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arXiv:1301.7449 · Science

Emergent Space-Time Supersymmetry at the Boundary of a Topological Phase

Tarun Grover, D. N. Sheng, Ashvin Vishwanath

Published Apr 4, 2014• 306 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

In contrast to ordinary symmetries, supersymmetry (SUSY) interchanges bosons and fermions. Originally proposed as a symmetry of our universe, it still awaits experimental verification. Here, we theoretically show that SUSY emerges naturally in condensed matter systems known as topological superconductors. We argue that the quantum phase transitions at the boundary of topological superconductors in both two and three dimensions display SUSY when probed at long distances and times. Experimental consequences include exact relations between quantities measured in disparate experiments and, in some cases, exact knowledge of the universal critical exponents. The topological surface states themselves may be interpreted as arising from spontaneously broken SUSY, indicating a deep relation between topological phases and SUSY.

DOI
10.1126/science.1248253

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In contrast to ordinary symmetries, supersymmetry (SUSY) interchanges bosons and fermions. Originally proposed as a symmetry of our universe, it still awaits experimental verification. Here, we theoretically show that SUSY emerges naturally in condensed matter systems known as topological superconductors. We argue that the quantum phase transitions at the boundary of topological superconductors in both two and three dimensions display SUSY when probed at long distances and times. Experimental consequences include exact relations between quantities measured in disparate experiments and, in some cases, exact knowledge of the universal critical exponents. The topological surface states themselves may be interpreted as arising from spontaneously broken SUSY, indicating a deep relation between topological phases and SUSY.
In contrast to ordinary symmetries, supersymmetry interchanges bosons and fermions. Originally proposed as a symmetry of our universe, it still awaits experimental verification. Here we theoretically show that supersymmetry emerges naturally in topological superconductors, which are well-known condensed matter systems. Specifically, we argue that the quantum phase transitions at the boundary of topological superconductors in both two and three dimensions display supersymmetry when probed at long distances and times. Supersymmetry entails several experimental consequences for these systems, such as, exact relations between quantities measured in disparate experiments, and in some cases, exact knowledge of the universal critical exponents. The topological surface states themselves may be interpreted as arising from spontaneously broken supersymmetry, indicating a deep relation between topological phases and SUSY. We discuss prospects for experimental realization in films of superfluid He3_33​-B.
Proposed as a fundamental symmetry describing our Universe, spacetime supersymmetry (SUSY) has not been discovered yet in nature. Nonetheless, it has been predicted that SUSY may emerge in low-energy physics of quantum materials such as topological superconductors and Weyl semimetals. Here, by performing state-of-the-art sign-problem-free quantum Monte Carlo simulations of an interacting two-dimensional topological superconductor, we show convincing evidence that the N=1 SUSY emerges at its edge quantum critical point (EQCP) while its bulk remains gapped and topologically nontrivial. Remarkably, near the EQCP, we find that the edge Majorana fermion acquires a mass that is identical with that of its bosonic superpartner. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first observation that fermions and bosons have equal dynamically generated masses, a hallmark of emergent SUSY. We further discuss experimental signatures of such EQCP and associated SUSY.
Supersymmetry, a symmetry between fermions and bosons, provides a promising extension of the standard model but is still lacking experimental evidence. Recently, the interest in supersymmetry has arisen in the condensed matter community owing to its potential emergence at the continuous quantum phase transition. In this paper, we demonstrate that 2+1D2+1\mathrm{D}2+1D supersymmetry, relating massive Majorana and Ising fields, might emerge at the first-order quantum phase transition of the Ising magnetization by tuning a single parameter. Although the emergence of the SUSY is only allowed in a finite range of scales due to the existence of relevant masses, the scale range can be large when the masses before scaling are small. We show that the emergence of supersymmetry is accompanied by a topological phase transition for the Majorana field, where its non-zero mass changes the sign but keeps the magnitude. An experimental realization of this scenario is proposed using the surface state of a 3+1D3+1\mathrm{D}3+1D time-reversal invariant topological superconductor with surface magnetic doping.
First proposed in the context of elementary particle physics, supersymmetry is an exotic symmetry that relates bosons and fermions but has not yet been observed in nature. While the traditional expectation is that supersymmetry would be first observed in a high-energy physics experiment, an alternative possibility stressed recently is that supersymmetry could be realized as an emergent symmetry at long wavelengths and low energies in interacting many-particle systems. More specifically, it was suggested that supersymmetry emerges at the quantum phase transition between the gapless Dirac semimetal and a gapped superconductor on the surface of a 3D topological insulator. The authors of this paper provide additional support for the conjecture by performing a three-loop renormalization group calculation and showing that the supersymmetric fixed point in 2+1 dimensions remains stable to that order in perturbation theory.
Supersymmetry, a symmetry between fermions and bosons, provides a promising extension of the standard model but is still lack of experimental evidence. Recently, the interest in supersymmetry arises in the condensed matter community owing to its potential emergence at the continuous quantum phase transition. In this letter we demonstrate that 2+1D supersymmetry, relating massive Majorana and Ising fields, can emerge at the first-order quantum phase transition of the Ising magnetization by tuning a single parameter. We show that the emergence of supersymmetry is accompanied by a topological phase transition for the Majorana field, where its non-zero mass changes the sign but keeps the magnitude. An experimental realization of this scenario is proposed using the surface state of a 3+1D time-reversal invariant topological superconductor with surface magnetic doping.
Supersymmetry is a symmetry between a boson and a fermion. Although there is no apparent supersymmetry in nature, its mathematical consistency and appealing properties have led many people to believe that supersymmetry may exist in nature in the form of a spontaneously broken symmetry. In this paper, we explore an alternative possibility by which supersymmetry is realized in nature, that is, supersymmetry dynamically emerges in the low-energy limit of a nonsupersymmetric condensed matter system. We propose a (2+1)(2+1)(2+1)-dimensional lattice model which exhibits an emergent space-time supersymmetry at a quantum critical point. It is shown that there is only one relevant perturbation at the supersymmetric critical point in the ϵϵϵ expansion and the critical theory is the two copies of the Wess-Zumino theory with four supercharges. Exact critical exponents are predicted.