Abstract For symmorphic crystalline interacting gapped systems we derive a classification under adiabatic evolution. This classification is complete for non-degenerate ground states. For the degenerate case we discuss some invariants given by equivariant characteristic classes. We do not assume an emergent relativistic field theory nor that phases form a topological spectrum. We also do not restrict to systems with short-range entanglement, stability against stacking with trivial systems nor assume the existence of quasi-particles as is done in SPT and SET classifications respectively. Using a slightly generalized Bloch decomposition and Grassmanians made out of ground state spaces, we show that the P-equivariant cohomology of a d-dimensional torus gives rise to different interacting phases, where P denotes the point group of the crystalline structure. We compare our results to bosonic symmorphic crystallographic SPT phases and to non-interacting fermionic crystallographic phases in class A. Finally we discuss the relation of our assumptions to those made for crystallographic SPT and SET phases.
Abstract For symmorphic crystalline interacting gapped systems we derive a classification under adiabatic evolution. This classification is complete for non-degenerate ground states. For the degenerate case we discuss some invariants given by equivariant characteristic classes. We do not assume an emergent relativistic field theory nor that phases form a topological spectrum. We also do not restrict to systems with short-range entanglement, stability against stacking with trivial systems nor assume the existence of quasi-particles as is done in SPT and SET classifications respectively. Using a slightly generalized Bloch decomposition and Grassmanians made out of ground state spaces, we show that the P-equivariant cohomology of a d-dimensional torus gives rise to different interacting phases, where P denotes the point group of the crystalline structure. We compare our results to bosonic symmorphic crystallographic SPT phases and to non-interacting fermionic crystallographic phases in class A. Finally we discuss the relation of our assumptions to those made for crystallographic SPT and SET phases.
We develop a theoretical framework for the classification and construction of symmetry protected topological (SPT) phases, which are a special class of zero-temperature phases of strongly interacting gapped quantum many-body systems that exhibit topological properties. The framework unifies various proposals for the classification of SPT phases, including the group (super-)cohomology proposal, the (spin-)cobordism proposal, the Freed-Hopkins proposal, and the Kitaev proposal. The power of the framework is demonstrated in a number of applications: (1) the classification and construction of 3D fermionic SPT phases in Wigner-Dyson classes A and AII with glide symmetry, (2) the classification and construction of 3D bosonic SPT phases with space-group symmetries for all 230 space groups, (3) the derivation of a Mayer-Vietoris sequence relating the classification of SPT phases with and without reflection symmetry, and (4) an interpretation of the structure of general crystalline SPT phases via the Atiyah-Hirzebruch spectral sequence. The framework is based on the idea that short-range entangled states form what are known as Ω-spectra in the sense of algebraic topology, and models the classification of SPT phases by what are called generalized cohomology theories.
We develop a theoretical framework for the classification and construction of symmetry protected topological (SPT) phases, which are a special class of zero-temperature phases of strongly interacting gapped quantum many-body systems that exhibit topological properties. The framework unifies various proposals for the classification of SPT phases, including the group (super-)cohomology proposal, the (spin-)cobordism proposal, the Freed-Hopkins proposal, and the Kitaev proposal. The power of the framework is demonstrated in a number of applications: (1) the classification and construction of 3D fermionic SPT phases in Wigner-Dyson classes A and AII with glide symmetry, (2) the classification and construction of 3D bosonic SPT phases with space-group symmetries for all 230 space groups, (3) the derivation of a Mayer-Vietoris sequence relating the classification of SPT phases with and without reflection symmetry, and (4) an interpretation of the structure of general crystalline SPT phases via the Atiyah-Hirzebruch spectral sequence. The framework is based on Kitaev's idea that short-range entangled states form what are known as Ω-spectra in the sense of algebraic topology, and models the classification of SPT phases by what are called generalized cohomology theories.
Crystallographic groups are conventionally studied in real space to characterize crystal symmetries. Recent work has recognized that when these symmetries are realized projectively, momentum space inherently accommodates nonsymmorphic symmetries, thereby evoking the concept of \textit{momentum-space crystallographic groups} (MCGs). Here, we reveal that the cohomology of MCGs encodes fundamental data of crystalline topological band structures. Specifically, the collection of second cohomology groups, H2(ΓF,Z), for all MCGs ΓF, provides an exhaustive classification of Abelian crystalline topological insulators, serving as an effective approximation to the full crystalline topological classification. Meanwhile, the third cohomology groups H3(ΓF,Z) across all MCGs exhaustively classify all possible twistings of point-group actions on the Brillouin torus, essential data for twisted equivariant K-theory. Furthermore, we establish the isomorphism Hn+1(ΓF,Z)≅Hn(ΓF,F(RFd,U(1))) for $ n\ge 1$, where F(RFd,U(1)) denotes the space of continuous U(1)-valued functions on the dD momentum space RFd. The case n=1 yields a complete set of topological invariants formulated in purely algebraic terms, which differs fundamentally from the conventional formulation in terms of differential forms. The case n=2, analogously, provides a fully algebraic description for all such twistings. Thus, the cohomological theory of MCGs serves as a key technical framework for analyzing crystalline topological phases within the general setting of projective symmetry.
In this thesis, we study gapped topological phases of matter in systems with strong inter-particle interaction. They are challenging to analyze theoretically, because interaction not only gives rise to a plethora of phases that are otherwise absent, but also renders methods used to analyze non-interacting systems inadequate. By now, people have had a relatively systematic understanding of topological orders in two spatial dimensions. However, less is known about the higher dimensional cases. In Chapter 2, we will explore three dimensional long-range entangled topological orders in the framework of Walker-Wang models, which are a class of exactly solvable models for three-dimensional topological phases that are not known previously to be able to capture these phases. We find that they can represent a class of twisted discrete gauge theories, which were discovered using a different formalism. Meanwhile, a systematic theory of bosonic symmetry protected topological (SPT) phases in all spatial dimensions have been developed based on group cohomology. A generalization of the theory to group supercohomology has been proposed to classify and characterize fermionic SPT phases in all dimensions. However, it can only handle cases where the symmetry group of the system is a product of discrete unitary symmetries. Furthermore, the classification is known to be incomplete for certain symmetries. In Chapter 3, we will construct an exactly solvable model for the two-dimensional time-reversal-invariant topological superconductors, which could be valuable as a first attempt to a systematic understanding of strongly interacting fermionic SPT phases with anti-unitary symmetries in terms of exactly solvable models. In Chapter 4, we will propose an alternative classification of fermionic SPT phases using the spin cobordism theory, which hopefully can capture all the phases missing in the supercohomology classification. We test this proposal in the case of fermionic SPT phases with Z2 symmetry, where Z2 is either time-reversal or an internal symmetry. We find that cobordism classification correctly describes all known fermionic SPT phases in space dimensions less than or equal to 3.
Symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases are gapped short-range-entangled quantum phases with a symmetry G, which can all be smoothly connected to the trivial product states if we break the symmetry. It has been shown that a large class of interacting bosonic SPT phases can be systematically described by group cohomology theory. In this paper, we introduce a (special) group supercohomology theory which is a generalization of the standard group cohomology theory. We show that a large class of short-range interacting fermionic SPT phases can be described by the group supercohomology theory. Using the data of supercocycles, we can obtain the ideal ground state wave function for the corresponding fermionic SPT phase. We can also obtain the bulk Hamiltonian that realizes the SPT phase, as well as the anomalous (i.e., non-onsite) symmetry for the boundary effective Hamiltonian. The anomalous symmetry on the boundary implies that the symmetric boundary must be gapless for (1+1)-dimensional [(1+1)D] boundary, and must be gapless or topologically ordered beyond (1+1)D. As an application of this general result, we construct a new SPT phase in three dimensions, for interacting fermionic superconductors with coplanar spin order (which have T2=1 time-reversal Z2T and fermion-number-parity Z2f symmetries described by a full symmetry group ${Z}_{2}^{T}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{Z}_{2}^{f}$). Such a fermionic SPT state can neither be realized by free fermions nor by interacting bosons (formed by fermion pairs), and thus are not included in the K-theory classification for free fermions or group cohomology description for interacting bosons. We also construct three interacting fermionic SPT phases in two dimensions (2D) with a full symmetry group ${Z}_{2}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{Z}_{2}^{f}$. Those 2D fermionic SPT phases all have central-charge c=1 gapless edge excitations, if the symmetry is not broken.
Symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases are bulk-gapped quantum phases with symmetries, which have gapless or degenerate boundary states as long as the symmetries are not broken. The SPT phases in free fermion systems, such as topological insulators, can be classified; however, it is not known what SPT phases exist in general interacting systems. We present a systematic way to construct SPT phases in interacting bosonic systems. Just as group theory allows us to construct 230 crystal structures in three-dimensional space, we use group cohomology theory to systematically construct different interacting bosonic SPT phases in any dimension and with any symmetry, leading to the discovery of bosonic topological insulators and superconductors.