Zheng-Xin Liu

Symmetry protected topological orders and the group cohomology of their symmetry group

Symmetry protected topological (SPT) phases are gapped short-range-entangled quantum phases with a symmetry G. They can all be smoothly connected to the same trivial product state if we break the symmetry. The Haldane phase of spin-1 chain is the first example of SPT phases which is protected by SO(3) spin rotation symmetry. The topological insulator is another example of SPT phases which are protected by U(1) and time-reversal symmetries. In this paper, we show that interacting bosonic SPT phases can be systematically described by group cohomology theory: Distinct d-dimensional bosonic SPT phases with on-site symmetry G (which may contain antiunitary time-reversal symmetry) can be labeled by the elements in H^(1+d)[G,UT(1)], the Borel (1+d)-group-cohomology classes of G over the G module UT(1). Our theory, which leads to explicit ground-state wave functions and commuting projector Hamiltonians, is based on a new type of topological term that generalizes the topological θ term in continuous nonlinear σ models to lattice nonlinear σ models. The boundary excitations of the nontrivial SPT phases are described by lattice nonlinear σ models with a nonlocal Lagrangian term that generalizes the Wess-Zumino-Witten term for continuous nonlinear σ models. As a result, the symmetry G must be realized as a non-on-site symmetry for the low-energy boundary excitations, and those boundary states must be gapless or degenerate. As an application of our result, we can use H^(1+d)[U(1)⋊ Z^(T)_(2),U_T(1)] to obtain interacting bosonic topological insulators (protected by time reversal Z2T and boson number conservation), which contain one nontrivial phase in one-dimensional (1D) or 2D and three in 3D. We also obtain interacting bosonic topological superconductors (protected by time-reversal symmetry only), in term of H^(1+d)[Z^(T)_(2),U_T(1)], which contain one nontrivial phase in odd spatial dimensions and none for even dimensions. Our result is much more general than the above two examples, since it is for any symmetry group. For example, we can use H1+d[U(1)×Z2T,UT(1)] to construct the SPT phases of integer spin systems with time-reversal and U(1) spin rotation symmetry, which contain three nontrivial SPT phases in 1D, none in 2D, and seven in 3D. Even more generally, we find that the different bosonic symmetry breaking short-range-entangled phases are labeled by the following three mathematical objects: (G_H,G_Ψ,H^(1+d)[G_Ψ,U_T(1)]), where G_H is the symmetry group of the Hamiltonian and G_Ψ the symmetry group of the ground states.

Symmetry-Protected Topological Orders in Interacting Bosonic Systems

Symmetry Semantics Topological insulators (TIs) are characterized by boundary states that are protected by time-reversal symmetry. A systematic study of this, and other symmetry-protected states, is possible in noninteracting systems, but complications arise when interactions are present. Chen et al. (p. 1604; see the Perspective by Qi) used group cohomology theory to predict symmetry-protected phases of interacting bosons. The analysis enabled the generalization of a known result in one dimension by using a path-integral formulation and suggests the existence of three counterparts of TIs in three dimensions, and one in two dimensions, as well as phases protected by other symmetries. The formalism is applicable to any symmetry group and dimension and is valid for interactions of arbitrary strength. Counterparts of topological insulators are predicted to exist in interacting bosonic systems. Symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases are bulk-gapped quantum phases with symmetries, which have gapless or degenerate boundary states as long as the symmetries are not broken. The SPT phases in free fermion systems, such as topological insulators, can be classified; however, it is not known what SPT phases exist in general interacting systems. We present a systematic way to construct SPT phases in interacting bosonic systems. Just as group theory allows us to construct 230 crystal structures in three-dimensional space, we use group cohomology theory to systematically construct different interacting bosonic SPT phases in any dimension and with any symmetry, leading to the discovery of bosonic topological insulators and superconductors.

Gapless Spin-Liquid Ground State in the S=1/2 Kagome Antiferromagnet

The defining problem in frustrated quantum magnetism, the ground state of the nearest-neighbor S=1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on the kagome lattice, has defied all theoretical and numerical methods employed to date. We apply the formalism of tensor-network states, specifically the method of projected entangled simplex states, which combines infinite system size with a correct accounting for multipartite entanglement. By studying the ground-state energy, the finite magnetic order appearing at finite tensor bond dimensions, and the effects of a next-nearest-neighbor coupling, we demonstrate that the ground state is a gapless spin liquid. We discuss the comparison with other numerical studies and the physical interpretation of this result.

Topologically distinct classes of valence-bond solid states with their parent Hamiltonians

We present a general method to construct one-dimensional translationally invariant valence-bond solid states with a built-in Lie group G and derive their matrix product representations. The general strategies to find their parent Hamiltonians are provided so that the valence-bond solid states are their unique ground states. For quantum integer-spin-S chains, we discuss two topologically distinct classes of valence-bond solid states: one consists of two virtual SU(2) spin-J variables in each site and another is formed by using two SO(2S+1) spinors. Among them, a spin-1 fermionic valence-bond solid state, its parent Hamiltonian, and its properties are discussed in detail. Moreover, two types of valence-bond solid states with SO(5) symmetries are further generalized and their respective properties are analyzed as well.

Symmetry-protected topological phases in spin ladders with two-body interactions

Spin-1/2 two-legged ladders respecting inter-leg exchange symmetry and D2 spin rotation symmetry have new symmetry protected topological (SPT) phases which are different from the Haldane phase. Three of the new SPT phases are tx,ty,tz, which all have symmetry protected two-fold degenerate edge states on each end of the open boundaries. However, the edge states in different phases have different response to magnetic field. For example, the edge states in the tz phase will be split by the magnetic field along the z-direction, but not by the fields in the x- and y-directions. We give the Hamiltonian that realizes each SPT phase and demonstrate a proof-of-principle quantum simulation scheme for Hamiltonians of the t0 and tz phases based on coupled-QED-cavity ladder.

Microscopic Realization of Two-Dimensional Bosonic Topological Insulators

It is well known that a bosonic Mott insulator can be realized by condensing vortices of a boson condensate. Usually, a vortex becomes an antivortex (and vice versa) under time reversal symmetry, and the condensation of vortices results in a trivial Mott insulator. However, if each vortex or antivortex interacts with a spin trapped at its core, the time reversal transformation of the composite vortex operator will contain an extra minus sign. It turns out that such a composite vortex condensed state is a bosonic topological insulator (BTI) with gapless boundary excitations protected by U(1)⋊Z2(T) symmetry. We point out that in BTI, an external π-flux monodromy defect carries a Kramers doublet. We propose lattice model Hamiltonians to realize the BTI phase, which might be implemented in cold atom systems or spin-1 solid state systems.

Possibility of S=1 Spin Liquids with Fermionic Spinons on Triangular Lattices

In this paper we generalize the fermionic representation for

Gutzwiller projected wave functions in the fermionic theory of S=1 spin chains

S=1/2

Fermionic Theory for Quantum Antiferromagnets with Spin S>1/2

spins to arbitrary spins. Within a mean field theory we obtain several spin liquid states for spin

Optimized contraction scheme for tensor-network states

S=1