Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1212.0863 · Physical Review B

Spin quantum Hall effects in featureless nonfractionalized spin-1 magnets

Yuan-Ming Lu, D. H. Lee

Published May 27, 2014• 22 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki state (or Haldane phase) in a spin-1 chain represents a large class of gapped topological paramagnets that host symmetry-protected gapless excitations on the boundary. In this work, we show how to realize this type of featureless spin-1 state on a generic two-dimensional lattice. These states have a gapped spectrum in the bulk, but they support gapless edge states protected by spin rotational symmetry along a certain direction, and they exhibit the spin quantum Hall effect. Using a fermion representation of integer spins, we show a concrete example of such spin-1 topological paramagnets on a kagome lattice, and we suggest a microscopic spin-1 Hamiltonian that may realize it.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.89.184417

Related papers

Symmetry-protected gapless Z2 spin liquids

Yuan-Ming Lu

Despite rapid progress in understanding gapped topological states, much less is known about gapless topological phases of matter, especially in strongly correlated electrons. In this work, we discuss a large class of robust gapless quantum spin liquids in frustrated magnets made of half-integer spins, which are described by gapless fermionic spinons coupled to dynamical ${\mathbb{Z}}_{2}$ gauge fields. Requiring $\text{U}(1)$ spin conservation, time-reversal, and certain space-group symmetries, we show that certain spinon symmetry fractionalization class necessarily leads to a gapless spectrum. These gapless excitations are stable against any perturbations, as long as the required symmetries are preserved. Applying these gapless criteria to spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ systems on square, triangular, and kagome lattices, we show that all gapped symmetric ${\mathbb{Z}}_{2}$ spin liquids in Abrikosov-fermion representation can also be realized in Schwinger-boson representation. This leads to 64 gapped ${\mathbb{Z}}_{2}$ spin liquids on square lattice, and 8 gapped states on both kagome and triangular lattices.

arXiv:1606.05652•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Mar 19, 2018•12 citations

Quantum antiferromagnetic Heisenberg half-odd-integer spin model as the entanglement Hamiltonian of the integer-spin Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki states

Wen-Jia Rao, Guang-Ming Zhang, Kun Yang

Applying a symmetric bulk bipartition to the one-dimensional Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki valence-bond solid (VBS) states for the integer spin-$S$ Haldane gapped phase, we can create an array of fractionalized spin-$S$/2 edge states with the super unit cell $l$ in the reduced bulk system, and the topological properties encoded in the VBS wave functions can be revealed. The entanglement Hamiltonian (EH) with even $l$ corresponds to the quantum antiferromagnetic Heisenberg spin-$S$/2 model. For the even integer spins, the EH still describes the Haldane gapped phase. For the odd integer spins, however, the EH just corresponds to the quantum antiferromagnetic Heisenberg half-odd integer-spin model with spinon excitations, characterizing the critical point separating the topological Haldane phase from the trivial gapped phase. Our results thus demonstrate that the topological bulk property not only determines its fractionalized edge states but also the quantum criticality associated with the topological phase, where the elementary excitations are precisely those fractionalized edge degrees of freedom confined in the bulk of the topological phase.

arXiv:1512.06550•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Mar 15, 2016•5 citations

Lieb-Schultz-Mattis theorem and its generalizations from the perspective of the symmetry-protected topological phase

Chao‐Ming Jian, Zhen Bi, Cenke Xu

We ask whether a local Hamiltonian with a featureless (fully gapped and nondegenerate) ground state could exist in certain quantum spin systems. We address this question by mapping the vicinity of certain quantum critical point (or gapless phase) of the $d$-dimensional spin system under study to the boundary of a $(d+1)$-dimensional bulk state, and the lattice symmetry of the spin system acts as an onsite symmetry in the field theory that describes both the selected critical point of the spin system and the corresponding boundary state of the $(d+1)$-dimensional bulk. If the symmetry action of the field theory is nonanomalous, i.e., the corresponding bulk state is a trivial state instead of a bosonic symmetry-protected topological (SPT) state, then a featureless ground state of the spin system is allowed; if the corresponding bulk state is indeed a nontrivial SPT state, then it likely excludes the existence of a featureless ground state of the spin system. From this perspective, we identify the spin systems with $\mathrm{SU}(N$) and $\mathrm{SO}(N$) symmetries on one-, two-, and three-dimensional lattices that permit a featureless ground state. We also verify our conclusions by other methods, including an explicit construction of these featureless spin states.

arXiv:1705.00012•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Feb 12, 2018•90 citations

Gapped symmetric edges of symmetry-protected topological phases

Yuan-Ming Lu, D. H. Lee

Symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases are gapped quantum phases which host symmetry-protected gapless edge excitations. On the other hand, the edge states can be gapped by spontaneously breaking symmetry. We show that topological defects on the symmetry-broken edge cannot proliferate due to their fractional statistics. A gapped symmetric boundary, however, can be achieved between an SPT phase and certain fractionalized phases by condensing the bound state of a topological defect and an anyon. We demonstrate this by two examples in two dimensions: an exactly solvable model for the boundary between a topological Ising paramagnet and the double-semion model, and a fermionic example about the quantum spin Hall edge. Such a hybrid structure containing both SPT phase and fractionalized phase generally support ground-state degeneracy on a torus.

arXiv:1311.1807•Physical Review B•May 19, 2014•22 citations

Topological Phase Transition and Z2 Index for S=1 Quantum Spin Chains

Hal Tasaki

We study S=1 quantum spin systems on the infinite chain with short ranged Hamiltonians that have a certain rotational and discrete symmetry. We define a Z_{2} index for any gapped unique ground state, and prove that it is invariant under a smooth deformation. By using the index, we provide the first rigorous proof of the existence of a "topological" phase transition, which cannot be characterized by any conventional order parameters, between the Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki (AKLT) model and trivial models. This rigorously establishes that the AKLT model is in a nontrivial symmetry protected topological phase.

arXiv:1804.04337•Physical Review Letters•Oct 5, 2018•30 citations

Symmetry-Protected Topological Haldane Phase on a Qudit Quantum Processor

Claire Edmunds, E. Rico, Íñigo Arrazola +4 more

Symmetry-protected topological phases have fundamentally changed our understanding of quantum matter. An archetypal example of such a quantum phase of matter is the Haldane phase, containing the spin-1 Heisenberg chain. The intrinsic quantum nature of such phases, however, often makes it challenging to study them using classical means. Here, we use trapped-ion qutrits to natively engineer spin-1 chains within the Haldane phase. Using a scalable deterministic procedure to prepare the Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki (AKLT) state within the Haldane phase, we study the topological features of this system on a qudit quantum processor. Notably, we verify the long-range string order of the state, despite its short-range correlations, and observe spin fractionalization of the physical spin-1 particles into effective qubits at the chain edges, a defining feature of this system. The native realization of Haldane physics on a qudit quantum processor and the scalable preparation procedures open the door to the efficient exploration of a wide range of systems beyond spin-1/2.

arXiv:2408.04702•PRX Quantum•Jun 11, 2025•13 citations
The Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki state (or Haldane phase) in a spin-1 chain represents a large class of gapped topological paramagnets that host symmetry-protected gapless excitations on the boundary. In this work, we show how to realize this type of featureless spin-1 state on a generic two-dimensional lattice. These states have a gapped spectrum in the bulk, but they support gapless edge states protected by spin rotational symmetry along a certain direction, and they exhibit the spin quantum Hall effect. Using a fermion representation of integer spins, we show a concrete example of such spin-1 topological paramagnets on a kagome lattice, and we suggest a microscopic spin-1 Hamiltonian that may realize it.
Despite rapid progress in understanding gapped topological states, much less is known about gapless topological phases of matter, especially in strongly correlated electrons. In this work, we discuss a large class of robust gapless quantum spin liquids in frustrated magnets made of half-integer spins, which are described by gapless fermionic spinons coupled to dynamical Z2{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}Z2​ gauge fields. Requiring U(1)\text{U}(1)U(1) spin conservation, time-reversal, and certain space-group symmetries, we show that certain spinon symmetry fractionalization class necessarily leads to a gapless spectrum. These gapless excitations are stable against any perturbations, as long as the required symmetries are preserved. Applying these gapless criteria to spin-12\frac{1}{2}21​ systems on square, triangular, and kagome lattices, we show that all gapped symmetric Z2{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}Z2​ spin liquids in Abrikosov-fermion representation can also be realized in Schwinger-boson representation. This leads to 64 gapped Z2{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}Z2​ spin liquids on square lattice, and 8 gapped states on both kagome and triangular lattices.
Applying a symmetric bulk bipartition to the one-dimensional Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki valence-bond solid (VBS) states for the integer spin-SSS Haldane gapped phase, we can create an array of fractionalized spin-SSS/2 edge states with the super unit cell lll in the reduced bulk system, and the topological properties encoded in the VBS wave functions can be revealed. The entanglement Hamiltonian (EH) with even lll corresponds to the quantum antiferromagnetic Heisenberg spin-SSS/2 model. For the even integer spins, the EH still describes the Haldane gapped phase. For the odd integer spins, however, the EH just corresponds to the quantum antiferromagnetic Heisenberg half-odd integer-spin model with spinon excitations, characterizing the critical point separating the topological Haldane phase from the trivial gapped phase. Our results thus demonstrate that the topological bulk property not only determines its fractionalized edge states but also the quantum criticality associated with the topological phase, where the elementary excitations are precisely those fractionalized edge degrees of freedom confined in the bulk of the topological phase.
We ask whether a local Hamiltonian with a featureless (fully gapped and nondegenerate) ground state could exist in certain quantum spin systems. We address this question by mapping the vicinity of certain quantum critical point (or gapless phase) of the ddd-dimensional spin system under study to the boundary of a (d+1)(d+1)(d+1)-dimensional bulk state, and the lattice symmetry of the spin system acts as an onsite symmetry in the field theory that describes both the selected critical point of the spin system and the corresponding boundary state of the (d+1)(d+1)(d+1)-dimensional bulk. If the symmetry action of the field theory is nonanomalous, i.e., the corresponding bulk state is a trivial state instead of a bosonic symmetry-protected topological (SPT) state, then a featureless ground state of the spin system is allowed; if the corresponding bulk state is indeed a nontrivial SPT state, then it likely excludes the existence of a featureless ground state of the spin system. From this perspective, we identify the spin systems with SU(N\mathrm{SU}(NSU(N) and SO(N\mathrm{SO}(NSO(N) symmetries on one-, two-, and three-dimensional lattices that permit a featureless ground state. We also verify our conclusions by other methods, including an explicit construction of these featureless spin states.
Symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases are gapped quantum phases which host symmetry-protected gapless edge excitations. On the other hand, the edge states can be gapped by spontaneously breaking symmetry. We show that topological defects on the symmetry-broken edge cannot proliferate due to their fractional statistics. A gapped symmetric boundary, however, can be achieved between an SPT phase and certain fractionalized phases by condensing the bound state of a topological defect and an anyon. We demonstrate this by two examples in two dimensions: an exactly solvable model for the boundary between a topological Ising paramagnet and the double-semion model, and a fermionic example about the quantum spin Hall edge. Such a hybrid structure containing both SPT phase and fractionalized phase generally support ground-state degeneracy on a torus.
We study S=1 quantum spin systems on the infinite chain with short ranged Hamiltonians that have a certain rotational and discrete symmetry. We define a Z_{2} index for any gapped unique ground state, and prove that it is invariant under a smooth deformation. By using the index, we provide the first rigorous proof of the existence of a "topological" phase transition, which cannot be characterized by any conventional order parameters, between the Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki (AKLT) model and trivial models. This rigorously establishes that the AKLT model is in a nontrivial symmetry protected topological phase.
Symmetry-protected topological phases have fundamentally changed our understanding of quantum matter. An archetypal example of such a quantum phase of matter is the Haldane phase, containing the spin-1 Heisenberg chain. The intrinsic quantum nature of such phases, however, often makes it challenging to study them using classical means. Here, we use trapped-ion qutrits to natively engineer spin-1 chains within the Haldane phase. Using a scalable deterministic procedure to prepare the Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki (AKLT) state within the Haldane phase, we study the topological features of this system on a qudit quantum processor. Notably, we verify the long-range string order of the state, despite its short-range correlations, and observe spin fractionalization of the physical spin-1 particles into effective qubits at the chain edges, a defining feature of this system. The native realization of Haldane physics on a qudit quantum processor and the scalable preparation procedures open the door to the efficient exploration of a wide range of systems beyond spin-1/2.