Tenfold way and many-body zero modes in the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model

The Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model, in its simplest form, describes k Majorana fermions with random all-to-all four-body interactions. We consider the SYK model in the framework of a many-body Altland-Zirnbauer classification that sees the system as belonging to one of eight (real) symmetry classes depending on the value of k mod 8. We show that, depending on the symmetry class, the system may support exact many-body zero modes with the symmetries also dictating whether these may have a nonzero contribution to Majorana fermions, i.e., single-particle weight. These zero modes appear in all but two of the symmetry classes. When present, they leave clear signatures in physical observables that go beyond the threefold (Wigner-Dyson) possibilities for level spacing statistics studied earlier. Signatures we discover include a zero-energy peak or hole in the single-particle spectral function, depending on whether symmetries allow or forbid zero modes to have single-particle weight. The zero modes are also shown to influence the many-body dynamics, where signatures include a nonzero long-time limit for the out-of-time-order correlation function. Furthermore, we show that the extension of the four-body SYK model by quadratic terms can be interpreted as realizing the remaining two complex symmetry classes; we thus demonstrate how the entire tenfold Altland-Zirnbauer classification may emerge in the SYK model

Topological Crystalline Bose Insulator in Two Dimensions via Entanglement Spectrum

Strongly correlated analogues of topological insulators have been explored in systems with purely on-site symmetries, such as time-reversal or charge conservation. Here, we use recently developed tensor network tools to study a quantum state of interacting bosons which is featureless in the bulk, but distinguished from an atomic insulator in that it exhibits entanglement which is protected by its spatial symmetries. These properties are encoded in a model many-body wavefunction that describes a fully symmetric insulator of bosons on the honeycomb lattice at half filling per site. While the resulting integer unit cell filling allows the state to bypass `no-go' theorems that trigger fractionalization at fractional filling, it nevertheless has nontrivial entanglement, protected by symmetry. We demonstrate this by computing the boundary entanglement spectra, finding a gapless entanglement edge described by a conformal field theory as well as degeneracies protected by the non-trivial action of combined charge-conservation and spatial symmetries on the edge. Here, the tight-binding representation of the space group symmetries plays a particular role in allowing certain entanglement cuts that are not allowed on other lattices of the same symmetry, suggesting that the lattice representation can serve as an additional symmetry ingredient in protecting an interacting topological phase. Our results extend to a related insulating state of electrons, with short-ranged entanglement and no band insulator analogue.Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures Added additional reference

Cool White Dwarfs Found in the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey

We present the results of a search for cool white dwarfs in the United Kingdom InfraRed Telescope (UKIRT) Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) Large Area Survey (LAS). The UKIDSS LAS photometry was paired with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to identify cool hydrogen-rich white dwarf candidates by their neutral optical colors and blue near-infrared colors, as well as faint Reduced Proper Motion magnitudes. Optical spectroscopy was obtained at Gemini Observatory, and showed the majority of the candidates to be newly identified cool degenerates, with a small number of G- to K-type (sub)dwarf contaminants. Our initial search of 280 deg2 of sky resulted in seven new white dwarfs with effective temperature T_eff ~ 6000 K. The current followup of 1400 deg2 of sky has produced thirteen new white dwarfs. Model fits to the photometry show that seven of the newly identified white dwarfs have 4120 K <= T_eff <= 4480 K, and cooling ages between 7.3 Gyr and 8.7 Gyr; they have 40 km/s <= v_tan <= 85 km/s and are likely to be thick disk 10-11 Gyr-old objects. The other half of the sample has 4610 K <= T_eff <= 5260 K, cooling ages between 4.3 Gyr and 6.9 Gyr, and 60 km/s <= v_tan <= 100 km/s. These are either thin disk remnants with unusually high velocities, or lower-mass remnants of thick disk or halo late-F or G stars.Comment: To appear in ApJ, accepted April 18 2011. 34 pages include 11 Figures and 5 Table

Near-infrared spectroscopy in NGC 7538

The characterisation of the stellar population toward young high-mass star-forming regions allows to constrain fundamental cluster properties like distance and age. These are essential when using high-mass clusters as probes to conduct Galactic studies. NGC 7538 is a star-forming region with an embedded stellar population only unearthed in the near-infrared. We present the first near-infrared spectro-photometric study of the candidate high-mass stellar content in NGC 7538. We obtained H and K spectra of 21 sources with both the multi-object and long-slit modes of LIRIS at the WHT, and complement these data with sub-arcsecond JHKs photometry of the region using the imaging mode of the same instrument. We find a wide variety of objects within the studied stellar population of NGC 7538. Our results discriminate between a stellar population associated to the HII region, but not contained within its extent, and several pockets of more recent star formation. We report the detection of CO bandhead emission toward several sources as well as other features indicative of a young stellar nature. We infer a spectro-photometric distance of 2.7+-0.5 kpc, an age spread in the range 0.5-2.2 Myr and a total mass ~1.7x10^3 Msun for the older population.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, accepted by A&