As a burgeoning technique, out-of-focus electron ptychography offers the potential for rapidly imaging atomic-scale large fields of view (FoV) using a single diffraction dataset. However, achieving robust out-of-focus ptychographic reconstruction poses a significant challenge due to the inherent scan instabilities of electron microscopes, compounded by the presence of unknown aberrations in the probe-forming lens. In this study, we substantially enhance the robustness of out-of-focus ptychographic reconstruction by extending our previous calibration method (the Fourier method), which was originally developed for the in-focus scenario. This extended Fourier method surpasses existing calibration techniques by providing more reliable and accurate initialization of scan positions and electron probes. Additionally, we comprehensively explore and recommend optimized experimental parameters for robust out-of-focus ptychography, includingaperture size and defocus, through extensive simulations. Lastly, we conduct a comprehensive comparison between ptychographic reconstructions obtained with focused and defocused electron probes, particularly in the context of low-dose and precise phase imaging, utilizing our calibration method as the basis for evaluation.
We design a (2+1))-dimensional [(2+1)D] quantum spin model in which spin-1/2 ladders are coupled through antiferromagnetic Ising interactions. The model hosts a quantum phase transition in the (2+1)D $Z_2$ universality class from the Haldane phase to the antiferromagnetic Ising ordered phase. We focus on studying the surface properties of three different surface configurations when the Ising couplings are tuned. Different behaviors are found on different surfaces. We find ordinary and two different extraordinary surface critical behaviors (SCBs) at the bulk critical point. The ordinary SCBs belong to the surface universality class of the classical 3D Ising bulk transition. One extraordinary SCBs is induced by the topological properties of the Haldane phase. Another extraordinary SCBs at the bulk critical point is induced by an unconventional surface phase transition where the surface develops an Ising order before the bulk. This surface transition is realized by coupling a (1+1)-dimensional [(1+1)D] $SU(2)_1$ CFT boundary to a (2+1)D bulk with $Z_2$ symmetry. We find that the transition is neither a (1+1)D $Z_2$ transition, expected based on symmetry consideration, nor a Kosterlitz-Thouless-like transition, violating the previous theoretical prediction. This new surface phase transition and related extraordinary SCBs deserve further analytical and numerical exploration.
Topological phases protected by crystalline symmetries and internal symmetries are shown to enjoy fascinating one-to-one correspondence in classification. Here we investigate the physics content behind the abstract correspondence in three or higher-dimensional systems. We show correspondence between anomalous boundary states, which provides a new way to explore the quantum anomaly of symmetry from its crystalline equivalent counterpart. We show such correspondence directly in two scenarios, including the anomalous symmetry-enriched topological orders (SET) and critical surface states. (1) First of all, for the surface SET correspondence, we demonstrate it by considering examples involving time-reversal symmetry and mirror symmetry. We show that one 2D topological order can carry the time reversal anomaly as long as it can carry the mirror anomaly and vice versa, by directly establishing the mapping of the time reversal anomaly indicators and mirror anomaly indicators. Besides, we also consider other cases involving continuous symmetry, which leads us to introduce some new anomaly indicators for symmetry from its counterpart. (2) Furthermore, we also build up direct correspondence for (near) critical boundaries. Again taking topological phases protected by time reversal and mirror symmetry as examples, the direct correspondence of their (near) critical boundaries can be built up by coupled chain construction that was first proposed by Senthil and Fisher. The examples of critical boundary correspondence we consider in this paper can be understood in a unified framework that is related to \textithierarchy structure of topological $O(n)$ nonlinear sigma model, that generalizes the Haldane's derivation of $O(3)$ sigma model from spin one-half system.
In the past decade, there has been a systematic investigation of symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases in interacting fermion systems. Specifically, by utilizing the concept of equivalence classes of finite-depth fermionic symmetric local unitary (FSLU) transformations and the fluctuating decorated symmetry domain wall picture, a large class of fixed-point wave functions have been constructed for fermionic SPT (FSPT) phases. Remarkably, this construction coincides with the Atiyah-Hirzebruch spectral sequence, enabling a complete classification of FSPT phases. However, unlike bosonic SPT phases, the stacking group structure in fermion systems proves to be much more intricate. The construction of fixed-point wave functions does not explicitly provide this information. In this paper, we employ FSLU transformations to investigate the stacking group structure of FSPT phases. Specifically, we demonstrate how to compute stacking FSPT data from the input FSPT data in each layer, considering both unitary and anti-unitary symmetry, up to 2+1 dimensions. As concrete examples, we explicitly compute the stacking group structure for crystalline FSPT phases in all 17 wallpaper groups and the mixture of wallpaper groups with onsite time-reversal symmetry using the fermionic crystalline equivalence principle. Importantly, our approach can be readily extended to higher dimensions, offering a versatile method for exploring the stacking group structure of FSPT phases.
Using covariant expansions, recent work showed that pole skipping happens in general holographic theories with bosonic fields at frequencies $\mathrm{i}(l_b-s) 2\pi T$, where $l_b$ is the highest integer spin in the theory and $s$ takes all positive integer values. We revisit this formalism in theories with gauge symmetry and upgrade the pole-skipping condition so that it works without having to remove the gauge redundancy. We also extend the formalism by incorporating fermions with general spins and interactions and show that their presence generally leads to a separate tower of pole-skipping points at frequencies $\mathrm{i}(l_f-s)2\pi T$, $l_f$ being the highest half-integer spin in the theory and $s$ again taking all positive integer values. We also demonstrate the practical value of this formalism using a selection of examples with spins $0,\frac{1}{2},1,\frac{3}{2},2$.
Chao Yun, Haoran Guo, Zhongchong Lin, Licong Peng, Zhongyu Liang, Miao Meng, Biao Zhang, Zijing Zhao, Leran Wang, Yifei Ma, Yajing Liu, Weiwei Li, Shuai Ning, Yanglong Hou, Jinbo Yang, Zhaochu Luo The discovery of magnetism in van der Waals (vdW) materials has established unique building blocks for the research of emergent spintronic phenomena. In particular, owing to their intrinsically clean surface without dangling bonds, the vdW magnets hold the potential to construct a superior interface that allows for efficient electrical manipulation of magnetism. Despite several attempts in this direction, it usually requires a cryogenic condition and the assistance of external magnetic fields, which is detrimental to the real application. Here, we fabricate heterostructures based on Fe3GaTe2 flakes that possess room-temperature ferromagnetism with excellent perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. The current-driven non-reciprocal modulation of coercive fields reveals a high spin-torque efficiency in the Fe3GaTe2/Pt heterostructures, which further leads to a full magnetization switching by current. Moreover, we demonstrate the field-free magnetization switching resulting from out-of-plane polarized spin currents by asymmetric geometry design. Our work could expedite the development of efficient vdW spintronic logic, memory and neuromorphic computing devices.
Owing to the chirality of Weyl nodes characterized by the first Chern number, a Weyl system supports one-way chiral zero modes under a magnetic field, which underlies the celebrated chiral anomaly. As a generalization of Weyl nodes from three-dimensional to five-dimensional physical systems, Yang monopoles are topological singularities carrying nonzero second-order Chern numbers c2 = +1 or -1. Here, we couple a Yang monopole with an external gauge field using an inhomogeneous Yang monopole metamaterial, and experimentally demonstrate the existence of a gapless chiral zero mode, where the judiciously designed metallic helical structures and the corresponding effective antisymmetric bianisotropic terms provide the means for controlling gauge fields in a synthetic five-dimensional space. This zeroth mode is found to originate from the coupling between the second Chern singularity and a generalized 4-form gauge field - the wedge product of the magnetic field with itself. This generalization reveals intrinsic connections between physical systems of different dimensions, while a higher dimensional system exhibits much richer supersymmetric structures in Landau level degeneracy due to the internal degrees of freedom. Our study offers the possibility of controlling electromagnetic waves by leveraging the concept of higher-order and higher-dimensional topological phenomena.
$\mathcal{N}=1$ superconformal minimal models are the first series of unitary conformal field theories (CFTs) extending beyond Virasoro algebra. Using coset constructions, we characterize CFTs in $\mathcal{N}=1$ superconformal minimal models using combinations of a parafermion theory, an Ising theory and a free boson theory. Supercurrent operators in the original theory also becomes sums of operators from each constituent theory. If we take our $\mathcal{N}=1$ superconformal theories as the neutral part of the edge theory of a fractional quantum Hall state, we present a systematic way of calculating its ground state wavefunction using free field methods. Each ground state wavefunction is known previously as a sum of polynomials with distinct clustering behaviours. Based on our decomposition, we find explicit expressions for each summand polynomial. A brief generalization to $S_3$ minimal models using coset construction is also included.
We construct a family of one-dimensional (1D) quantum lattice models based on $G$-graded unitary fusion category $\mathcal{C}_G$. This family realize an interpolation between the anyon-chain models and edge models of 2D symmetry-protected topological states, and can be thought of as edge models of 2D symmetry-enriched topological states. The models display a set of unconventional global symmetries that are characterized by the input category $\mathcal{C}_G$. While spontaneous symmetry breaking is also possible, our numerical evidence shows that the category symmetry constrains the the models to the extent that the low-energy physics has a large likelihood to be gapless.
Correcting scan-positional errors is critical in achieving electron ptychography with both high resolution and high precision. This is a demanding and challenging task due to the sheer number of parameters that need to be optimized. For atomic-resolution ptychographic reconstructions, we found classical refining methods for scan positions not satisfactory due to the inherent entanglement between the object and scan positions, which can produce systematic errors in the results. Here, we propose a new protocol consisting of a series of constrained gradient descent (CGD) methods to achieve better recovery of scan positions. The central idea of these CGD methods is to utilize a priori knowledge about the nature of STEM experiments and add necessary constraints to isolate different types of scan positional errors during the iterative reconstruction process. Each constraint will be introduced with the help of simulated 4D-STEM datasets with known positional errors. Then the integrated constrained gradient decent (iCGD) protocol will be demonstrated using an experimental 4D-STEM dataset of the 1H-MoS2 monolayer. We will show that the iCGD protocol can effectively address the errors of scan positions across the spectrum and help to achieve electron ptychography with high accuracy and precision.
The natural existence of crystalline symmetry in real materials manifests the importance of understanding crystalline symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases, especially for interacting systems. In this paper, we systematically construct and classify all the crystalline topological superconductors and insulators in three-dimensional (3D) interacting fermion systems using the novel concept of topological crystal. The corresponding higher-order topological surface theory can also be systematically studied via higher-order bulk-boundary correspondence. In particular, we discover an intriguing fact that almost all topological crystals with nontrivial 2D block states are intrinsically interacting topological phases that cannot be realized in any free-fermion systems. Moreover, the crystalline equivalence principle for 3D interacting fermionic systems is also verified, with an additional subtle "twist" on the spin of fermions.
The boundary of topological phases of matter can manifest its topology nature, which leads to the so-called boundary-bulk correspondence (BBC) of topological phases. In this Letter, we construct a one-to-one correspondence between the boundary theories of fermionic SPT (fSPT) phases protected by crystalline symmetry and on-site symmetry in 2D fermionic systems, which follow the so-called crystalline equivalence principle. We dub such correspondence crystalline equivalent BBC. We illustrate this correspondence by two simple examples and as an application, we discover the topological boundary theory of 2D fSPT phase with spin-1/2 fermions, protected by a non-Abelian group $\mathbb{Z}_4\rtimes\mathbb{Z}_2^T$ with $A^4=\mathcal{T}^2=P_f$ where $A$ is the generator of $\mathbb{Z}_4$, from its crystalline equivalent partner -- 2D higher-order fSPT phase with spinless fermions, protected by $D_4$ symmetry.
It is well known that two-dimensional fermionic systems with a nonzero Chern number must break the time reversal symmetry, manifested by the appearance of chiral edge modes on an open boundary. Such an incompatibility between topology and symmetry can occur more generally. We will refer to this phenomenon as enforced symmetry breaking by topological orders. In this work, we systematically study enforced breaking of a general finite group $G_f$ by a class of topological orders, namely 0D, 1D and 2D fermionic invertible topological orders. Mathematically, the symmetry group $G_f$ is a central extension of a bosonic group $G$ by the fermion parity group $Z_2^f$, characterized by a 2-cocycle $\lambda$ $\in H^2(G,Z_2)$. With some minor assumptions and for given $G$ and $\lambda$, we are able to obtain a series of criteria on the existence or non-existence of enforced symmetry breaking by the fermionic invertible topological orders. Using these criteria, we discover many examples that are not known previously. For 2D systems, we define the physical quantities to describe symmetry-enriched invertible topological orders and derive some obstruction functions using both fermionic and bosonic languages. In the latter case which is done via gauging the fermion parity, we find that some obstruction functions are consequences of conditional anomalies of the bosonic symmetry-enriched topological states, with the conditions inherited from the original fermionic system. We also study enforced breaking of the continuous group $SU_f(N)$ by 2D invertible topological orders through a different argument.
YFeO$_3$ thin films are a recent addition to the family of multiferroic orthoferrites where Y\textsubscriptFe antisite defects and strain have been shown to introduce polar displacements while retaining magnetic properties. Complete control of the multiferroic properties, however, necessitates knowledge of the defects present and their potential role in modifying behavior. Here, we report the structure and chemistry of antiphase boundaries in multiferroic YFeO$_3$ thin films using aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy combined with atomic resolution energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. We find that Fe\textsubscriptY antisites, which are not stable in the film bulk, periodically arrange along antiphase boundaries due to changes in the local environment. Using density functional theory, we show that the antiphase boundaries are polar and bi-stable, where the presence of Fe\textsubscriptY antisites significantly decreases the switching barrier. These results highlight how planar defects, such as antiphase boundaries, can stabilize point defects that would otherwise not be expected to form within the structure.
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 \emphcomplete 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 \emphanomaly 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.
In this work we investigate the decorated domain wall construction in bosonic group-cohomology symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases and related quantum anomalies in bosonic topological phases. We first show that a general decorated domain wall construction can be described mathematically as an Atiyah-Hirzebruch spectral sequence, where the terms on the $E_2$ page correspond to decorations by lower-dimensional SPT states at domain wall junctions. For bosonic group-cohomology SPT phases, the spectral sequence becomes the Lyndon-Hochschild-Serre (LHS) spectral sequence for ordinary group cohomology. We then discuss the physical interpretations of the differentials in the spectral sequence, particularly in the context of anomalous SPT phases and symmetry-enriched gauge theories. As the main technical result, we obtain a full description of the LHS spectral sequence concretely at the cochain level. The explicit formulae are then applied to explain Lieb-Schultz-Mattis theorems for SPT phases, and also derive a new LSM theorem for easy-plane spin model in a $\pi$ flux lattice. We also revisit the classifications of symmetry-enriched 2D and 3D Abelian gauge theories using our results.
Single-phase multiferroic materials that allow the coexistence of ferroelectric and magnetic ordering above room temperature are highly desirable, motivating an ongoing search for mechanisms for unconventional ferroelectricity in magnetic oxides. Here, we report an antisite defect mechanism for room temperature ferroelectricity in epitaxial thin films of yttrium orthoferrite, YFeO3, a perovskite-structured canted antiferromagnet. A combination of piezoresponse force microscopy, atomically resolved elemental mapping with aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy and density functional theory calculations reveals that the presence of YFe antisite defects facilitates a non-centrosymmetric distortion promoting ferroelectricity. This mechanism is predicted to work analogously for other rare earth orthoferrites, with a dependence of the polarization on the radius of the rare earth cation. Furthermore, a vertically aligned nanocomposite consisting of pillars of a magnetoelastic oxide CoFe2O4 embedded epitaxially in the YFeO3 matrix exhibits both robust ferroelectricity and ferrimagnetism at room temperature, as well as a noticeable strain-mediated magnetoelectric coupling effect. Our work uncovers the distinctive role of antisite defects in providing a novel mechanism for ferroelectricity in a range of magnetic orthoferrites and further augments the functionality of this family of complex oxides for multiferroic applications.
Progress in functional materials discovery has been accelerated by advances in high throughput materials synthesis and by the development of high-throughput computation. However, a complementary robust and high throughput structural characterization framework is still lacking. New methods and tools in the field of machine learning suggest that a highly automated high-throughput structural characterization framework based on atomic-level imaging can establish the crucial statistical link between structure and macroscopic properties. Here we develop a machine learning framework towards this goal. Our framework captures local structural features in images with Zernike polynomials, which is demonstrably noise-robust, flexible, and accurate. These features are then classified into readily interpretable structural motifs with a hierarchical active learning scheme powered by a novel unsupervised two-stage relaxed clustering scheme. We have successfully demonstrated the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed methodology by mapping a full spectrum of structural defects, including point defects, line defects, and planar defects in scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) images of various 2D materials, with greatly improved separability over existing methods. Our techniques can be easily and flexibly applied to other types of microscopy data with complex features, providing a solid foundation for automatic, multiscale feature analysis with high veracity.
We generate experimentally a honeycomb refractive index pattern in an atomic vapor cell using electromagnetically-induced transparency. We study experimentally and theoretically the propagation of polarized light beams in such "photonic graphene". We demonstrate that an effective spin-orbit coupling appears as a correction to the paraxial beam equations because of the strong spatial gradients of the permittivity. It leads to the coupling of spin and angular momentum at the Dirac points of the graphene lattice. Our results suggest that the polarization degree plays an important role in many configurations where it has been previously neglected.
High-entropy nanomaterials have been arousing considerable interest in recent years due to their huge composition space, unique microstructure, and adjustable properties. Previous studies focused mainly on high-entropy nanoparticles, while other high-entropy nanomaterials were rarely reported. Herein, we reported a new class of high-entropy nanomaterials, namely (Ta0.2Nb0.2Ti0.2W02Mo0.2)B2 high-entropy diboride (HEB-1) nanoflowers, for the first time. The formation possibility of HEB-1 was first theoretically analyzed from two aspects of lattice size difference and chemical reaction thermodynamics. We then successfully synthesized HEB-1 nanoflowers by a facile molten salt synthesis method at 1473 K. The as-synthesized HEB-1 nanoflowers showed an interesting chrysanthemum-like morphology assembled from numerous well-aligned nanorods with the diameters of 20-30 nm and lengths of 100-200 nm. Meanwhile, these nanorods possessed a single-crystalline hexagonal structure of metal diborides and highly compositional uniformity from nanoscale to microscale. In addition, the formation of the as-synthesized HEB-1 nanoflowers could be well interpreted by a classical surface-controlled crystal growth theory. This work not only enriches the categories of high-entropy nanomaterials but also opens up a new research field on the high-entropy diboride nanomaterials.
Abelian Chern-Simons theory, characterized by the so-called $K$ matrix, has been quite successful in characterizing and classifying Abelian fractional quantum hall effect (FQHE) as well as symmetry protected topological (SPT) phases, especially for bosonic SPT phases. However, there are still some puzzles in dealing with fermionic SPT(fSPT) phases. In this paper, we utilize the Abelian Chern-Simons theory to study the fSPT phases protected by arbitrary Abelian total symmetry $G_f$. Comparing to the bosonic SPT phases, fSPT phases with Abelian total symmetry $G_f$ has three new features: (1) it may support gapless majorana fermion edge modes, (2) some nontrivial bosonic SPT phases may be trivialized if $G_f$ is a nontrivial extention of bosonic symmetry $G_b$ over $\mathbb{Z}_2^f$, (3) certain intrinsic fSPT phases can only be realized in interacting fermionic system. We obtain edge theories for various fSPT phases, which can also be regarded as conformal field theories (CFT) with proper symmetry anomaly. In particular, we discover the construction of Luttinger liquid edge theories with central charge $n-1$ for Type-III bosonic SPT phases protected by $(\mathbb{Z}_n)^3$ symmetry and the Luttinger liquid edge theories for intrinsically interacting fSPT protected by unitary Abelian symmetry. The ideas and methods used here might be generalized to derive the edge theories of fSPT phases with arbitrary unitary finite Abelian total symmetry $G_f$.
We propose an exotic scenario that topological superconductivity can emerge by doping strongly interacting fermionic systems whose spin degrees of freedom form bosonic symmetry protected topological (SPT) state. Specifically, we study a 1-dimensional (1D) example where the spin degrees of freedom form a spin-1 Haldane phase. Before doping, the charge and spin degrees of freedom are both gapped. Upon doping, the charge channel becomes gapless and is described by a $c=1$ compactified bosonic conformal field theory (CFT), while the spin channel remains gapped and still form a bosonic SPT state. Interestingly, an instability toward $p$-wave topological superconductivity is induced coexisting with the symmetry protected spin edge modes that are inherited from the Haldane phase. This scenario is confirmed by density-matrix renormalization group simulation of a concrete lattice model, where we find that topological superconductivity is robust against interactions. We further show that by stacking doped Haldane phases an exotic 2D anisotropic superconductor can be realized, where the boundaries transverse to the chain-direction are either gapless or spontaneously symmetry-broken due to the Lieb-Schultz-Mattis (LSM) anomaly.
Room temperature ferromagnetism was characterized for thin films of SrTi$_{0.6}$Fe$_{0.4}$O$_{3-{\delta}}$ grown by pulsed laser deposition on SrTiO$_{3}$ and Si substrates under different oxygen pressures and after annealing under oxygen and vacuum conditions. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism demonstrated that the magnetization originated from Fe$^{2+}$ cations, whereas Fe$^{3+}$ and Ti$^{4+}$ did not contribute. Films with the highest magnetic moment (0.8 \muB per Fe) had the highest measured Fe$^{2+}$:Fe${^3+}$ ratio of 0.1 corresponding to the largest concentration of oxygen vacancies (\delta = 0.19). Post-growth annealing treatments under oxidizing and reducing conditions demonstrated quenching and partial recovery of magnetism respectively, and a change in Fe valence states. The study elucidates the microscopic origin of magnetism in highly Fe-substituted SrTi$_{1-x}$Fe$_x$O$_{3-{\delta}}$ perovskite oxides and demonstrates that the magnetic moment, which correlates with the relative content of Fe$^{2+}$ and Fe$^{3+}$, can be controlled via the oxygen content, either during growth or by post-growth annealing.
We classify symmetry fractionalization and anomalies in a (3+1)d U(1) gauge theory enriched by a global symmetry group $G$. We find that, in general, a symmetry-enrichment pattern is specified by 4 pieces of data: $\rho$, a map from $G$ to the duality symmetry group of this $\mathrm{U}(1)$ gauge theory which physically encodes how the symmetry permutes the fractional excitations, $\nu\in\mathcal{H}^2_{\rho}[G, \mathrm{U}_\mathsf{T}(1)]$, the symmetry actions on the electric charge, $p\in\mathcal{H}^1[G, \mathbb{Z}_\mathsf{T}]$, indication of certain domain wall decoration with bosonic integer quantum Hall (BIQH) states, and a torsor $n$ over $\mathcal{H}^3_{\rho}[G, \mathbb{Z}]$, the symmetry actions on the magnetic monopole. However, certain choices of $(\rho, \nu, p, n)$ are not physically realizable, i.e. they are anomalous. We find that there are two levels of anomalies. The first level of anomalies obstruct the fractional excitations being deconfined, thus are referred to as the deconfinement anomaly. States with these anomalies can be realized on the boundary of a (4+1)d long-range entangled state. If a state does not suffer from a deconfinement anomaly, there can still be the second level of anomaly, the more familiar 't Hooft anomaly, which forbids certain types of symmetry fractionalization patterns to be implemented in an on-site fashion. States with these anomalies can be realized on the boundary of a (4+1)d short-range entangled state. We apply these results to some interesting physical examples.
In this paper we attempt to understand Lorentzian tensor networks, as a preparation for constructing tensor networks that can describe more exotic backgrounds such as black holes. To define notions of reference frames and switching of reference frames on a tensor network, we will borrow ideas from the algebraic quantum field theory literature. With these definitions, we construct simple examples of Lorentzian tensor networks and solve the spectrum for a choice of ``inertial frame'' based on Gaussian models of fermions and integrable models. In particular, the tensor network can be viewed as a periodically driven Floquet system, that by-pass the ``doubling problem'' and gives rise to fermions with exactly linear dispersion relations. We will find that a boost operator connecting different inertial frames, and notions of ``Rindler observers'' can be defined, and that important physics in Lorentz invariant QFT, such as the Unruh effect, can be captured by such skeleton of spacetime. We find interesting subtleties when the same approach is directly applied to bosons -- the operator algebra contains commutators that take the wrong sign -- resembling bosons behind horizons.
Symmetry fractionalization (SF) on topological excitations is one of the most remarkable quantum phenomena in topological orders with symmetry, i.e., symmetry-enriched topological phases. While much progress has been theoretically and experimentally made in 2D, the understanding on SF in 3D is far from complete. A long-standing challenge is to understand SF on looplike topological excitations which are spatially extended objects. In this work, we construct a powerful topological-field-theoretical framework approach for 3D topological orders, which leads to a systematic characterization and classification of SF. For systems with Abelian gauge groups ($G_g$) and Abelian symmetry groups ($G_s$), we successfully establish equivalence classes that lead to a finite number of patterns of SF, although there are notoriously infinite number of Lagrangian-descriptions of the system. We compute topologically distinct types of fractional symmetry charges carried by particles. Then, for each type, we compute topologically distinct statistical phases of braiding processes among loop excitations and external symmetry fluxes. As a result, we are able to unambiguously list all physical observables for each pattern of SF. We present detailed calculations on many concrete examples. As an example, we find that the SF in an untwisted $\mathbb{Z}_2\times \mathbb{Z}_2$ topological order with $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry is classified by $ (\mathbb{Z}_2)^6\oplus (\mathbb{Z}_2)^2\oplus (\mathbb{Z}_2)^2\oplus (\mathbb{Z}_2)^2$. If the topological order is twisted, the classification reduces to $(\mathbb{Z}_2)^6$ in which particle excitations always carry integer charge. Pure algebraic formalism of the classification is given by: $ \bigoplus_{\nu_i} \mathcal H^4 ( G_g\leftthreetimes_{\nu_i}G_s, U (1)) /\Gamma_\omega ({\nu_i}) \,$. Several future directions are proposed.
In this paper, we present an exactly solvable model for two dimensional topological superconductor with helical Majorana edge modes protected by time reversal symmetry. Our construction is based on the idea of decorated domain walls and makes use of the Kasteleyn orientation on a two dimensional lattice, which was used for the construction of the symmetry protected fermion phase with $Z_2$ symmetry in Ref. \onlineciteTarantino2016,Ware2016. By decorating the time reversal domain walls with spinful Majorana chains, we are able to construct a commuting projector Hamiltonian with zero correlation length ground state wave function that realizes a strongly interacting version of the two dimensional topological superconductor. From our construction, it can be seen that the $T^2=-1$ transformation rule for the fermions is crucial for the existence of such a nontrivial phase; with $T^2=1$, our construction does not work.
While two-dimensional symmetry-enriched topological phases ($\mathsf{SET}$s) have been studied intensively and systematically, three-dimensional ones are still open issues. We propose an algorithmic approach of imposing global symmetry $G_s$ on gauge theories (denoted by $\mathsf{GT}$) with gauge group $G_g$. The resulting symmetric gauge theories are dubbed "symmetry-enriched gauge theories" ($\mathsf{SEG}$), which may be served as low-energy effective theories of three-dimensional symmetric topological quantum spin liquids. We focus on $\mathsf{SEG}$s with gauge group $G_g=\mathbb{Z}_{N_1}\times\mathbb{Z}_{N_2}\times\cdots$ and on-site unitary symmetry group $G_s=\mathbb{Z}_{K_1}\times\mathbb{Z}_{K_2}\times\cdots$ or $G_s=\mathrm{U(1)}\times \mathbb{Z}_{K_1}\times\cdots$. Each $\mathsf{SEG}(G_g,G_s)$ is described in the path integral formalism associated with certain symmetry assignment. From the path-integral expression, we propose how to physically diagnose the ground state properties (i.e., $\mathsf{SET}$ orders) of $\mathsf{SEG}$s in experiments of charge-loop braidings (patterns of symmetry fractionalization) and the \emphmixed multi-loop braidings among deconfined loop excitations and confined symmetry fluxes. From these symmetry-enriched properties, one can obtain the map from $\mathsf{SEG}$s to $\mathsf{SET}$s. By giving full dynamics to background gauge fields, $\mathsf{SEG}$s may be eventually promoted to a set of new gauge theories (denoted by $\mathsf{GT}^*$). Based on their gauge groups, $\mathsf{GT}^*$s may be further regrouped into different classes each of which is labeled by a gauge group ${G}^*_g$. Finally, a web of gauge theories involving $\mathsf{GT}$, $\mathsf{SEG}$, $\mathsf{SET}$ and $\mathsf{GT}^*$ is achieved. We demonstrate the above symmetry-enrichment physics and the web of gauge theories through many concrete examples.
Using first-principles calculations, we predict a Chern insulating phase in thin films of the ferromagnetic semi-metal GdN. In contrast to previously proposed Chern insulator candidates, which mostly rely on honeycomb lattices, this system affords a great chance to realize the quantum anomalous Hall Effect on a square lattice without either a magnetic substrate or transition metal doping, making synthesis easier. The band inversion between 5d-orbitals of Gd and 2p-orbitals of N is verified by first-principles calculation based on density functional theory, and the band gap can be as large as 100 meV within GdN trilayer. With further increase of film thickness, the band gap tends to close and the metallic bulk property becomes obvious.
Strong interactions can give rise to new fermionic symmetry protected topological phases which have no analogs in free fermion systems. As an example, we have systematically studied a spinless fermion model with $U(1)$ charge conservation and time reversal symmetry on a three-leg ladder using density-matrix renormalization group. In the non-interacting limit, there are no topological phases. Turning on interactions, we found two gapped phases. One is trivial and is adiabatically connected to a band insulator, while another one is a nontrivial symmetry protected topological phase resulting from strong interactions.