Solutions to generalized Yang-Baxter equations via ribbon fusion categories

Inspired by quantum information theory, we look for representations of the braid groups $B_n$ on $V^{\otimes (n+m-2)}$ for some fixed vector space $V$ such that each braid generator $\sigma_i, i=1,...,n-1,$ acts on $m$ consecutive tensor factors from $i$ through $i+m-1$. The braid relation for $m=2$ is essentially the Yang-Baxter equation, and the cases for $m>2$ are called generalized Yang-Baxter equations. We observe that certain objects in ribbon fusion categories naturally give rise to such representations for the case $m=3$. Examples are given from the Ising theory (or the closely related $SU(2)_2$), $SO(N)_2$ for $N$ odd, and $SU(3)_3$. The solution from the Jones-Kauffman theory at a $6^{th}$ root of unity, which is closely related to $SO(3)_2$ or $SU(2)_4$, is explicitly described in the end.Comment: Some minor change

The soft mode in the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model and its gravity dual

We give an exposition of the SYK model with several new results. A non-local correction to the Schwarzian effective action is found. The same action is obtained by integrating out the bulk degrees of freedom in a certain variant of dilaton gravity. We also discuss general properties of out-of-time-order correlators.Comment: 57 pages plus appendices, 6 figures. v.2: minor correction, additional references. v.3: minor addition, additional references; v.4: minor corrections; v.5: JHEP versio

Statistical mechanics of a two-dimensional black hole

The dynamics of a nearly-AdS2 spacetime with boundaries is reduced to two particles in the anti-de Sitter space. We determine the class of physically meaningful wavefunctions, and prescribe the statistical mechanics of a black hole. We demonstrate how wavefunctions for a two-sided black hole and a regularized notion of trace can be used to construct thermal partition functions, and more generally, arbitrary density matrices. We also obtain correlation functions of external operators.Comment: 33 pages + appendices; v.2: additional reference, explicit formula for two-point correlators, and other minor improvement

Periodic table for topological insulators and superconductors

Gapped phases of noninteracting fermions, with and without charge conservation and time-reversal symmetry, are classified using Bott periodicity. The symmetry and spatial dimension determines a general universality class, which corresponds to one of the 2 types of complex and 8 types of real Clifford algebras. The phases within a given class are further characterized by a topological invariant, an element of some Abelian group that can be 0, Z, or Z_2. The interface between two infinite phases with different topological numbers must carry some gapless mode. Topological properties of finite systems are described in terms of K-homology. This classification is robust with respect to disorder, provided electron states near the Fermi energy are absent or localized. In some cases (e.g., integer quantum Hall systems) the K-theoretic classification is stable to interactions, but a counterexample is also given.Comment: To appear in the Proceedings of the L.D.Landau Memorial Conference "Advances in Theoretical Physics", June 22-26, 2008, Chernogolovka, Moscow region, Russia (v2: arXiv hyperlinks fixed

Topological entanglement entropy

We formulate a universal characterization of the many-particle quantum entanglement in the ground state of a topologically ordered two-dimensional medium with a mass gap. We consider a disk in the plane, with a smooth boundary of length L, large compared to the correlation length. In the ground state, by tracing out all degrees of freedom in the exterior of the disk, we obtain a marginal density operator \rho for the degrees of freedom in the interior. The von Neumann entropy S(\rho) of this density operator, a measure of the entanglement of the interior and exterior variables, has the form S(\rho)= \alpha L -\gamma + ..., where the ellipsis represents terms that vanish in the limit L\to\infty. The coefficient \alpha, arising from short wavelength modes localized near the boundary, is nonuniversal and ultraviolet divergent, but -\gamma is a universal additive constant characterizing a global feature of the entanglement in the ground state. Using topological quantum field theory methods, we derive a formula for \gamma in terms of properties of the superselection sectors of the medium.Comment: 4 pages, 3 eps figures. v2: reference adde

Anyons in an exactly solved model and beyond

A spin 1/2 system on a honeycomb lattice is studied. The interactions between nearest neighbors are of XX, YY or ZZ type, depending on the direction of the link; different types of interactions may differ in strength. The model is solved exactly by a reduction to free fermions in a static $\mathbb{Z}_{2}$ gauge field. A phase diagram in the parameter space is obtained. One of the phases has an energy gap and carries excitations that are Abelian anyons. The other phase is gapless, but acquires a gap in the presence of magnetic field. In the latter case excitations are non-Abelian anyons whose braiding rules coincide with those of conformal blocks for the Ising model. We also consider a general theory of free fermions with a gapped spectrum, which is characterized by a spectral Chern number $\nu$. The Abelian and non-Abelian phases of the original model correspond to $\nu=0$ and $\nu=\pm 1$, respectively. The anyonic properties of excitation depend on $\nu\bmod 16$, whereas $\nu$ itself governs edge thermal transport. The paper also provides mathematical background on anyons as well as an elementary theory of Chern number for quasidiagonal matrices.Comment: 113 pages. LaTeX + 299 .eps files (see comments in hexagon.tex for known-good compilation environment). VERSION 3: some typos fixed, one reference adde