A time-reversal invariant topological phase at the surface of a 3D topological insulator

DOI10.1088/1742-5468/2013/09/P09016zbMATH Open1456.82576arXiv1306.3230MaRDI QIDQ3301693FDOQ3301693

Xiao-Liang Qi, Parsa Bonderson, C. Nayak

Publication date: 11 August 2020

Published in: Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: A 3D fermionic topological insulator has a gapless Dirac surface state protected by time-reversal symmetry and charge conservation symmetry. The surface state can be gapped by introducing ferromagnetism to break time-reversal symmetry, introducing superconductivity to break charge conservation, or entering a topological phase. In this paper, we construct a minimal gapped topological phase that preserves both time-reversal and charge conservation symmetries and supports Ising-type non-Abelian anyons. This phase can be understood heuristically as emerging from a surface s-wave superconducting state via the condensation of eight-vortex composites. The topological phase inherits vortices supporting Majorana zero modes from the surface superconducting state. However, since it is time-reversal invariant, the surface topological phase is a distinct phase from the Ising topological phase, which can be viewed as a quantum-disordered spin-polarized p_x + i p_y superconductor. We discuss the anyon model of this topological phase and the manner in which time-reversal symmetry is realized in it. We also study the interfaces between the topological state and other surface gapped phases.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1306.3230

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Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Quantum dynamics and nonequilibrium statistical mechanics (general) (82C10)

Cites Work

• Anyons in an exactly solved model and beyond
• Topological gauge theories and group cohomology
• Title not available (Why is that?)
• \(2n\)-quasihole states realize \(2^{n-1}\)-dimensional spinor braiding statistics in paired quantum Hall states
• Paired Hall states

Cited In (11)

• Three-dimensional topological insulators and bosonization
• Quantum phase transitions between a class of symmetry protected topological states
• On gapped boundaries for SPT phases beyond group cohomology
• A duality web in \(2+1\) dimensions and condensed matter physics
• Congruence subgroups and super-modular categories
• Reflection and time reversal symmetry enriched topological phases of matter: path integrals, non-orientable manifolds, and anomalies
• Higgs-confinement transitions in QCD from symmetry protected topological phases
• Classification and surface anomaly of glide symmetry protected topological phases in three dimensions
• Chern-Simons-matter dualities with SO and USp gauge groups
• Anomalies in (2+1)D fermionic topological phases and (3+1)D path integral state sums for fermionic SPTs
• Symmetries of abelian Chern-Simons theories and arithmetic

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