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Physical Review Research

Topological dualities via tensor networks

Carolin Wille, Jens Eisert, Alexander Altland

Published Mar 19, 2024• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The ground state of the toric code, that of the two-dimensional class D superconductor, and the partition sum of the two-dimensional Ising model are dual to each other. This duality is remarkable in as much as it connects systems commonly associated to different areas of physics—that of long-range entangled topological order, (topological) band insulators, and classical statistical mechanics, respectively. Connecting fermionic and bosonic systems, the duality construction is intrinsically nonlocal, a complication that has been addressed in a plethora of different approaches, including dimensional reduction to one dimension, conformal field theory methods, and operator algebra. In this paper, we propose a unified approach to this duality, whose main protagonist is a tensor network (TN) assuming the role of an intermediate translator. Introducing a fourth node into the net of dualities offers several advantages: the formulation is integrative in that all links of the duality are treated on an equal footing, (unlike in field theoretical approaches) it is formulated with lattice precision, a feature that becomes key in the mapping of correlation functions, and their possible numerical implementation. Finally, the passage from bosons to fermions is formulated entirely within the two-dimensional TN framework where it assumes an intuitive and technically convenient form. We illustrate the predictive potential of the formalism by exploring the fate of phase transitions, point and line defects, topological boundary modes, and other structures under the mapping between system classes. Having condensed-matter readerships in mind, we introduce the construction pedagogically in a manner assuming only minimal familiarity with the concept of TNs. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

DOI
10.1103/physrevresearch.6.013302

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The ground state of the toric code, that of the two-dimensional class D superconductor, and the partition sum of the two-dimensional Ising model are dual to each other. This duality is remarkable in as much as it connects systems commonly associated to different areas of physics—that of long-range entangled topological order, (topological) band insulators, and classical statistical mechanics, respectively. Connecting fermionic and bosonic systems, the duality construction is intrinsically nonlocal, a complication that has been addressed in a plethora of different approaches, including dimensional reduction to one dimension, conformal field theory methods, and operator algebra. In this paper, we propose a unified approach to this duality, whose main protagonist is a tensor network (TN) assuming the role of an intermediate translator. Introducing a fourth node into the net of dualities offers several advantages: the formulation is integrative in that all links of the duality are treated on an equal footing, (unlike in field theoretical approaches) it is formulated with lattice precision, a feature that becomes key in the mapping of correlation functions, and their possible numerical implementation. Finally, the passage from bosons to fermions is formulated entirely within the two-dimensional TN framework where it assumes an intuitive and technically convenient form. We illustrate the predictive potential of the formalism by exploring the fate of phase transitions, point and line defects, topological boundary modes, and other structures under the mapping between system classes. Having condensed-matter readerships in mind, we introduce the construction pedagogically in a manner assuming only minimal familiarity with the concept of TNs. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
The ground state of the toric code, that of the two-dimensional class D superconductor, and the partition sum of the two-dimensional Ising model are dual to each other. This duality is remarkable inasmuch as it connects systems commonly associated to different areas of physics -- that of long range entangled topological order, (topological) band insulators, and classical statistical mechanics, respectively. Connecting fermionic and bosonic systems, the duality construction is intrinsically non-local, a complication that has been addressed in a plethora of different approaches, including dimensional reduction to one dimension, conformal field theory methods, and operator algebra. In this work, we propose a unified approach to this duality, whose main protagonist is a tensor network (TN) assuming the role of an intermediate translator. Introducing a fourth node into the net of dualities offers several advantages: the formulation is integrative in that all links of the duality are treated on an equal footing, (unlike in field theoretical approaches) it is formulated with lattice precision, a feature that becomes key in the mapping of correlation functions, and their possible numerical implementation. Finally, the passage from bosons to fermions is formulated entirely within the two-dimensional TN framework where it assumes an intuitive and technically convenient form. We illustrate the predictive potential of the formalism by exploring the fate of phase transitions, point and line defects, topological boundary modes, and other structures under the mapping between system classes. Having condensed matter readerships in mind, we introduce the construction pedagogically in a manner assuming only minimal familiarity with the concept of TNs.
We show that the path integral of conformal field theories in D dimensions ( CFT D ) can be constructed by solving for eigenstates of a renormalization group (RG) operator following from the Turaev-Viro formulation of a topological field theory (topological quantum field theory) (TQFT) in D + 1 dimensions ( TQFT D + 1 ), explicitly realizing the holographic sandwich relation between a symmetric theory and a TQFT. Generically, exact eigenstates corresponding to symmetric TQFT D follow from Frobenius algebra in TQFT D + 1 . For D = 2 , we construct eigenstates that produce 2D rational CFT path integrals exactly, which curiously connect a continuous-field theoretic path integral with the Turaev-Viro state sum. We also devise and illustrate numerical methods for D = 2 , 3 to search for CFT D as phase transition points between symmetric TQFT D . Finally, since the RG operator is in fact an exact analytic holographic tensor network, we compute “bulk-boundary” correlators and compare them with the AdS/CFT dictionary at D = 2 . Promisingly, they are numerically compatible given our accuracy, although further works will be needed to explore the precise connection to the AdS/CFT correspondence. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
The critical two-dimensional classical Ising model on the square lattice has two topological conformal defects: the Z2{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}Z2​ symmetry defect ${D}_{\ensuremath{\epsilon}}$ and the Kramers-Wannier duality defect ${D}_{\ensuremath{\sigma}}$. These two defects implement antiperiodic boundary conditions and a more exotic form of twisted boundary conditions, respectively. On the torus, the partition function ZD{Z}_{D}ZD​ of the critical Ising model in the presence of a topological conformal defect DDD is expressed in terms of the scaling dimensions ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$ and conformal spins ${s}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$ of a distinct set of primary fields (and their descendants, or conformal towers) of the Ising conformal field theory. This characteristic conformal data ${{{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}},{s}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}}}_{D}$ can be extracted from the eigenvalue spectrum of a transfer matrix MD{M}_{D}MD​ for the partition function ZD{Z}_{D}ZD​. In this paper, we investigate the use of tensor network techniques to both represent and coarse grain the partition functions ${Z}_{{D}_{\ensuremath{\epsilon}}}$ and ${Z}_{{D}_{\ensuremath{\sigma}}}$ of the critical Ising model with either a symmetry defect ${D}_{\ensuremath{\epsilon}}$ or a duality defect ${D}_{\ensuremath{\sigma}}$. We also explain how to coarse grain the corresponding transfer matrices ${M}_{{D}_{\ensuremath{\epsilon}}}$ and ${M}_{{D}_{\ensuremath{\sigma}}}$, from which we can extract accurate numerical estimates of ${{{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}},{s}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}}}_{{D}_{\ensuremath{\epsilon}}}$ and ${{{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}},{s}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}}}_{{D}_{\ensuremath{\sigma}}}$. Two key ingredients of our approach are (i) coarse graining of the defect DDD, which applies to any (i.e., not just topological) conformal defect and yields a set of associated scaling dimensions ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$, and (ii) construction and coarse graining of a generalized translation operator using a local unitary transformation that moves the defect, which only exist for topological conformal defects and yields the corresponding conformal spins ${s}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$.
The focus of our investigations in this thesis is quantum spin systems in two dimensions. We examine phase transitions between topologically distinct phases of quantum matter using the framework of tensor network states. We study the phenomena of anyon condensation and confinement in the context of tensor network states where these two notions offer a robust probe to characterize the universal features of quantum phase transitions. We do a comprehensive study of the numerical methods enabled by the tensor network formalism for the study of quantum phase transitions. We map out the phase diagram of certain exotic phases of quantum matter (namely the D(mathbbZ4)D(\\mathbb{Z}_4)D(mathbbZ4​) quantum double, the toric code, and the double semion model) and identify the order and the universality classes of the phase transitions between these distinct topological phases. We analyze the phase boundaries of the toric code and the double semion model which exhibit first and second order phase transitions. We investigate the class of mathbbZ2\\mathbb{Z}_2mathbbZ2​-invariant tensor network states while taking in to account the spin rotation and lattice symmetries. The resulting tensor network states allow us to map the phase diagram of mathbbZ2\\mathbb{Z}_2mathbbZ2​ spin liquids. The behavior of the system at the phase boundaries of mathbbZ2\\mathbb{Z}_2mathbbZ2​ spin liquid is governed by the condensation of spinons and visions. We also present our preliminary findings regarding the mathbbZ4\\mathbb{Z}_4mathbbZ4​-invariant tensors with SU(2)SU(2)SU(2) symmetry. This approach enables us to study the spin liquid states of the toric code and the double semion model in a unified framework. We give a local tensor description for the approximate ground states of the Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the kagome lattice by using the variational manifolds of just three and five parameters in the gapped mathbbZ2\\mathbb{Z}_2mathbbZ2​ spin liquid phase. The approximation of the ground states we construct have an energy density that is remarkably close to the results from the state-of-the-art density matrix renormalization group and the exact diagonalization method. By analyzing the deconfinement of anyonic excitations, we also present our findings regarding the vicinity of the variational ground state in gapped mathbbZ2\\mathbb{Z}_2mathbbZ2​ spin liquid phase.
Stabilizer codes provide exact lattice realizations of bosonic topological orders. In contrast, systematic stabilizer descriptions of intrinsically fermionic topological phases remain much less developed. In this work, we introduce Majorana-Pauli stabilizer codes, a class of exactly solvable fermionic lattice models whose stabilizers are built from both generalized Pauli operators and Majorana operators. As a main example, we construct an exactly solvable stabilizer realization of the fermionic toric code: an intrinsically fermionic Z2\mathbb Z_2Z2​ topological order in (2+1)(2{+}1)(2+1) dimensions, using Z8\mathbb Z_8Z8​ Pauli operators coupled to Majorana modes. Within this stabilizer framework, the anyons, string operators, fusion rules, and braiding statistics all follow naturally from the stabilizer algebra. More broadly, we show that the fermionic toric code belongs to a duality web generated by anyon condensation and by gauging or ungauging bosonic or fermionic symmetries. This web connects bosonic topological orders, symmetry-enriched topological (SET) phases, and both bosonic and fermionic symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases, all within a common stabilizer description. We extend this construction to all Abelian fermionic topological orders with gapped boundaries and to fermionic SPT phases whose fully gauged theories are Abelian. Going beyond Majorana operators, we introduce fermionic versions of the clock and shift operators and use them to construct an exact bosonization map for ZDF\mathbb Z_D^FZDF​ symmetries for DDD even. Using this, we realize a stabilizer model for a nontrivial Z8F\mathbb Z_8^FZ8F​ fermionic SPT phase with no free-fermion analog. Altogether, these results extend the stabilizer-code paradigm to a broad class of intrinsically fermionic phases bridging fermionic quantum many-body physics to quantum error correction.
Tensor network states, and in particular projected entangled pair states, play an important role in the description of strongly correlated quantum lattice systems. They do not only serve as variational states in numerical simulation methods, but also provide a framework for classifying phases of quantum matter and capture notions of topological order in a stringent and rigorous language. The rapid development in this field for spin models and bosonic systems has not yet been mirrored by an analogous development for fermionic models. In this work, we introduce a tensor network formalism capable of capturing notions of topological order for quantum systems with fermionic components. At the heart of the formalism are axioms of fermionic matrix-product operator injectivity, stable under concatenation. Building upon that, we formulate a Grassmann number tensor network ansatz for the ground state of fermionic twisted quantum double models. A specific focus is put on the paradigmatic example of the fermionic toric code. This work shows that the program of describing topologically ordered systems using tensor networks carries over to fermionic models.