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arXiv:2308.06883

Superselection sectors in the 3d Toric Code

Siddharth Vadnerkar

Published Aug 14, 2023• 0 citations
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Abstract

We rigorously define superselection sectors in the 3d (spatial dimensions) Toric Code Model on the infinite lattice $\mathbb{Z}^3$. We begin by constructing automorphisms that correspond to infinite flux strings, a phenomenon that's only possible in open manifolds. We then classify all ground state superselection sectors containing infinite flux strings, and find a rich structure that depends on the geometry and number of strings in the configuration. In particular, for a single infinite flux string configuration to be a ground state, it must be monotonic. For configurations containing multiple infinite flux strings, we define "infinity directions" and use that to establish a necessary and sufficient condition for a state to be in a ground state superselection sector. Notably, we also find that if a state contains more than 3 infinite flux strings, then it is not in a ground state superselection sector.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2308.06883

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We rigorously define superselection sectors in the 3d (spatial dimensions) Toric Code Model on the infinite lattice Z3\mathbb{Z}^3Z3. We begin by constructing automorphisms that correspond to infinite flux strings, a phenomenon that's only possible in open manifolds. We then classify all ground state superselection sectors containing infinite flux strings, and find a rich structure that depends on the geometry and number of strings in the configuration. In particular, for a single infinite flux string configuration to be a ground state, it must be monotonic. For configurations containing multiple infinite flux strings, we define "infinity directions" and use that to establish a necessary and sufficient condition for a state to be in a ground state superselection sector. Notably, we also find that if a state contains more than 3 infinite flux strings, then it is not in a ground state superselection sector.
Can excitation structure classify topological quantum codes up to finite-depth local circuits? For translation-invariant topological Calderbank--Shor--Steane (CSS) codes in arbitrary dimensions, we introduce excitation superselection profiles Eσ\mathscr E_σEσ​ (σ=X,Zσ=X,Zσ=X,Z). Their cohomology layers Eσℓ:=Hℓ(Eσ)E_σ^\ell:=H^\ell(\mathscr E_σ)Eσℓ​:=Hℓ(Eσ​) encode excitation types, fusion rules, and translation action, while Eσ\mathscr E_σEσ​ retains cross-degree gluing. Pointlike, looplike, and higher-dimensional excitations correspond to degrees ℓ=1,2,…\ell=1,2,\ldotsℓ=1,2,…, respectively. Our matrix-level Schanuel-lemma method proves single-degree superselection rigidity: if Eσ\mathscr E_σEσ​ is supported in a single degree ℓ\ellℓ, then EσℓE_σ^\ellEσℓ​ and ℓ\ellℓ fix the stable translation-invariant Clifford class under a finite-resolution hypothesis automatic for prime qudits. If EσℓE_σ^\ellEσℓ​ is also finite, prime-qudit codes decouple into toric-code stacks by Clifford circuits after coarse graining, with the exact minimal threshold set by the translation kernel. We develop a unified topological theory of Koszul-complex models (encompassing toric codes, bivariate-bicycle codes, and Haah's cubic code): for regular models, we compute EσℓE_σ^\ellEσℓ​, prove Eσ\mathscr E_σEσ​ is single-degree, express finite-torus logical modules as Tor\mathrm{Tor}Tor groups, and obtain coarse-grained toric-stack normal forms at full length. Two constructions extend this framework to realize any admissible single-degree profile and build multi-degree extensions. The latter yields eight 3D qubit toric-code extensions with identical layers in both Pauli sectors and trivial translation action, yet distinct size-dependent ground-state degeneracies. The seven nonsplit models require blocking to decouple. Thus, cross-degree gluing carries translation-symmetry-enriched topological information invisible to individual layers.
We consider charge superselection sectors of two-dimensional quantum spin models corresponding to cone localisable charges, and prove that the number of equivalence classes of such charges is bounded by the Kosaki-Longo index of an inclusion of certain observable algebras. To demonstrate the power of this result we apply the theory to the toric code on a 2D infinite lattice. For this model we can compute the index of this inclusion, and conclude that there are four distinct irreducible charges in this model, in accordance with the analysis of the toric code model on compact surfaces. We also give a sufficient criterion for the non-degeneracy of the charge sectors, in the sense that Verlinde's matrix S is invertible.
This dissertation discusses some properties of topologically ordered states as they appear in the setting of infinite quantum spin systems. We begin by studying the set of infinite volume ground states for Kitaev's abelian quantum double models. We show that states describing a single excitation in the bulk are infinite volume ground states, that is, local perturbations cannot remove the charge. The single excitations states, which are inequivalent for distinct charges, give a complete characterization of the sector theory for the set of ground states. Furthermore, any pure ground state is equivalent to some single excitation ground state. We proceed to study the stability of charges that are classified by certain representations of the algebra of observables. We introduce a new superselection criterion selecting almost localized and transportable ∗*∗-endomorphisms with respect to a vacuum state. Equivalence classes of representations satisfying the superselection criterion form different charged superselection sectors of the system. We show that if the vacuum state satisfies certain locality conditions then the superselection structure will be a braided tensor C∗C^*C∗-category. Further, this superselection structure is stable up to deformations by a quasi-local dynamics. This result is then applied to show that the anyon structure of the abelian quantum double models is stable under local perturbations.
This is the continuation of our study of the Levin-Wen model based on an arbitrary unitary fusion category C\mathcal{C}C on the infinite plane. The ground state of the Levin-Wen model hosts anyonic excitations whose fusion and braiding properties are captured by the associated braided C∗\rm C^*C∗-tensor category of superselection sectors SSS\mathsf{SSS}SSS. By constructing explicit isomorphisms between the fusion spaces of SSS\mathsf{SSS}SSS and those of the Drinfeld center Z(C)Z(\mathcal{C})Z(C), we show that these two categories have isomorphic FFF- and RRR-symbols. It follows that the full subcategory of finite sectors is unitarily braided monoidally equivalent to the Drinfeld center,  SSSf≃Z(C).\,\mathsf{SSS}_f \simeq Z(\mathcal{C}).SSSf​≃Z(C). This provides the first complete characterisation of the category of superselection sectors for a class of two-dimensional lattice models supporting anyons with non-integer quantum dimensions.
Abstract The split property of a pure state for a certain cut of a quantum spin system can be understood as the entanglement between the two subsystems being weak. From this point of view, we may say that if it is not possible to transform a state ω\omega ω ω via sufficiently local automorphisms (in a sense that we will make precise) into a state satisfying the split property, then the state ω\omega ω ω has a long-range entanglement. It is well known that in 1D, gapped ground states have the split property with respect to cutting the system into left and right half-chains. In 2D, however, the split property fails to hold for interesting models such as Kitaev’s toric code. Here we show that this failure is the reason that anyons can exist in that model. There is a folklore saying that the existence of anyons, like in the toric code model, implies long-range entanglement of the state. In this paper, we prove this folklore in an infinite dimensional setting. More precisely, we show that long-range entanglement, in a way that we will define precisely, is a necessary condition to have non-trivial superselection sectors. Anyons in particular give rise to such non-trivial sectors. States with the split property for cones, on the other hand, do not admit non-trivial sectors. A key technical ingredient of our proof is that under suitable assumptions on locality, the automorphisms generated by local interactions can be “approximately factorized.” That is, they can be written as the tensor product of automorphisms localized in a cone and its complement respectively, followed by an automorphism acting near the “boundary” of Λ\Lambda Λ Λ , and conjugation with a unitary. This result may be of independent interest. This technique also allows us to prove that theapproximatesplit property, a weaker version of the split property thatissatisfied in e.g. the toric code, is stable under applying such automorphisms.
This is an extended and corrected version of lecture notes originally written for a one semester course at Leibniz University Hannover. The main aim of the notes is to give an introduction to the mathematical methods used in describing discrete quantum systems consisting of infinitely many sites. Such systems can be used, for example, to model the materials in condensed matter physics. The notes provide the necessary background material to access recent literature in the field. Some of these recent results are also discussed. The contents are roughly as follows: (1) quick recap of essentials from functional analysis, (2) introduction to operator algebra, (3) algebraic quantum mechanics, (4) infinite systems (quasilocal algebra), (5) KMS and ground states, (6) Lieb-Robinson bounds, (7) algebraic quantum field theory, (8) superselection sectors of the toric code, (9) Haag-Ruelle scattering theory in spin systems, (10) applications to gapped phases. The level is aimed at students who have at least had some exposure to (functional) analysis and have a certain mathematical maturity.