9 research outputs found
Tube algebras, excitations statistics and compactification in gauge models of topological phases
We consider lattice Hamiltonian realizations of (+1)-dimensional
Dijkgraaf-Witten theory. In (2+1)d, it is well-known that the Hamiltonian
yields point-like excitations classified by irreducible representations of the
twisted quantum double. This can be confirmed using a tube algebra approach. In
this paper, we propose a generalization of this strategy that is valid in any
dimensions. We then apply the tube algebra approach to derive the algebraic
structure of loop-like excitations in (3+1)d, namely the twisted quantum
triple. The irreducible representations of the twisted quantum triple algebra
correspond to the simple loop-like excitations of the model. Similarly to its
(2+1)d counterpart, the twisted quantum triple comes equipped with a compatible
comultiplication map and an -matrix that encode the fusion and the braiding
statistics of the loop-like excitations, respectively. Moreover, we explain
using the language of loop-groupoids how a model defined on a manifold that is
-times compactified can be expressed in terms of another model in -lower
dimensions. This can in turn be used to recast higher-dimensional tube algebras
in terms of lower dimensional analogues.Comment: 71 page
Crossing with the circle in Dijkgraaf-Witten theory and applications to topological phases of matter
Given a fully extended topological quantum field theory, the 'crossing with
the circle' conditions establish that the dimension, or categorification
thereof, of the quantum invariant assigned to a closed -manifold is
equivalent to that assigned to the (+1)-manifold . We compute in this manuscript these conditions for the 4-3-2-1
Dijkgraaf-Witten theory. In the context of the lattice Hamiltonian realisation
of the theory, the quantum invariants assigned to the circle and the torus
encode the defect open string-like and bulk loop-like excitations,
respectively. The corresponding 'crossing with the circle' condition thus
formalises the process by which loop-like excitations are formed out of
string-like ones. Exploiting this result, we revisit the statement that
loop-like excitations define representations of the linear necklace group as
well as the loop braid group
Entropic manifestations of topological order in three dimensions
We evaluate the entanglement entropy of exactly solvable Hamiltonians corresponding to general families of three-dimensional topological models. We show that the modification to the entropic area law due to three-dimensional topological properties is richer than the two-dimensional case. In addition to the reduction of the entropy caused by a nonzero vacuum expectation value of contractible loop operators, a topological invariant emerges that increases the entropy if the model consists of nontrivially braiding anyons. As a result the three-dimensional topological entanglement entropy provides only partial information about the two entropic topological invariants
Detection of Chern numbers and entanglement in topological two-species systems through subsystem winding numbers
Topological invariants, such as the Chern number, characterize topological phases of matter. Here we provide a method to detect Chern numbers in systems with two distinct species of fermion, such as spins, orbitals or several atomic states. We analytically show that the Chern number can be decomposed as a sum of component specific winding numbers, which are themselves physically observable. We apply this method to two systems, the quantum spin Hall insulator and a staggered topological superconductor, and show that (spin) Chern numbers are accurately reproduced. The measurements required for constructing the component winding numbers also enable one to probe the entanglement spectrum with respect to component partitions. Our method is particularly suited to experiments with cold atoms in optical lattices where time-of-flight images can give direct access to the relevant observables
Topological phases from higher gauge symmetry in 3+1 dimensions
We propose an exactly solvable Hamiltonian for topological phases in 3 + 1 dimensions utilizing ideas from higher lattice gauge theory, where the gauge symmetry is given by a finite 2-group. We explicitly show that the model is a Hamiltonian realization of Yetter's homotopy 2-type topological quantum field theory whereby the ground-state projector of the model defined on the manifold M 3 is given by the partition function of the underlying topological quantum field theory for M 3 × [ 0 , 1 ] . We show that this result holds in any dimension and illustrate it by computing the ground state degeneracy for a selection of spatial manifolds and 2-groups. As an application we show that a subset of our model is dual to a class of Abelian Walker-Wang models describing 3 + 1 dimensional topological insulators