Abstract In this paper, we study the localized states of a generic quadratic fermionic chain with finite-range couplings and an inhomogeneity in the hopping (defect) that breaks translational invariance. When the hopping of the defect vanishes, which represents an open chain, we obtain a simple bulk-edge correspondence: the zero-energy modes localized at the ends of the chain are related to the roots of a polynomial determined by the couplings of the Hamiltonian of the bulk. From this result, we define an index that characterizes the different topological phases of the system and can be easily computed by counting the roots of the polynomial. As the defect is turned on and varied adiabatically, the zero-energy modes may cross the energy gap and connect the valence and conduction bands. We analyze the robustness of the connection between bands against perturbations of the Hamiltonian. The pumping of states from one band to the other allows the creation of particle–hole pairs in the bulk. An important ingredient for our analysis is the transformation of the Hamiltonian under the standard discrete symmetries, C , P , T , as well as a fourth one, peculiar to our system, that is related to the existence of a gap and localized states.
Abstract In this paper, we study the localized states of a generic quadratic fermionic chain with finite-range couplings and an inhomogeneity in the hopping (defect) that breaks translational invariance. When the hopping of the defect vanishes, which represents an open chain, we obtain a simple bulk-edge correspondence: the zero-energy modes localized at the ends of the chain are related to the roots of a polynomial determined by the couplings of the Hamiltonian of the bulk. From this result, we define an index that characterizes the different topological phases of the system and can be easily computed by counting the roots of the polynomial. As the defect is turned on and varied adiabatically, the zero-energy modes may cross the energy gap and connect the valence and conduction bands. We analyze the robustness of the connection between bands against perturbations of the Hamiltonian. The pumping of states from one band to the other allows the creation of particle–hole pairs in the bulk. An important ingredient for our analysis is the transformation of the Hamiltonian under the standard discrete symmetries, C , P , T , as well as a fourth one, peculiar to our system, that is related to the existence of a gap and localized states.
The bulk-boundary correspondence relates topologically protected edge modes to bulk topological invariants and is well understood for short-range free-fermion chains. Although case studies have considered long-range Hamiltonians whose couplings decay with a power-law exponent α, there has been no systematic study for a free-fermion symmetry class. We introduce a technique for solving gapped, translationally invariant models in the 1D BDI and AIII symmetry classes with α>1, linking together the quantized winding invariant, bulk topological string-order parameters, and a complete solution of the edge modes. The physics of these chains is elucidated by studying a complex function determined by the couplings of the Hamiltonian: in contrast to the short-range case where edge modes are associated to roots of this function, we find that they are now associated to singularities. A remarkable consequence is that the finite-size splitting of the edge modes depends on the topological winding number, which can be used as a probe of the latter. We furthermore generalize these results by (i) identifying a family of BDI chains with α<1 where our results still hold and (ii) showing that gapless symmetry-protected topological chains can have topological invariants and edge modes when α-1 exceeds the dynamical critical exponent.
Abstract We outline a theory of symmetry protected topological phases of one-dimensional quantum walks. We assume spectral gaps around the symmetry-distinguished points +1 and −1, in which only discrete eigenvalues are allowed. The phase classification by integer or binary indices extends the classification known for translation invariant systems in terms of their band structure. However, our theory requires no translation invariance whatsoever, and the indices we define in this general setting are invariant under arbitrary symmetric local perturbations, even those that cannot be continuously contracted to the identity. More precisely we define two indices for every walk, characterizing the behavior far to the right and far to the left, respectively. Their sum is a lower bound on the number of eigenstates at +1 and −1. For a translation invariant system the indices add up to zero, so one of them already characterizes the phase. By joining two bulk phases with different indices we get a walk in which the right and left indices no longer cancel, so the theory predicts bound states at +1 or −1. This is a rigorous statement of bulk-edge correspondence. The results also apply to the Hamiltonian case with a single gap at zero.
Symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases in insulators and superconductors are known for their robust edge modes, linked to bulk invariants through the bulk-boundary correspondence. While this principle traditionally applies to gapped phases, recent advances have extended it to gapless systems, where topological edge-states persist even in the absence of a bulk gap. We extend this framework to periodically driven chains with chiral symmetry, revealing the existence of topological edge zero and $\ensuremath{\pi}$ modes despite the lack of bulk gaps in the quasienergy spectrum. By examining the half-period decomposition of chiral evolutions, we construct topological invariants that circumvent the need to define the Floquet Hamiltonian, making them more suitable for generalization to the gapless regime. We provide explicit examples, including generalizations of the Kitaev chain and related spin models, where localized $\ensuremath{\pi}$ modes emerge even when the bulk is gapless at the same quasienergy as the edge modes. We numerically study the effect of interactions, which give a finite lifetime to the edge modes in the thermodynamic limit with the decay rate consistent with Fermi's golden rule.
We propose a general construction scheme of topological pump for correlated systems with local gauge symmetry. The bulk-edge correspondence is one of its natural consequences. As a concrete example, an SU(Q) quantum chain associated with a local ${[U(1)]}^{\ensuremath{\bigotimes}Q}$ gauge invariance of colored fermions is discussed in detail. The SU(Q) invariant dimer phases are characterized by the ZQ Berry phases as a topological order parameter with a d-dimensional twist space ($d=Q\ensuremath{-}1$) as a synthetic Brillouin zone. By inclusion of the symmetry breaking perturbation specified by a rational parameter $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Phi}}=P/Q$, the pump that encloses around the phase boundary, is characterized by the Q Chern numbers associated with the currents due to uniform infinitesimal twists. The analysis of the systems under the open/periodic/twisted boundary conditions clarifies the bulk-edge correspondence of the pump where the large gauge transformation generated by the center-of-mass (CoM) plays a central role. An explicit formula for the Chern number is given by using the Diophantine equation. Numerical demonstrations by the exact diagonalization and the DMRG for finite systems (Q=3,4, and 5) have been presented to confirm the general discussions for low-energy spectra, edge states, CoM's, Chern numbers, and the bulk-edge correspondence. A modified Lieb-Schultz-Mattis type argument for the general SU(Q) quantum chain is also mentioned.
We consider bulk-gapped fermion systems whose infinite-volume bulk is obtained by adding sufficiently weak even many-body interactions to a free Hamiltonian with spectral gap g>0, allowing polynomial spatial decay of both parts. We prove quantitative local determination of low-energy states: whenever another interaction agrees with the bulk interaction inside a finite or infinite region U, with bulk terms crossing its boundary unchanged or removed, all its states with excitation energies in [0,3g/4] have local expectations close to those of the bulk ground state deep inside U. The error decays with the distance to the complement of U, independently of the interaction terms supported outside U and of the chosen low-energy state.
Quantitative local determination has strong consequences. (i) The bulk interaction has a unique algebraic ground state. (ii) A strong "local perturbations perturb locally" (LPPL) principle holds: arbitrary distant defects change local ground-state expectations only by a spatially decaying error. (iii) Low-energy excitations in finite samples remain localized near the boundary for all times, up to spatially decaying tails, uniformly over arbitrary even boundary terms. (iv) Correlations from deep inside U to outside U are small, with quantitative bounds in terms of spatial separation and distance to Uc.
To prove local determination of low-energy states, we combine quasi-adiabatic transport of the free ground state to the interacting bulk ground state with a new condition, local excitation detectability (LED). A companion paper establishes gap stability and constructs the transport for weak interactions, while we prove LED at sufficiently weak coupling. The abstract theorem is nonperturbative and applies whenever the transport and LED hypotheses hold.
We show that topology can protect exponentially localized, zero energy edge modes at critical points between one-dimensional symmetry-protected topological phases. This is possible even without gapped degrees of freedom in the bulk-in contrast to recent work on edge modes in gapless chains. We present an intuitive picture for the existence of these edge modes in the case of noninteracting spinless fermions with time-reversal symmetry (BDI class of the tenfold way). The stability of this phenomenon relies on a topological invariant defined in terms of a complex function, counting its zeros and poles inside the unit circle. This invariant can prevent two models described by the same conformal field theory (CFT) from being smoothly connected. A full classification of critical phases in the noninteracting BDI class is obtained: Each phase is labeled by the central charge of the CFT, c∈1/2N, and the topological invariant, ω∈Z. Moreover, c is determined by the difference in the number of edge modes between the phases neighboring the transition. Numerical simulations show that the topological edge modes of critical chains can be stable in the presence of interactions and disorder.