Lieb-Robinson Bounds and the Speed of Light from Topological Order

Author(s)
Hamma, Alioscia; Markopoulou, Fotini; Premont-Schwarz, Isabeau; Severini, Simone
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Abstract
We apply the Lieb-Robinson bounds technique to find the maximum speed of interaction in a spin model with topological order whose low-energy effective theory describes light [see X.-G. Wen, Phys. Rev. B 68, 115413 (2003)]. The maximum speed of interactions in two dimensions is bounded from above by less than e times the speed of emerging light, giving a strong indication that light is indeed the maximum speed of interactions. This result does not rely on mean field theoretic methods. In higher spatial dimensions, the Lieb-Robinson speed is conjectured to increase linearly with the dimension itself. The implications for the horizon problem in cosmology are discussed.
Date issued
2009-01
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/51855
Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Research Laboratory of Electronics
Journal
Physical Review Letters
Publisher
American Physical Society
Citation
Hamma, Alioscia et al. “Lieb-Robinson Bounds and the Speed of Light from Topological Order.” Physical Review Letters 102.1 (2009): 017204. © 2009 The American Physical Society.
Version: Final published version
ISSN
0031-9007
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