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:1612.06132

Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless Transition and the Haldane Conjecture: Highlights of the Physics Nobel Prize 2016

Wolfgang Bietenholz A, Gerber, Urs

Published Dec 19, 2016• 3 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The 2016 Physics Nobel Prize honors a variety of discoveries related to topological phases and phase transitions. Here we sketch two exciting facets: the groundbreaking works by John Kosterlitz and David Thouless on phase transitions of infinite order, and by Duncan Haldane on the energy gaps in quantum spin chains. These insights came as surprises in the 1970s and 1980s, respectively, and they have both initiated new fields of research in theoretical and experimental physics.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1612.06132

Related papers

Colloquium : Zoo of quantum-topological phases of matter

Xiao-Gang Wen

The subject of this Colloquium is related to the topic of the 2016 Physics Nobel Prize that was awarded to David J. Thouless, F. Duncan M. Haldane, and J. Michael Kosterlitz ``for theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter.'' The Colloquium provides a pedagogical introduction to topological phases of matter from comprehensive point of view of many-body entanglement which is important in quantum physics.

arXiv:1610.03911•Reviews of Modern Physics•Dec 4, 2017•881 citations

Topological phase and topological phase transition: A brief introduction to topological states of matter in solids

Hongming Weng

The Nobel Prize in physics of year 2016 has been awarded to David J. Thouless, F. Duncan M. Haldane and J. Michael Kosterlitz for their theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phase of matter. This paper starts with a brief introduction to their groundbreaking works made in 1970s–1980s, including the KT phase transition due to topological defects, vortex and antivortex pairs, in two-dimensional superfluid or superconductor, the TKNN number identifying the integer quantum Hall state, as well as the Haldane model to realize quantum Hall effect without external magnetic field in crystal lattice. Their insightful findings have revealed a new quantum state of matter, which cannot be described by local order parameter within Landau symmetry-breaking theory but by some global topological invariant of electronic states. In topology, a branch of mathematics, topological invariant describes the preserved properties of an object under continuous deformations. The combination of topology with the state of matter is a breakthrough in condensed matter physics. The band topology theory based on Berry phase is introduced in order to understand the origin of topology of the electronic states in solids. But only in last ten years, their pioneering works have been rediscovered and greatly extended. Around 2005, the time-reversal symmetry protected topological state identified by Z2 number has been discovered theoretically and soon it is realized in material called as Z2 topological insulator. Quickly, the concept of symmetry protected topological states has been generalized from time-reversal symmetry to all the space group symmetries, from electronic states to those in photonic crystal, phonon spectrum and cold atoms, and even from the insulators to metals. The first experimentally realized topological metal is Dirac semimetal, a three-dimensional version of graphene, with massless Dirac equation describing the low energy excitation around Fermi level. The discovery of Weyl semimetal in TaAs family has stimulated lots of studies on the chiral Weyl fermions, which have not been found in vacuum but observed as quasiparticles in Weyl semimetals. More topological semimetals, such as node-line semimetal and multiple-degenerate nodal point semimetal, have been also proposed. The distinguished property of topological states of matter is its stability in both bulk and boundary states against the perturbation preserving the protecting symmetry. This is expected for potential applications in electronic devices. Therefore, three Laureates of Nobel Prize in physics of 2016 revealed the secrets of exotic matter and opened the door to topological states.

Chinese Science Bulletin (Chinese Version)•Dec 1, 2016•7 citations

Nobel Lecture: Topological quantum matter

F. D. M. Haldane

Nobel Lecture, presented December 8, 2016, Aula Magna, Stockholm University. I will describe the history and background of three discoveries cited in this Nobel Prize: The "TKNN" topological formula for the integer quantum Hall effect found by David Thouless and collaborators, the Chern insulator or quantum anomalous Hall effect, and its role in the later discovery of time-reversal-invariant topological insulators, and the unexpected topological spin-liquid state of the spin-1 quantum antiferromagnetic chain, which provided an initial example of topological quantum matter. I will summarize how these early beginnings have led to the exciting, and currently extremely active, field of "topological matter."1 MoreReceived 17 June 2017DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.89.040502© 2017 Nobel Foundation, Published by The American Physical Society*The 2016 Nobel Prize for Physics was shared by David J. Thouless, F. Duncan M. Haldane, and John Michael Kosterlitz. These papers are the text of the address given in conjunction with the award.Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasTopological defectsTopological phase transitionTopological phases of matterGeneral PhysicsInterdisciplinary Physics

Reviews of Modern Physics•Oct 9, 2017•441 citations

Haldane topological orders in Motzkin spin chains

Luca Barbiero, Luca Dell’Anna, Andrea Trombettoni +1 more

Motzkin spin chains are frustration-free models whose ground state is a combination of Motzkin paths. The weight of such path contributions can be controlled by a deformation parameter $t$. As a function of the latter, these models, besides the formation of domain wall structures, exhibit gapped Haldane topological orders with a constant decay of string order parameters for $t<1$. A behavior compatible with a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless phase transition at $t=1$ is also presented. By means of numerical calculations we show that the topological properties of the Haldane phases depend on the spin value. This allows one to classify different kinds of hidden antiferromagnetic Haldane gapped regimes associated with nontrivial features such as symmetry-protected topological order. On one hand, our results allow one to clarify the physical properties of Motzkin frustration-free chains, and on the other hand, suggest them as an interesting and paradigmatic class of local spin Hamiltonians.

arXiv:1701.05878•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Nov 8, 2017•20 citations

A Study of Interaction Effects and Quantum Berezinskii- Kosterlitz-Thouless Transition in the Kitaev Chain

Sujit Sarkar

The physics of the topological state of matter is the second revolution in quantum mechanics. We study the effect of interactions on the topological quantum phase transition and the quantum Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (QBKT) transition in topological state of a quantum many-body condensed matter system. We predict a topological quantum phase transition from topological superconducting phase to an insulating phase for the interacting Kitaev chain. We observe interesting behaviour from the results of renormalization group study on the topological superconducting phase. We derive the renormalization group (RG) equation for QBKT through different routes with a few exact solutions along with the physical explanations, wherein we find the existence of two new important emergent phases apart from the two conventional phases of this model Hamiltonian. We also present results of a length-scale dependent study to predict asymptotic freedom like behaviour of the system. We do rigorous quantum field theoretical renormalization group calculations to solve this problem.

Scientific Reports•Feb 10, 2020•10 citations

The XY Model and the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless Phase Transition

Ralph Kenna B

In statistical physics, the XY model in two dimensions provides the paradigmatic example of phase transitions mediated by topological defects (vortices). Over the years, a variety of analytical and numerical methods have been deployed in an attempt to fully understand the nature of its transition, which is of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless type. These met with only limited success until it was realized that subtle effects (logarithmic corrections) that modify leading behaviour must be taken into account. This realization prompted renewed activity in the field and significant progress has been made. This paper contains a review of the importance of such subtleties, the role played by vortices and of recent and current research in this area. Directions for desirable future research endeavours are outlined.

arXiv:cond-mat/0512356•Dec 15, 2005•4 citations
The 2016 Physics Nobel Prize honors a variety of discoveries related to topological phases and phase transitions. Here we sketch two exciting facets: the groundbreaking works by John Kosterlitz and David Thouless on phase transitions of infinite order, and by Duncan Haldane on the energy gaps in quantum spin chains. These insights came as surprises in the 1970s and 1980s, respectively, and they have both initiated new fields of research in theoretical and experimental physics.
The Nobel Prize in physics of year 2016 has been awarded to David J. Thouless, F. Duncan M. Haldane and J. Michael Kosterlitz for their theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phase of matter. This paper starts with a brief introduction to their groundbreaking works made in 1970s–1980s, including the KT phase transition due to topological defects, vortex and antivortex pairs, in two-dimensional superfluid or superconductor, the TKNN number identifying the integer quantum Hall state, as well as the Haldane model to realize quantum Hall effect without external magnetic field in crystal lattice. Their insightful findings have revealed a new quantum state of matter, which cannot be described by local order parameter within Landau symmetry-breaking theory but by some global topological invariant of electronic states. In topology, a branch of mathematics, topological invariant describes the preserved properties of an object under continuous deformations. The combination of topology with the state of matter is a breakthrough in condensed matter physics. The band topology theory based on Berry phase is introduced in order to understand the origin of topology of the electronic states in solids. But only in last ten years, their pioneering works have been rediscovered and greatly extended. Around 2005, the time-reversal symmetry protected topological state identified by Z2 number has been discovered theoretically and soon it is realized in material called as Z2 topological insulator. Quickly, the concept of symmetry protected topological states has been generalized from time-reversal symmetry to all the space group symmetries, from electronic states to those in photonic crystal, phonon spectrum and cold atoms, and even from the insulators to metals. The first experimentally realized topological metal is Dirac semimetal, a three-dimensional version of graphene, with massless Dirac equation describing the low energy excitation around Fermi level. The discovery of Weyl semimetal in TaAs family has stimulated lots of studies on the chiral Weyl fermions, which have not been found in vacuum but observed as quasiparticles in Weyl semimetals. More topological semimetals, such as node-line semimetal and multiple-degenerate nodal point semimetal, have been also proposed. The distinguished property of topological states of matter is its stability in both bulk and boundary states against the perturbation preserving the protecting symmetry. This is expected for potential applications in electronic devices. Therefore, three Laureates of Nobel Prize in physics of 2016 revealed the secrets of exotic matter and opened the door to topological states.
Nobel Lecture, presented December 8, 2016, Aula Magna, Stockholm University. I will describe the history and background of three discoveries cited in this Nobel Prize: The "TKNN" topological formula for the integer quantum Hall effect found by David Thouless and collaborators, the Chern insulator or quantum anomalous Hall effect, and its role in the later discovery of time-reversal-invariant topological insulators, and the unexpected topological spin-liquid state of the spin-1 quantum antiferromagnetic chain, which provided an initial example of topological quantum matter. I will summarize how these early beginnings have led to the exciting, and currently extremely active, field of "topological matter."1 MoreReceived 17 June 2017DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.89.040502© 2017 Nobel Foundation, Published by The American Physical Society*The 2016 Nobel Prize for Physics was shared by David J. Thouless, F. Duncan M. Haldane, and John Michael Kosterlitz. These papers are the text of the address given in conjunction with the award.Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasTopological defectsTopological phase transitionTopological phases of matterGeneral PhysicsInterdisciplinary Physics
Motzkin spin chains are frustration-free models whose ground state is a combination of Motzkin paths. The weight of such path contributions can be controlled by a deformation parameter ttt. As a function of the latter, these models, besides the formation of domain wall structures, exhibit gapped Haldane topological orders with a constant decay of string order parameters for t<1t<1t<1. A behavior compatible with a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless phase transition at t=1t=1t=1 is also presented. By means of numerical calculations we show that the topological properties of the Haldane phases depend on the spin value. This allows one to classify different kinds of hidden antiferromagnetic Haldane gapped regimes associated with nontrivial features such as symmetry-protected topological order. On one hand, our results allow one to clarify the physical properties of Motzkin frustration-free chains, and on the other hand, suggest them as an interesting and paradigmatic class of local spin Hamiltonians.
The physics of the topological state of matter is the second revolution in quantum mechanics. We study the effect of interactions on the topological quantum phase transition and the quantum Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (QBKT) transition in topological state of a quantum many-body condensed matter system. We predict a topological quantum phase transition from topological superconducting phase to an insulating phase for the interacting Kitaev chain. We observe interesting behaviour from the results of renormalization group study on the topological superconducting phase. We derive the renormalization group (RG) equation for QBKT through different routes with a few exact solutions along with the physical explanations, wherein we find the existence of two new important emergent phases apart from the two conventional phases of this model Hamiltonian. We also present results of a length-scale dependent study to predict asymptotic freedom like behaviour of the system. We do rigorous quantum field theoretical renormalization group calculations to solve this problem.
In statistical physics, the XY model in two dimensions provides the paradigmatic example of phase transitions mediated by topological defects (vortices). Over the years, a variety of analytical and numerical methods have been deployed in an attempt to fully understand the nature of its transition, which is of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless type. These met with only limited success until it was realized that subtle effects (logarithmic corrections) that modify leading behaviour must be taken into account. This realization prompted renewed activity in the field and significant progress has been made. This paper contains a review of the importance of such subtleties, the role played by vortices and of recent and current research in this area. Directions for desirable future research endeavours are outlined.