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arXiv:2610.10679

SC$^\sharp$: superconductivity intertwined with topological order

Zhi-Qiang Gao, Yanqi Wang, Hui Yang, Zhaoyu Han, Ashvin Vishwanath

Published Oct 7, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

Superconductivity and intrinsic topological order can intertwine in ways that go beyond simple coexistence. Here we develop a classification framework for (2+1)D gapped superconductors with condensate charge $2ne$. By focusing on the topological properties of superconducting vortices, we precisely characterize this interplay. We obtain a classification with increasing levels of intertwinement, from the well known invertible superconductors without topological order, to untwisted and twisted SC$^\ast$, and finally to SC$^{\sharp}$. Our main finding is the family SC$^{\sharp}$, in which the elementary vortex carrying $h/(2ne)$ flux cannot be factorized into an invertible superconductor vortex dressed by bulk anyons, and every elementary vortex is necessarily non-Abelian. For such phases, we also obtain no-go results: the elementary vortex sector has quantum dimension at least $\sqrt{6}$ and cannot satisfy Fibonacci fusion rules. We develop a systematic algebraic framework to obtain all these superconducting phases through anyon condensation, allowing us to construct several infinite families of examples and make connections to anyon superconductivity. Finally, we introduce primitive SC$^\sharp$ phases for which factorization of every nontrivial vortex sector is obstructed, and argue that they cannot arise by disordering the relative phases of lower-charge superconducting condensates. Our classification scheme based on vortex properties allows us to uncover new distinctions between topologically ordered superconductors and constrain how they can be realized.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2610.10679

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SC♯^\sharp♯: superconductivity intertwined with topological order
Superconductivity and intrinsic topological order can intertwine in ways that go beyond simple coexistence. Here we develop a classification framework for (2+1)D gapped superconductors with condensate charge 2ne2ne2ne. By focusing on the topological properties of superconducting vortices, we precisely characterize this interplay. We obtain a classification with increasing levels of intertwinement, from the well known invertible superconductors without topological order, to untwisted and twisted SC∗^\ast∗, and finally to SC♯^{\sharp}♯. Our main finding is the family SC♯^{\sharp}♯, in which the elementary vortex carrying h/(2ne)h/(2ne)h/(2ne) flux cannot be factorized into an invertible superconductor vortex dressed by bulk anyons, and every elementary vortex is necessarily non-Abelian. For such phases, we also obtain no-go results: the elementary vortex sector has quantum dimension at least 6\sqrt{6}6​ and cannot satisfy Fibonacci fusion rules. We develop a systematic algebraic framework to obtain all these superconducting phases through anyon condensation, allowing us to construct several infinite families of examples and make connections to anyon superconductivity. Finally, we introduce primitive SC♯^\sharp♯ phases for which factorization of every nontrivial vortex sector is obstructed, and argue that they cannot arise by disordering the relative phases of lower-charge superconducting condensates. Our classification scheme based on vortex properties allows us to uncover new distinctions between topologically ordered superconductors and constrain how they can be realized.
Topologically ordered superfluids (TOSFs) support deconfined, gapped anyonic excitations while remaining gapless because of Goldstone modes. We develop a general framework for characterizing their topological data in (2+1)(2+1)(2+1)-dimensional bosonic systems with spontaneously broken charge U(1)c{\rm U}(1)_{\rm c}U(1)c​ symmetry. Gauging U(1)c{\rm U}(1)_{\rm c}U(1)c​ maps a TOSF to a gapped topological order enriched by a dual U(1)dual{\rm U}(1)_{\rm dual}U(1)dual​ symmetry with vanishing Hall conductance, while gauging U(1)dual{\rm U}(1)_{\rm dual}U(1)dual​ recovers the TOSF. This two-way mapping allows the topological data of the TOSF, including the condensate charge, deconfined anyon content, and topological properties of vortices, to be systematically encoded using the algebraic framework of symmetry-enriched topological orders. In particular, superfluid vortices share the topological properties of flux defects associated with the residual discrete symmetry in the gapped anyon sector. We develop complementary algebraic and field-theoretic formulations of this framework, with the latter also suggesting a natural transition to a gapped topologically ordered phase. Additionally, using parton constructions, we present examples of TOSFs with non-Abelian vortices in bosonic systems.
Charge-4e4e4e superconductor with parafermionic vortices: A path to universal topological quantum computation
Topological superconductors (TSCs) provide a promising route to fault-tolerant quantum information processing. However, the canonical Majorana platform based on 2e2e2e TSCs remains computationally constrained. In this work, we find a 4e4e4e TSC that overcomes these constraints by combining a charge-4e4e4e condensate with an Abelian chiral Z3\mathbb{Z}_3Z3​ topological order in an intertwined fashion. Remarkably, this 4e4e4e TSC can be obtained by proliferating vortex-antivortex pairs in a stack of two 2e2e2e p+ipp+ipp+ip TSCs, or by melting a ν=2/3ν=2/3ν=2/3 quantum Hall state. Specific to this TSC, the hc/(4e)hc/(4e)hc/(4e) fluxes act as charge-conjugation defects in the topological order, whose braiding with anyons transmutes anyons into their antiparticles. This symmetry enrichment leads to Z3\mathbb{Z}_3Z3​ parafermion zero modes trapped in the elementary vortex cores, which naturally encode qutrits. Braiding the parafermion defects alone generates the full many-qutrit Clifford group. We further show that a single-probe interferometric measurement enables topologically protected magic-state preparation, promoting Clifford operations to a universal gate set. Because the non-Abelian modes are bound to flux defects, they can, in principle, be externally controlled using superconducting circuit-based technology. More broadly, our results highlight hierarchical electron aggregation, the formation and condensation of higher-charge electron clusters, as a design principle for topological quantum matter with increased computational capability.
Anyon superconductivity arises from the condensation of mobile anyons rather than from a conventional Cooper instability, yet a systematic wavefunction description remains lacking. We develop a hierarchy-wavefunction construction for superconducting states derived from parent topological orders and identify their off-diagonal long-range order, condensate charge, chiral central charge, and residual topological order through the plasma analogy and topological field theories. We construct Abelian and non-Abelian examples descending from the semion state, a ν=2/3ν=2/3ν=2/3 hierarchy state, the ν=1/3ν=1/3ν=1/3 Laughlin state, ν=1ν=1ν=1 integer quantum Hall state, and Pfaffian state. Remarkably, for the semion case, the superconducting many-semion wavefunction is equivalent to a state of fermionized anyons filling two effective Landau levels, recovering Laughlin's original construction of semion superconductor. Finally, we show that hierarchy wavefunctions emerge naturally in the dilute, long-distance limit of the anyon-Hilbert-space formulation, which applies to ideal Chern bands and moiré bands of twisted bilayer MoTe2_22​. Our results establish a unified wavefunction-level framework linking anyon condensation, superconducting order, and topological field theory.
Condensable algebras in 2+1d non-chiral topological orders characterize gapped boundary conditions and interfaces. Applied to the Symmetry Topological Field Theory, they allow classification of symmetric gapped phases and impose sharp constraints on possible phase transitions. A condensable algebra is specified not only by its underlying set of anyons, which end on the boundary or interface, but also by its algebra structure. We introduce the concept of twin condensable algebras, which have the same anyon decomposition, but inequivalent algebra structure. We revisit the classification of condensable algebras in Z(VecGω)\mathcal{Z}(\text{Vec}_G^ω)Z(VecGω​), i.e. in group-theoretical topological orders for finite groups GGG with anomaly ωωω. In this context we are able to identify twin algebras that arise from different mechanisms, such as subgroup data, SPT cocycles, and symmetry actions. In particular, we construct infinite families of examples of twins from so-called Gassmann triples, and exhibit cases in which the reduced topological orders are inequivalent despite having identical anyon content. Physically, twin algebras describe distinct symmetric phases that have isomorphic spaces of ground states, but inequivalent order parameters. Such twin phases never exhibit relative spontaneous symmetry breaking, and can be used to construct phase transitions without hidden symmetry breaking, which are intrinsically beyond Landau transitions.
Quantum phases of matter can be classified into two kinds: gapped or gapless, depending on whether the equilibrium ground state is separated from excited states by a finite energy window or not in the thermodynamic limit. Topology has played an important role in the understanding of both gapped and gapless phases of matter. This thesis uncovers several robust physical properties of both kinds of systems which are largely unexplored before. \\ For gapped systems, we study topological orders, which are characterized by the existence of anyonic quasiparticles with fractional braiding statistics. In the first part, we introduce a family of Abelian quantum Hall insulators, at filling factors ν=p/2q\nu = p/2qν=p/2q for bosonic systems and ν=p/(p+2q)\nu=p/(p+2q)ν=p/(p+2q) for fermionic systems, with ppp and qqq being two coprime integers. These states are termed the \textit{nondiagonal} quantum Hall states, which are constructed in a coupled wire model that exhibits an intimate relation to the nondiagonal conformal field theory and has a constrained pattern of motion for anyons. We unveil a nontrivial interplay between charge symmetry and translation symmetry in this system, and establish the nondiagonal quantum Hall states as symmetry-enriched topological orders. In the second part, we introduce a related model of interacting electrons, but in the absence of a strong quantizing magnetic field, known as the \textit{toric code insulator}. It is constructed from a two-dimensional array of strongly coupled one-dimensional topological superconductors, which feature electron fractionalization and possesses anyonic excitations described by the Z2\mathbb{Z}_2Z2​ topological order. The motion of anyons is again constrained, and different types of anyons can be related by the translation symmetry. Nondiagonal quantum Hall states and the toric code insulator are convincing examples that itinerant electronic systems can realize interesting symmetry-enriched topological orders.\\ For gapless quantum matters we focus on a particularly familiar class, the metals, but we uncover their topological aspects which were much less appreciated. Every metal is characterized by a Fermi surface of gapless excitations, and the Fermi surface surrounds a manifold in the momentum space, known as the Fermi sea. The ground state of a non-interacting metal, or a Fermi gas, consists of all single-electron states within the Fermi sea. The shape of the Fermi sea has a natural topological characterization in terms of the Euler characteristic χF\chi_FχF​, and a fundamental question that we address in this thesis is: \textbf{does χF\chi_FχF​ imply any robust physical properties in metals, and how can they be measured?} In the third part of the thesis, χF\chi_FχF​ is connected to physically measurable quantities, such as equal-time density-density correlation functions, and multipartite entanglement measures, such as the mutual information. Particularly, for three dimensions, we establish that the 4-partite mutual information is a robust probe of the Fermi sea topology even in the presence of Fermi-liquid interactions. In the last part, we focus on two dimensions, and propose an experimentally accessible platform to probe χF\chi_FχF​ for any two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) that respects time-reversal symmetry. The proposed experimental setup is a Josephson π\piπ-junction, and we predict that the electrical transport in the direction \textit{along} the junction exhibits a current-rectification effect that is controlled by the underlying Fermi sea topology. Due to the relation to Andreev state transport, we term this effect \textit{topological Andreev rectification}. The size of rectification is quantified by a \textit{nonlocal rectified conductance}, which is established to attain an integer quantized value that equals χF\chi_FχF​ (in unit of e2/he^2/he2/h). Extensive numerical simulations are performed to support our theoretical proposal, and material platforms such as InAs heterostructures and graphene are identified as promising candidates to demonstrate this effect.
We systematically study topological phases of insulators and superconductors (or superfluids) in three spatial dimensions. We find that there exist three-dimensional (3D) topologically nontrivial insulators or superconductors in five out of ten symmetry classes introduced in seminal work by Altland and Zirnbauer within the context of random matrix theory, more than a decade ago. One of these is the recently introduced Z2{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}Z2​ topological insulator in the symplectic (or spin-orbit) symmetry class. We show that there exist precisely four more topological insulators. For these systems, all of which are time-reversal invariant in three dimensions, the space of insulating ground states satisfying certain discrete symmetry properties is partitioned into topological sectors that are separated by quantum phase transitions. Three of the above five topologically nontrivial phases can be realized as time-reversal invariant superconductors. In these the different topological sectors are characterized by an integer winding number defined in momentum space. When such 3D topological insulators are terminated by a two-dimensional surface, they support a number (which may be an arbitrary nonvanishing even number for singlet pairing) of Dirac fermion (Majorana fermion when spin-rotation symmetry is completely broken) surface modes which remain gapless under arbitrary perturbations of the Hamiltonian that preserve the characteristic discrete symmetries, including disorder. In particular, these surface modes completely evade Anderson localization from random impurities. These topological phases can be thought of as three-dimensional analogs of well-known paired topological phases in two spatial dimensions such as the spinless chiral $({p}_{x}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}i{p}_{y})$-wave superconductor (or Moore-Read Pfaffian state). In the corresponding topologically nontrivial (analogous to ``weak pairing'') and topologically trivial (analogous to ``strong pairing'') 3D phases, the wave functions exhibit markedly distinct behavior. When an electromagnetic U(1) gauge field and fluctuations of the gap functions are included in the dynamics, the superconducting phases with nonvanishing winding number possess nontrivial topological ground-state degeneracies.