and mean-field arguments, as well as exact numerical diagonalization. Unlike the previously studied versions of the model we find that even weak interactions break symmetries and lead to interesting topological phases. We establish two topologically nontrivial phases at weak coupling, one gapped with chiral edge modes and the other gapless with antichiral edge modes. At strong coupling a mapping onto a novel frustrated spin-12\frac{1}{2}21​ model suggests a highly entangled spin liquid ground state.
We study the spin-1/21/21/2 Kitaev-Heisenberg model on the square-hexagon-dodecagon lattice with a symmetry-preserving tri-coloring of the Kitaev exchanges. We focus on two cases: (i) the pure Kitaev model with anisotropic exchanges and (ii) the Kitaev-Heisenberg model with isotropic Kitaev exchange. In the absence of Heisenberg interactions, we use the standard mapping of the Kitaev model onto a quadratic Majorana-fermion problem in a Z2\mathbb{Z}_2Z2​ gauge field. We find a gapped energy spectrum throughout the positive-coupling phase diagram, except at a single point where the twofold-degenerate energy bands form a Dirac cone. This unique gapped region corresponds to a toric code phase. However, depending on the couplings, vortex excitations on square, hexagonal, and dodecagonal plaquettes realize three distinct relative assignments to the eee and mmm anyons. We determine these relative assignments from the physical fermion parity of the vortex sectors and locate their boundaries by tracking zero crossings of vortex-bound Majorana levels. For the isotropic Kitaev-Heisenberg model, we combine graph-based projected entangled-pair-state calculations, exact diagonalizations, and linear spin-wave theory to study the entire phase diagram. Apart from the toric code topological phases that are robust around the Kitaev limits, we obtain four collinear magnetically ordered phases that can be characterized by their local and relative orderings of hexagonal plaquettes. We also identify a special point at which the ground state is a product state.
We theoretically studied an exactly solvable gamma matrix generalization of the Kitaev spin model on the ruby lattice, which is a honeycomb lattice with 'expanded' vertices and links. We find that this model displays an exceptionally rich phase diagram that includes (i) gapless phases with stable spin Fermi surfaces, (ii) gapless phases with low-energy Dirac cones and quadratic band touching points and (iii) gapped phases with finite Chern numbers possessing the values ±4,±3,±2 and ±1. The model is then generalized to include Ising-like interactions that break the exact solvability of the model in a controlled manner. When these terms are dominant, they lead to a trivial Ising ordered phase which is shown to be adiabatically connected to a large coupling limit of the exactly solvable phase. In the limit where these interactions are weak, we treat them within mean-field theory and present the resulting phase diagrams. We discuss the nature of the transitions between various phases. Our results show the richness of possible ground states in closely related magnetic systems.
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Recent studies in the realization of Majorana fermion (MF) quasiparticles have focused on engineering topological superconductivity that derives from proximity effects of conventional superconductors and spin textures. We propose an effective model to create unpaired MFs at a honeycomb lattice edge by generalizing a two-dimensional topologically nontrivial Haldane model and introducing textured pairings. The core idea is to add both the spin-singlet and textured spin-triplet pairings to a pseudospin-state-dependent, time-reversal-symmetry (TRS) noninvariant honeycomb lattice, and to satisfy generalized ``sweet spot'' conditions as in the Kitaev chain model. Our model has a gapped superconducting phase and a gapless phase; either phase may have zero or nonzero topological winding numbers. The discriminant that distinguishes those two phases gives a measure of TRS breaking and may have more general implications. Effective Majorana zero modes arise at edges in distinct phases with different degrees of degeneracy. Our theoretical model motivates concepts, such as ``textured pairings'' and the ``strength'' of TRS breaking, that may play important roles in future implementation of MFs with cold atoms in optical lattices.