Topological phases of matter provide a flexible platform to engineer unconventional quantum excitations in quantum materials. Beyond single particle topological matter, in systems with strong quantum many-body correlations, many-body effects can be the driving force for non-trivial topology. Here, we propose a one-dimensional engineered Kondo lattice where the emergence of topological excitations is driven by collective many-body Kondo physics. We first show the existence of topological zero modes in this system by solving the interacting model with tensor networks, and demonstrate their robustness against disorder. To unveil the origin of the topological zero modes, we analyze the associated periodic Anderson model showing that it can be mapped to a topological non-Hermitian model, enabling rationalizing the origin of the topological zero modes. We finally show that the topological invariant of the many-body Kondo lattice can be computed with a correlation matrix pumping method directly with the exact quantum many-body wave function. Our results provide a strategy to engineer topological Kondo insulators, highlighting quantum magnetism as a driving force in engineering topological matter.
Topological phases of matter provide a flexible platform to engineer unconventional quantum excitations in quantum materials. Beyond single particle topological matter, in systems with strong quantum many-body correlations, many-body effects can be the driving force for non-trivial topology. Here, we propose a one-dimensional engineered Kondo lattice where the emergence of topological excitations is driven by collective many-body Kondo physics. We first show the existence of topological zero modes in this system by solving the interacting model with tensor networks, and demonstrate their robustness against disorder. To unveil the origin of the topological zero modes, we analyze the associated periodic Anderson model showing that it can be mapped to a topological non-Hermitian model, enabling rationalizing the origin of the topological zero modes. We finally show that the topological invariant of the many-body Kondo lattice can be computed with a correlation matrix pumping method directly with the exact quantum many-body wave function. Our results provide a strategy to engineer topological Kondo insulators, highlighting quantum magnetism as a driving force in engineering topological matter.
Heavy-fermion or Kondo lattice materials are considered to be typical strongly correlated systems, for which mean-field approximations have shown that the Coulomb interaction increases the effective mass and narrows the band gap. In this paper, to clarify interaction effects on the electronic excitation, the spectral function of the Kondo lattice and periodic Anderson models is studied around Kondo insulators in the strong-coupling regime, by using the non-Abelian dynamical density-matrix renormalization group method and perturbation theory. Upon doping a Kondo insulator, an electronic mode emerges in the Kondo insulating gap, exhibiting the momentum-shifted magnetic dispersion relation. Although the ground-state properties are similar to those of a doped band insulator, the emergence of the electronic mode reflecting spin-charge separation of the Kondo insulator is a crucial interaction effect that allows us to regard the Kondo-insulator--metal transition as a type of Mott transition. In addition, electronic modes emerge even in the high-energy regime by doping in the periodic Anderson model. These strong-correlation effects have not been expected in conventional mean-field approximations and would bring a different perspective on heavy-fermion or Kondo lattice systems.
Understanding correlation effects in topological phases of matter is at the forefront of current research in condensed matter physics. Here we try to clarify some subtleties in studying topological behaviors of interacting Weyl semimetals. It is well known that there exist two topological invariants defined to identify their topological character. One is the many-body Chern number, which can be directly linked to the Hall conductivity and thus to the two-particle correlations. The other is the topological index constructed from the single-particle Green's functions. Because the information on Green's functions is achieved more easily than the many-body wave functions, usually only the topological index is employed in the literature. However, the approach based on the single-particle Green's function can break down in the strongly correlated phase. For illustration, an exactly solvable two-orbital model with momentum-local two-body interactions is discussed, in which both topological invariants can be calculated analytically. We find that the topological index calculated from the Green's function formalism can be nonzero even for a nontopological strongly correlated phase with a vanishing many-body Chern number. In addition, we stress that the physical surface states implied by nonzero many-body Chern numbers should be the edge modes of particle-hole collective excitations, rather than those of a quasiparticle nature derived from the Green's function formalism. Our observations thus demonstrate the limitation of the validity of the Green's function formalism in the investigations of interacting topological materials.
The Schrödinger equation is nearly a century old, yet we are still in the midst of uncovering the remarkable phenomena emerging in many-body quantum systems. From superconductivity to anyonic quasiparticles, nature consistently surprises with its rich self-organization. To elucidate and grasp this variety, it is paramount to understand the phases of matter that can occur in many-body ground states, as well as their emergent collective excitations. Of particular interest are topological phases of matter, characterized by exotic excitations or edge phenomena. There exist by now several universal frameworks for gapped systems, i.e., those with an energy gap above the ground state. However, in the last decade, a multitude of gapless quantum wires---effectively one-dimensional systems---have been reported to be topologically non-trivial. A framework for their understanding and classification is missing. In addition to ground state order---topological or otherwise---a more complete picture involves the properties of excitations above the ground state. Alas, little is known about excitations beyond the universal low-energy regime. In part, this is due to a lack of analytical and numerical methods able to describe excitations at finite energies, especially in strongly-interacting systems beyond one dimension. In this thesis, we address these issues: firstly, we build a general understanding of topological phases in one dimension, including both gapped and gapless cases. In particular, we unify previously studied examples into a single framework. Secondly, we develop a novel numerical method for obtaining spectral functions in two dimensions---these give direct insight into the properties of excitations and are moreover experimentally measurable. Using this numerical method, we uncover a variety of robust properties of excitations at finite energies. Part I of this thesis concerns gapped and gapless topological phases in one dimension. In Chapter 2, we first treat the case of non-interacting fermions. Therein, we review the known classification of gapped phases before extending it to the gapless case, showing that exponentially-localized Majorana zero modes can still emerge at the edge when the bulk is gapless. Interacting gapped phases are discussed in Chapter 3, with a focus on symmetry-protected topological order. These have already been classified; our contribution is to provide a non-technical review of this classification as well as showing that many paradigmatic model Hamiltonians can be related to one another. Finally, Chapter 4 introduces the notion of symmetry-enriched quantum criticality, which we propose as a framework for classifying gapless phases. The key message is that in the presence of symmetries, a universality class can divide into distinct phases, characterized by the symmetry action on the low-energy scaling operators. This includes gapless topological phases, with examples hiding in plain sight; we clarify their stability and reinterpret previously studied examples. Part II studies the excitations above the ground states of two-dimensional quantum spin models. The main object of our study is the dynamic spin structure factor; this type of spectral function is reviewed in the first part of Chapter 5. The second part of this chapter introduces a novel matrix-product-state-based algorithm to efficiently compute it, opening a new window on the dynamics of two-dimensional quantum systems. We benchmark this numerical method in Chapter 6 on the exactly-solvable Kitaev model---a paradigmatic topological model realizing a quantum spin liquid. By adding non-integrable Heisenberg perturbations, we identify the first unequivocal theoretical realization of a proximate spin liquid: the ground state becomes conventionally ordered, yet the high-energy spectral properties are structurally similar to those of the nearby Kitaev spin liquid. The latter agrees with aspects of recent inelastic neutron scattering experiments on alpha-RuCl3. In Chapter 7, we turn to one of the oldest models in many-body quantum physics: the spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the square lattice. Despite its venerable history, there is still disagreement about the physical origin of high-energy spectral features which low-order spin wave theory cannot account for. We provide a simple picture for this strongly-interacting-magnon feature by connecting it to a simple Ising limit. Lastly, Chapter 8 discusses the stability of quasiparticles---collective excitations behaving like a single emergent entity, of which magnons are a prime example. These are often known to be stable at the lowest energies and are presumed to decay whenever this is seemingly allowed by energy and momentum conservation. However, we show that strong interactions can prevent this from happening. We numerically confirm this principle of avoided decay in the (slightly-detuned) Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the triangular lattice. Moreover, we can even identify its fingerprints in existing experimental data on Ba3CoSb2O9 and superfluid helium. In this thesis, we thus enlarge our understanding of quantum phases and their excitations. The identification of the key principles of gapless topological phases in one dimension calls for direct analogues in higher dimensions, waiting to be uncovered. With regard to the robust properties of the excitations identified in this thesis, we are hopeful that these can be extended into a theory of quasiparticle properties away from the universal low-energy regime.
Kondo breakdown is one of the most intriguing problems in strongly correlated electron systems, as it is rooted in many anomalous electron behaviors found in heavy-fermion materials. In Kondo lattice systems, Kondo breakdown can arise from either strong magnetic frustrations or critical fluctuations of collective modes. Here, we reveal another type of Kondo breakdown with a fully different origin in interacting topological Kondo insulators. By employing numerically exact quantum Monte Carlo simulations, we show that with open boundary conditions, Kondo screening is inexorably destroyed by interaction effects on edges or corners in these systems. We argue that the Kondo breakdown is enforced by the symmetries of the system, because the ground states are symmetry-protected Haldane phases.
Electronic flat bands represent a paradigmatic platform to realize strongly correlated matter due to their associated divergent density of states. In common instances, including electron-electron interactions leads to magnetic instabilities for repulsive interactions and superconductivity for attractive interactions. Nevertheless, interactions of a Kondo nature in flat-band systems have remained relatively unexplored. Here we address the emergence of interacting states mediated by Kondo lattice coupled to a flat-band system. Combining dynamical mean-field theory and tensor networks methods to solve flat-band Kondo lattice models in one and two dimensions, we show the emergence of a robust underscreened regime leading to a magnetically ordered state in the flat band. Our results put forward flat-band Kondo lattice models as a platform to explore the genuine interplay between flat-band physics and many-body Kondo screening.
With the discovery of the integer quantum Hall effect by von Klitzing and collaborators in 1980, the mathematical field of topology entered the world of condensed matter physics. Almost three decades later, this eventually led to the theoretical prediction and the experimental realization of many intriguing topological materials and topology-based devices. In this Ph.D. thesis, we will study the interplay between topology and another key topic in condensed matter physics, namely the study of inter-particle interactions in many-body systems. This interplay is analyzed from two different perspectives. Firstly, we studied how the presence of electron-electron interactions affects single-electron injection into a couple of counter-propagating one-dimensional edge channels. The latter appear at the edges of topologically non-trivial systems in the quantum spin Hall regime and they can also be engineered by exploiting the integer quantum Hall effect. Because of inter-channel interactions, the injected electron splits up into a couple of counter-propagating fractional excitations. Here, we carefully study and discuss their properties by means of an analytical approach based on the Luttinger liquid theory and the bosonization method. Our results are quite relevant in the context of the so-called electron quantum optics, a fast developing field which deeply exploits the topological protection of one-dimensional edge states to study the coherent propagation of electrons in solid-state devices. As an aside, we also showed that similar analytical techniques can also be used to study the time-resolved dynamics of a Luttinger liquid subject to a sudden change of the interaction strength, a protocol known as quantum quench which is gaining more and more attention, especially within the cold-atoms community. Secondly, we study how inter-particle interactions can enhance the topological properties of strictly one-dimensional fermionic systems. More precisely, the starting point is the seminal Kitaev chain, a free-fermionic lattice model which hosts exotic Majorana zero-energy modes at its ends. The latter are extremely relevant in the context of topological quantum computation because of their non-Abelian anyonic exchange statistics. Here we show that, by properly adding electron-electron interactions to the Kitaev chain, it is possible to obtain lattice models which feature zero-energy parafermionic modes, an even more intriguing generalization of Majoranas. To this end, we develop at first an exact mapping between Z4 parafermions and ordinary fermions on a lattice. We subsequently exploit this mapping to analytically obtain an exactly solvable fermionic model hosting zero-energy parafermions. We study their properties and numerically investigate their signatures and robustness even when parameters are tuned away from the exactly solvable point.