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arXiv:1606.07816 · Physical review. B./Physical review. B

Symmetry-enriched string nets: Exactly solvable models for SET phases

Chris Heinrich, F. J. Burnell, Lukasz Fidkowski, Michael Levin

Published Dec 15, 2016• 127 citations
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Abstract

We construct exactly solvable models for a wide class of symmetry-enriched topological (SET) phases. Our construction applies to two-dimensional (2D) bosonic SET phases with finite unitary on-site symmetry group $G$ and we conjecture that our models realize every phase in this class that can be described by a commuting projector Hamiltonian. Our models are designed so that they have a special property: If we couple them to a dynamical lattice gauge field with gauge group $G$, the resulting gauge theories are equivalent to string-net models. This property is what allows us to analyze our models in generality. As an example, we present a model for a phase with the same anyon excitations as the toric code and with a ${\mathbb{Z}}_{2}$ symmetry which exchanges the $e$ and $m$ type anyons. We further illustrate our construction with a number of additional examples.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.94.235136

Related papers

Symmetry Enriched Topological Phases and Their Edge Theories

Christopher Phillip Heinrich

In this thesis we investigate topological phases of matter that have a global, unbroken symmetry group -- also known as symmetry enriched topological (SET) phases. We address three questions about these phases: (1) how can we build exactly solvable models that realize them? (2) how can we determine if their edge theories can be gapped without breaking the symmetry? and (3) how do we understand the phenomenon of decoupled charge and neutral modes which occurs in certain fractional quantum Hall states? ,More specifically, we address the first question by constructing exactly solvable models for a wide class of symmetry enriched topological (SET) phases, which we call symmetry-enriched string nets. The construction applies to 2D bosonic SET phases with finite unitary onsite symmetry group G, and we conjecture that our models realize every phase in this class that can be described by a commuting projector Hamiltonian. As an example, we present a model for a phase with the same anyon excitations as the toric code and with a Z2 symmetry which exchanges the 'e' and 'm' type anyons. We further illustrate our construction with a number of additional examples. ,For the second question, we focus on the edge theories of 2D SET phases with Z2 symmetry. The central problem we seek to solve is to determine which edge theories can be gapped without breaking the symmetry. Previous attempts to answer this question in special cases relied on constructing perturbations of a particular type to gap the edge. This method proves the edge can be gapped when the appropriate perturbations can be found, but is inconclusive if they cannot be found. We build on this previous work by deriving a necessary and sufficient algebraic condition for when the edge can be gapped. Our results apply to Z2 symmetry protected topological phases as well as Abelian Z2 SET phases,Finally, in the fourth chapter, we describe solvable models that capture how impurity scattering in certain fractional quantum Hall edges can give rise to a neutral mode --- i.e. an edge mode that does not carry electric charge. These models consist of two counter-propagating chiral Luttinger liquids together with a collection of discrete impurity scatterers. Our main result is an exact solution of these models in the limit of infinitely strong impurity scattering. From this solution, we explicitly derive the existence of a neutral mode and we determine all of its microscopic properties including its velocity. We also study the stability of the neutral mode and show that it survives at finite but sufficiently strong scattering. Our results are applicable to a family of Abelian fractional quantum Hall states of which the nu = 2/3 state is the most prominent example.

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Symmetry-enriched topological phases and their gauging: a string-net model realization

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A bstract We present a systematic framework for constructing exactly-solvable lattice models of symmetry-enriched topological (SET) phases based on an enlarged version of the string-net model. We also gauge the global symmetries of our SET models to obtain string-net models of pure topological phases. Without invoking externally imposed onsite symmetry actions, our approach promotes the string-net model of a pure topological order, specified by an input unitary fusion category $$ \mathcal{F} $$ F , to an SET model, specified by a multifusion category together with a set of isomorphisms. Two complementary construction strategies are developed in the main text: (i) promotion via outer automorphisms of $$ \mathcal{F} $$ F and (ii) promotion via the Frobenius algebras of $$ \mathcal{F} $$ F . The global symmetries derived via these two strategies are intrinsic to topological phases and are thus termed blood symmetries, as opposed to adopted symmetries, which can be arbitrarily imposed on topological phases. We propose the concept of symmetry-gauging family of topological phases, which are related by gauging their blood symmetries. With our approach, we construct the first explicit lattice realization of a nonabelian-symmetry-enriched topological phase — the S 3 symmetry-enriched ℤ 2 × ℤ 2 quantum-double phase. The approach further reveals the role of local excitations in SET phases and establishes their symmetry constraints.

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Exactly Solvable Models for Fermionic Symmetry-Enriched Topological Phases and Fermionic ’t Hooft Anomaly

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The interplay between symmetry and topological properties plays a very important role in modern physics. In the past decade, the concept of symmetry-enriched topological (SET) phases was proposed and their classifications have been systematically studied for bosonic systems. Very recently, the concept of SET phases has been generalized into fermionic systems and their corresponding classification schemes are also proposed. Nevertheless, how to realize all these fermionic SET (fSET) phases in lattice models remains to be a difficult open problem. In this paper, we first construct exactly solvable models for nonanomalous nonchiral 2 + 1 D fSET phases, namely, the symmetry-enriched fermionic string-net models, which are described by commuting-projector Hamiltonians whose ground states are the fixed-point wave functions of each fSET phase. Mathematically, we provide a partial definition to G -graded super fusion category (when the total symmetry G f is a direct product of physical symmetry G and fermion-parity symmetry Z 2 f ), which is the input data of a symmetry-enriched fermionic string-net model. Next, we construct exactly solvable models for nonchiral 2 + 1 D fSET phases with ’t Hooft anomaly, especially the H 3 ( G , Z 2 ) fermionic ’t Hooft anomaly which is different from the well-known bosonic H 4 [ G , U ( 1 ) T ] anomaly. In our construction, this H 3 ( G , Z 2 ) fermionic ’t Hooft anomaly is characterized by a violation of fermion-parity conservation in some of the surface F moves (a type of renormalization moves for the ground state wave functions of surface fSET phases), and also by a new fermionic obstruction Θ in the surface pentagon equation. We demonstrate this construction in a concrete example that the surface topological order is a Z 4 gauge theory embedded into a fermion system and the total symmetry G f = Z 2 f × Z 2 × Z 4 . We further conjecture that the H 2 ( G , Z 2 ) fermionic ’t Hooft anomaly is characterized by a possible violation of nonterminating q -type (called σ -type) string in the fusion rules of surface models.

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Exactly solvable models for symmetry-enriched topological phases

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Symmetry-enriched topological phases (SET) exhibit both long-range entanglement and intricate interplay with global symmetries, such as anyon permutation symmetry or fractionalization of quantum numbers, going beyond the Landau paradigm of symmetry breaking. Here, the authors study two-dimensional SET phases based on the novel concept of symmetric local unitary transformations. Using the fixed-point structure of wave functions, they construct systematically exactly solvable models that can describe generic nonchiral SET phases. The technique applies to on-site as well as spatial symmetries and, furthermore, to anomalous symmetries that can only be realized on the surface of three-dimensional symmetry-protected phases.

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Exactly solvable models for U(1) symmetry-enriched topological phases

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Majorana-Pauli stabilizer codes and duality webs of fermionic topological phases

Meng Sun, Zongyuan Wang, Nathanan Tantivasadakarn +1 more

Stabilizer codes provide exact lattice realizations of bosonic topological orders. In contrast, systematic stabilizer descriptions of intrinsically fermionic topological phases remain much less developed. In this work, we introduce Majorana-Pauli stabilizer codes, a class of exactly solvable fermionic lattice models whose stabilizers are built from both generalized Pauli operators and Majorana operators. As a main example, we construct an exactly solvable stabilizer realization of the fermionic toric code: an intrinsically fermionic $\mathbb Z_2$ topological order in $(2{+}1)$ dimensions, using $\mathbb Z_8$ Pauli operators coupled to Majorana modes. Within this stabilizer framework, the anyons, string operators, fusion rules, and braiding statistics all follow naturally from the stabilizer algebra. More broadly, we show that the fermionic toric code belongs to a duality web generated by anyon condensation and by gauging or ungauging bosonic or fermionic symmetries. This web connects bosonic topological orders, symmetry-enriched topological (SET) phases, and both bosonic and fermionic symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases, all within a common stabilizer description. We extend this construction to all Abelian fermionic topological orders with gapped boundaries and to fermionic SPT phases whose fully gauged theories are Abelian. Going beyond Majorana operators, we introduce fermionic versions of the clock and shift operators and use them to construct an exact bosonization map for $\mathbb Z_D^F$ symmetries for $D$ even. Using this, we realize a stabilizer model for a nontrivial $\mathbb Z_8^F$ fermionic SPT phase with no free-fermion analog. Altogether, these results extend the stabilizer-code paradigm to a broad class of intrinsically fermionic phases bridging fermionic quantum many-body physics to quantum error correction.

quant-pharXiv:2606.25048•Jun 25, 2026•0 citations
We construct exactly solvable models for a wide class of symmetry-enriched topological (SET) phases. Our construction applies to two-dimensional (2D) bosonic SET phases with finite unitary on-site symmetry group GGG and we conjecture that our models realize every phase in this class that can be described by a commuting projector Hamiltonian. Our models are designed so that they have a special property: If we couple them to a dynamical lattice gauge field with gauge group GGG, the resulting gauge theories are equivalent to string-net models. This property is what allows us to analyze our models in generality. As an example, we present a model for a phase with the same anyon excitations as the toric code and with a Z2{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}Z2​ symmetry which exchanges the eee and mmm type anyons. We further illustrate our construction with a number of additional examples.
In this thesis we investigate topological phases of matter that have a global, unbroken symmetry group -- also known as symmetry enriched topological (SET) phases. We address three questions about these phases: (1) how can we build exactly solvable models that realize them? (2) how can we determine if their edge theories can be gapped without breaking the symmetry? and (3) how do we understand the phenomenon of decoupled charge and neutral modes which occurs in certain fractional quantum Hall states? ,More specifically, we address the first question by constructing exactly solvable models for a wide class of symmetry enriched topological (SET) phases, which we call symmetry-enriched string nets. The construction applies to 2D bosonic SET phases with finite unitary onsite symmetry group G, and we conjecture that our models realize every phase in this class that can be described by a commuting projector Hamiltonian. As an example, we present a model for a phase with the same anyon excitations as the toric code and with a Z2 symmetry which exchanges the 'e' and 'm' type anyons. We further illustrate our construction with a number of additional examples. ,For the second question, we focus on the edge theories of 2D SET phases with Z2 symmetry. The central problem we seek to solve is to determine which edge theories can be gapped without breaking the symmetry. Previous attempts to answer this question in special cases relied on constructing perturbations of a particular type to gap the edge. This method proves the edge can be gapped when the appropriate perturbations can be found, but is inconclusive if they cannot be found. We build on this previous work by deriving a necessary and sufficient algebraic condition for when the edge can be gapped. Our results apply to Z2 symmetry protected topological phases as well as Abelian Z2 SET phases,Finally, in the fourth chapter, we describe solvable models that capture how impurity scattering in certain fractional quantum Hall edges can give rise to a neutral mode --- i.e. an edge mode that does not carry electric charge. These models consist of two counter-propagating chiral Luttinger liquids together with a collection of discrete impurity scatterers. Our main result is an exact solution of these models in the limit of infinitely strong impurity scattering. From this solution, we explicitly derive the existence of a neutral mode and we determine all of its microscopic properties including its velocity. We also study the stability of the neutral mode and show that it survives at finite but sufficiently strong scattering. Our results are applicable to a family of Abelian fractional quantum Hall states of which the nu = 2/3 state is the most prominent example.
A bstract We present a systematic framework for constructing exactly-solvable lattice models of symmetry-enriched topological (SET) phases based on an enlarged version of the string-net model. We also gauge the global symmetries of our SET models to obtain string-net models of pure topological phases. Without invoking externally imposed onsite symmetry actions, our approach promotes the string-net model of a pure topological order, specified by an input unitary fusion category F \mathcal{F} F F , to an SET model, specified by a multifusion category together with a set of isomorphisms. Two complementary construction strategies are developed in the main text: (i) promotion via outer automorphisms of F \mathcal{F} F F and (ii) promotion via the Frobenius algebras of F \mathcal{F} F F . The global symmetries derived via these two strategies are intrinsic to topological phases and are thus termed blood symmetries, as opposed to adopted symmetries, which can be arbitrarily imposed on topological phases. We propose the concept of symmetry-gauging family of topological phases, which are related by gauging their blood symmetries. With our approach, we construct the first explicit lattice realization of a nonabelian-symmetry-enriched topological phase — the S 3 symmetry-enriched ℤ 2 × ℤ 2 quantum-double phase. The approach further reveals the role of local excitations in SET phases and establishes their symmetry constraints.
The interplay between symmetry and topological properties plays a very important role in modern physics. In the past decade, the concept of symmetry-enriched topological (SET) phases was proposed and their classifications have been systematically studied for bosonic systems. Very recently, the concept of SET phases has been generalized into fermionic systems and their corresponding classification schemes are also proposed. Nevertheless, how to realize all these fermionic SET (fSET) phases in lattice models remains to be a difficult open problem. In this paper, we first construct exactly solvable models for nonanomalous nonchiral 2 + 1 D fSET phases, namely, the symmetry-enriched fermionic string-net models, which are described by commuting-projector Hamiltonians whose ground states are the fixed-point wave functions of each fSET phase. Mathematically, we provide a partial definition to G -graded super fusion category (when the total symmetry G f is a direct product of physical symmetry G and fermion-parity symmetry Z 2 f ), which is the input data of a symmetry-enriched fermionic string-net model. Next, we construct exactly solvable models for nonchiral 2 + 1 D fSET phases with ’t Hooft anomaly, especially the H 3 ( G , Z 2 ) fermionic ’t Hooft anomaly which is different from the well-known bosonic H 4 [ G , U ( 1 ) T ] anomaly. In our construction, this H 3 ( G , Z 2 ) fermionic ’t Hooft anomaly is characterized by a violation of fermion-parity conservation in some of the surface F moves (a type of renormalization moves for the ground state wave functions of surface fSET phases), and also by a new fermionic obstruction Θ in the surface pentagon equation. We demonstrate this construction in a concrete example that the surface topological order is a Z 4 gauge theory embedded into a fermion system and the total symmetry G f = Z 2 f × Z 2 × Z 4 . We further conjecture that the H 2 ( G , Z 2 ) fermionic ’t Hooft anomaly is characterized by a possible violation of nonterminating q -type (called σ -type) string in the fusion rules of surface models.
Symmetry-enriched topological phases (SET) exhibit both long-range entanglement and intricate interplay with global symmetries, such as anyon permutation symmetry or fractionalization of quantum numbers, going beyond the Landau paradigm of symmetry breaking. Here, the authors study two-dimensional SET phases based on the novel concept of symmetric local unitary transformations. Using the fixed-point structure of wave functions, they construct systematically exactly solvable models that can describe generic nonchiral SET phases. The technique applies to on-site as well as spatial symmetries and, furthermore, to anomalous symmetries that can only be realized on the surface of three-dimensional symmetry-protected phases.
We propose a general construction of commuting projector lattice models for 2D and 3D topological phases enriched by U(1) symmetry, with finite-dimensional Hilbert space per site. The construction starts from a commuting projector model of the topological phase and decorates U(1) charges to the state space in a consistent manner. We show that all 2D U(1) symmetry-enriched topological phases, which allow gapped boundaries without breaking the symmetry, can be realized through our construction. We also construct a large class of 3D topological phases with U(1) symmetry fractionalized on particles or loop excitations.
Stabilizer codes provide exact lattice realizations of bosonic topological orders. In contrast, systematic stabilizer descriptions of intrinsically fermionic topological phases remain much less developed. In this work, we introduce Majorana-Pauli stabilizer codes, a class of exactly solvable fermionic lattice models whose stabilizers are built from both generalized Pauli operators and Majorana operators. As a main example, we construct an exactly solvable stabilizer realization of the fermionic toric code: an intrinsically fermionic Z2\mathbb Z_2Z2​ topological order in (2+1)(2{+}1)(2+1) dimensions, using Z8\mathbb Z_8Z8​ Pauli operators coupled to Majorana modes. Within this stabilizer framework, the anyons, string operators, fusion rules, and braiding statistics all follow naturally from the stabilizer algebra. More broadly, we show that the fermionic toric code belongs to a duality web generated by anyon condensation and by gauging or ungauging bosonic or fermionic symmetries. This web connects bosonic topological orders, symmetry-enriched topological (SET) phases, and both bosonic and fermionic symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases, all within a common stabilizer description. We extend this construction to all Abelian fermionic topological orders with gapped boundaries and to fermionic SPT phases whose fully gauged theories are Abelian. Going beyond Majorana operators, we introduce fermionic versions of the clock and shift operators and use them to construct an exact bosonization map for ZDF\mathbb Z_D^FZDF​ symmetries for DDD even. Using this, we realize a stabilizer model for a nontrivial Z8F\mathbb Z_8^FZ8F​ fermionic SPT phase with no free-fermion analog. Altogether, these results extend the stabilizer-code paradigm to a broad class of intrinsically fermionic phases bridging fermionic quantum many-body physics to quantum error correction.