MIT Libraries logoDSpace@MIT

MIT
View Item 
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Open Access Articles
  • MIT Open Access Articles
  • View Item
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Open Access Articles
  • MIT Open Access Articles
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Symmetry-protected topological phases in noninteracting fermion systems

Author(s)
Wen, Xiao-Gang
Thumbnail
DownloadWen-2012-Symmetry-protected topological phases.pdf (251.7Kb)
PUBLISHER_POLICY

Publisher Policy

Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.

Terms of use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
Symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases are gapped quantum phases with a certain symmetry, which can all be smoothly connected to the same trivial product state if we break the symmetry. For noninteracting fermion systems with time reversal (T̂), charge conjugation (Ĉ), and/or U(1) (N̂) symmetries, the total symmetry group can depend on the relations between those symmetry operations, such as T̂N̂T̂[superscript −1]=N̂ or T̂N̂T̂−1=−N̂. As a result, the SPT phases of those fermion systems with different symmetry groups have different classifications. In this paper, we use Kitaev's K-theory approach to classify the gapped free-fermion phases for those possible symmetry groups. In particular, we can view the U(1) as a spin rotation. We find that superconductors with the S[subscript z] spin-rotation symmetry are classified by Z in even dimensions, while superconductors with the time reversal plus the Sz spin-rotation symmetries are classified by Z in odd dimensions. We show that all 10 classes of gapped free-fermion phases can be realized by electron systems with certain symmetries. We also point out that, to properly describe the symmetry of a fermionic system, we need to specify its full symmetry group that includes the fermion number parity transformation (−)[superscript N̂]. The full symmetry group is actually a projective symmetry group.
Date issued
2012-02
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/71285
Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
Journal
Physical Review B
Publisher
American Physical Society
Citation
Wen, Xiao-Gang. “Symmetry-protected Topological Phases in Noninteracting Fermion Systems.” Physical Review B 85.8 (2012). ©2012 American Physical Society
Version: Final published version
ISSN
1098-0121
1550-235X

Collections
  • MIT Open Access Articles

Browse

All of DSpaceCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

My Account

Login

Statistics

OA StatisticsStatistics by CountryStatistics by Department
MIT Libraries
PrivacyPermissionsAccessibilityContact us
MIT
Content created by the MIT Libraries, CC BY-NC unless otherwise noted. Notify us about copyright concerns.