Abstract Symmetry protected topological (SPT) phases are fundamental quantum many-body states of matter beyond Landau’s paradigm. Here, we introduce the concept of quantum restoration of SPT (QRSPT) phases, where the protecting symmetry appears to be spontaneously broken at the shortest spatiotemporal scales, but restored after averaging over quantum fluctuations, so that topological features re-emerge. To illustrate the concept, we study a one-dimensional fermionic Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model with fluctuating superconducting order. We solve this problem in several limiting cases using a variety of analytical methods and compare them to numerical (density matrix renormalization group) simulations, which are valid throughout the parameter regime. We thereby map out the phase diagram and identify a QRSPT phase with topological features which are reminiscent of (but not identical to) the topology of the underlying free fermion system. The paradigm of QRSPT phases thereby stimulates a new perspective for the constructive design of novel topological quantum many-body phases.
Abstract Symmetry protected topological (SPT) phases are fundamental quantum many-body states of matter beyond Landau’s paradigm. Here, we introduce the concept of quantum restoration of SPT (QRSPT) phases, where the protecting symmetry appears to be spontaneously broken at the shortest spatiotemporal scales, but restored after averaging over quantum fluctuations, so that topological features re-emerge. To illustrate the concept, we study a one-dimensional fermionic Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model with fluctuating superconducting order. We solve this problem in several limiting cases using a variety of analytical methods and compare them to numerical (density matrix renormalization group) simulations, which are valid throughout the parameter regime. We thereby map out the phase diagram and identify a QRSPT phase with topological features which are reminiscent of (but not identical to) the topology of the underlying free fermion system. The paradigm of QRSPT phases thereby stimulates a new perspective for the constructive design of novel topological quantum many-body phases.
We investigate topological signatures in the short-time non-equilibrium dynamics of symmetry protected topological (SPT) systems starting from initial states which break the protecting symmetry. Naïvely, one might expect that topology loses meaning when a protecting symmetry is broken. Defying this intuition, we illustrate, in an interacting Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model, how this combination of symmetry breaking and quench dynamics can give rise to both single-particle and many-body signatures of topology. From the dynamics of the symmetry broken state, we find that we are able to dynamically probe the equilibrium topological phase diagram of a symmetry respecting projection of the post-quench Hamiltonian. In the ensemble dynamics, we demonstrate how spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) of the protecting symmetry can result in a quantized many-body topological `invariant' which is not pinned under unitary time evolution. We dub this `dynamical many-body topology' (DMBT). We show numerically that both the pure state and ensemble signatures are remarkably robust, and argue that these non-equilibrium signatures should be quite generic in SPT systems, regardless of protecting symmetries or spatial dimension.
The interplay of symmetry, topology, and many-body effects in the classification of phases of matter poses a formidable challenge in condensed-matter physics. Such many-body effects are typically induced by inter-particle interactions involving an action at a distance, such as the Coulomb interaction between electrons in a symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phase. In this work, we show that similar phenomena also occur in certain relativistic theories with interactions mediated by gauge bosons, and constrained by gauge symmetry. In particular, we introduce a variant of the Schwinger model or quantum electrodynamics (QED) in 1+1 dimensions on an interval, which displays dynamical edge states localized on the boundary. We show that the system hosts SPT phases with a dynamical contribution to the vacuum $\ensuremath{\theta}$-angle from edge states, leading to a new type of topological QED in 1+1 dimensions. The resulting system displays an SPT phase which can be viewed as a correlated version of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger topological insulator for polyacetylene due to nonzero gauge couplings. We use bosonization and density-matrix renormalization group techniques to reveal the detailed phase diagram, which can further be explored in experiments of ultra-cold atoms in optical lattices.
Abstract Classifying and understanding phases of matter is an important task in condensed matter physics. The class of ‘conventional’ symmetry-broken phases is well understood in terms of Landau’s theory. A paradigmatic example is the Z2-symmetric Ising model with symmetric (paramagnetic) and symmetry-broken (ferromagnet) phases, which can be distinguished by measuring the magnetization as a local order parameter. Topological phases of matter, however, are less understood and no complete classification is known. These lecture notes discuss schemes that provide an understanding and characterization of certain topological phases of matter in models with local Hamiltonians. The main focus is on symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases in one-dimensional bosonic systems. On the basis of the entanglement properties of such systems, a motivation is given for the matrix product state (MPS) representation of ground states. Using the MPS framework, it is demonstrated how SPT phases can be classified using projective representations of the symmetries.
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.
Symmetry protected topological (SPT) phases are characterized by robust boundary features, which do not disappear unless passing through a phase transition. These boundary features can be quantified by a topological invariant which, in some cases, is related to a physical quantity, such as the spin conductivity for the quantum spin Hall insulators. In other cases, the boundary features give rise to new physics, such as the Majorana fermion. In all cases the boundary features can be analyzed with the help of an entanglement spectrum and their robustness make them promising candidates for storing quantum information. The topological invariant characterizing SPT phases is strictly only invariant under deformations which respect a certain \nsymmetry. For example, the boundary currents of the quantum spin Hall insulator are only robust against non-magnetic, i.e. time-reversal invariant, impurities. In this thesis we study the SPT phases of spin chains. \nAs a result of our work we find a topological invariant for SPT phases of spin chains which are protected by continuous symmetries. By means of a non-local order parameter we find a way to extract this invariant from the ground state wave function of the system. Using density-matrix-renormalization-group techniques we verify that this invariant is a tool to detect transitions between different topological phases. We find a non-local transformation that maps SPT phases to conventional phases characterized by a local order parameter. This transformation suggests an analogy between topological phases and conventional phases and thus give a deeper understanding of the role of topology in spin systems.
One problem of paramount importance in physics over various fields such as elementary particle physics, condensed matter physics, and statistical mechanics has been to make classification of phases of matter, including nontrivial structures of the vacuum. The triumphant history of theory on the phase classification and the phase transition can be traced back to Landau, which is based on the spontaneous breaking of symmetry. It is known, however, that other kinds of phases exist that cannot be characterized by conventional arguments of symmetry breaking, namely, topological phases. Topological phases are gapped phases at zero temperature without symmetry breaking. Examples of the topological phases include a quantum phase in a fractional quantum Hall system, where the ground state exhibits degeneracy, and an anyon, a quasi-particle with nontrivial statistical nature, neither boson nor fermion, emerges as a low-energy excitation. In contemporary physics of the 21st century, it has been revealed that, among various topological states, there exists a nontrivial ground state that does not have ground state degeneracy and yet can be distinguished from a trivial state. This nontrivial ground state, i.e., a topological insulator, has been recognized first in free electron systems [1–3] and later extended to more general quantum many-body systems with interactions including bosonic (spin) systems. Now, such a generalized situation is called a symmetry protected topological (SPT) phase [4–7]. From the point of a modern view of the SPT phase, nontrivial states, such as the Haldane state proposed in antiferromagnetic quantum spin systems in the 1980’s [8] and the ground state in the Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki model [9], belong to the SPT phase. A remarkable feature of the SPT phase is that, if the system has a surface, gapless surface states appear and they are stable against disturbances which do not break the symmetry. One way to understand these surface states is the quantum anomaly on the surface. That is, as long as the surface is concerned, the quantum anomaly arises, but the whole system has no quantum anomaly, and the symmetry is preserved due to cancellation from the bulk contribution. This canceling mechanism of the quantum anomaly has been long known as the anomaly inflow in elementary particle physics [10]. In fact, the classification of the SPT phases can be identified as the classification of the quantum anomaly through the bulk-boundary correspondence. This type of the quantum anomaly closely related to the SPT phase can provide us with a useful theoretical device to constrain phases that can or cannot be realized under the ’t Hooft anomaly matching condition [11–13]. It is quite difficult to scrutinize nonperturbatively interacting systems, but the ’t Hooft anomaly matching condition can be applied to those systems, and possible phases can be constrained. Nowadays, our understanding of the SPT phases has been so developed that applications of the anomaly matching condition can cover systems with finite groups and/or extending objects [14–16]. In this way, the concept of the topological phases has been essential by now in a wide range of physics, particularly in elementary particle physics, condensed matter physics, and statistical mechanics, as mentioned in the beginning. This special section is a collection of papers related to the topological aspects of physics including the topological phases. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the authors who made excellent contributions.