No Arabic abstract
We study anomalies in time-reversal ($mathbb{Z}_2^T$) and $U(1)$ symmetric topological orders. In this context, an anomalous topological order is one that cannot be realized in a strictly $(2+1)$-D system but can be realized on the surface of a $(3+1)$-D symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phase. To detect these anomalies we propose several anomaly indicators --- functions that take as input the algebraic data of a symmetric topological order and that output a number indicating the presence or absence of an anomaly. We construct such indicators for both structures of the full symmetry group, i.e. $U(1)rtimesmathbb{Z}_2^T$ and $U(1)timesmathbb{Z}_2^T$, and for both bosonic and fermionic topological orders. In all cases we conjecture that our indicators are complete in the sense that the anomalies they detect are in one-to-one correspondence with the known classification of $(3+1)$-D SPT phases with the same symmetry. We also show that one of our indicators for bosonic topological orders has a mathematical interpretation as a partition function for the bulk $(3+1)$-D SPT phase on a particular manifold and in the presence of a particular background gauge field for the $U(1)$ symmetry.
We propose a general construction of commuting projector lattice models for 2D and 3D topological phases enriched by U(1) symmetry, with finite-dimensional Hilbert space per site. The construction starts from a commuting projector model of the topological phase and decorates U(1) charges to the state space in a consistent manner. We show that all 2D U(1) symmetry-enriched topological phases which allow gapped boundary without breaking symmetry, can be realized through our construction. We also construct a large class of 3D topological phases with U(1) symmetry fractionalized on particles or loop excitations.
Introducing both Berry curvature and chiral anomaly into Landaus Fermi-liquid theory, we construct a topological Fermi-liquid theory, applicable to interacting Weyl metals in the absence of time reversal symmetry. Following the Landaus Fermi-liquid theory, we obtain an effective free-energy functional in terms of the density field of chiral fermions. The density field of chiral fermions is determined by a self-consistent equation, minimizing the effective free-energy functional with respect to the order-parameter field. Beyond these thermodynamic properties, we construct Boltzmann transport theory to encode both the Berry curvature and the chiral anomaly in the presence of forward scattering of a Fermi-liquid state, essential for understanding dynamic correlations in interacting Weyl metals. This generalizes the Boltzmann transport theory for the Landaus Fermi-liquid state in the respect of incorporating the topological structure and extends that for noninteracting Weyl metals in the sense of introducing the forward scattering. Finally, we justify this topological Fermi-liquid theory, generalizing the first-quantization description for noninteracting Weyl metals into the second-quantization representation for interacting Weyl metals. First, we derive a topological Fermi-gas theory, integrating over high-energy electronic degrees of freedom deep inside a pair of chiral Fermi surfaces. As a result, we reproduce a topological Drude model with both the Berry curvature and the chiral anomaly. Second, we take into account interactions between such low-energy chiral fermions on the pair of chiral Fermi surfaces. We perform the renormalization group analysis, and find that only forward scattering turns out to be marginal above possible superconducting transition temperatures, justifying the topological Fermi-liquid theory of interacting Weyl metals with time reversal symmetry breaking.
We derive a series of quantitative bulk-boundary correspondences for 3D bosonic and fermionic symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases under the assumption that the surface is gapped, symmetric and topologically ordered, i.e., a symmetry-enriched topological (SET) state. We consider those SPT phases that are protected by the mirror symmetry and continuous symmetries that form a group of $U(1)$, $SU(2)$ or $SO(3)$. In particular, the fermionic cases correspond to a crystalline version of 3D topological insulators and topological superconductors in the famous ten-fold-way classification, with the time-reversal symmetry replaced by the mirror symmetry and with strong interaction taken into account. For surface SETs, the most general interplay between symmetries and anyon excitations is considered. Based on the previously proposed dimension reduction and folding approaches, we re-derive the classification of bulk SPT phases and define a emph{complete} set of bulk topological invariants for every symmetry group under consideration, and then derive explicit expressions of the bulk invariants in terms of surface topological properties (such as topological spin, quantum dimension) and symmetry properties (such as mirror fractionalization, fractional charge or spin). These expressions are our quantitative bulk-boundary correspondences. Meanwhile, the bulk topological invariants can be interpreted as emph{anomaly indicators} for the surface SETs which carry t Hooft anomalies of the associated symmetries whenever the bulk is topologically non-trivial. Hence, the quantitative bulk-boundary correspondences provide an easy way to compute the t Hooft anomalies of the surface SETs. Moreover, our anomaly indicators are complete. Our derivations of the bulk-boundary correspondences and anomaly indicators are explicit and physically transparent.
We examine (3+1)D topological ordered phases with $C_k$ rotation symmetry. We show that some rotation symmetric (3+1)D topological orders are anomalous, in the sense that they cannot exist in standalone (3+1)D systems, but only exist on the surface of (4+1)D SPT phases. For (3+1)D discrete gauge theories, we propose anomaly indicator that can diagnose the $mathbb{Z}_k$ valued rotation anomaly. Since (3+1)D topological phases support both point-like and loop-like excitations, the indicator is expressed in terms of the symmetry properties of point and loop-like excitations, and topological data of (3+1)D discrete gauge theories.
The second law of thermodynamics points to the existence of an `arrow of time, along which entropy only increases. This arises despite the time-reversal symmetry (TRS) of the microscopic laws of nature. Within quantum theory, TRS underpins many interesting phenomena, most notably topological insulators and the Haldane phase of quantum magnets. Here, we demonstrate that such TRS-protected effects are fundamentally unstable against coupling to an environment. Irrespective of the microscopic symmetries, interactions between a quantum system and its surroundings facilitate processes which would be forbidden by TRS in an isolated system. This leads not only to entanglement entropy production and the emergence of macroscopic irreversibility, but also to the demise of TRS-protected phenomena, including those associated with certain symmetry-protected topological phases. Our results highlight the enigmatic nature of TRS in quantum mechanics, and elucidate potential challenges in utilising topological systems for quantum technologies.