Fractional S-duality, Classification of Fractional Topological Insulators and Surface Topological Order

DOI10.1103/PHYSREVB.96.085125arXiv1701.05559MaRDI QIDQ6282136FDOQ6282136

Meng Cheng, Peng Ye, Eduardo Fradkin

Publication date: 19 January 2017

Abstract: In this paper, we propose a generalization of the $S$-duality of four-dimensional quantum electrodynamics ($ext{QED}_4$) to $ext{QED}_4$ with fractionally charged excitations, the fractional $S$-duality. Such $ext{QED}_4$ can be obtained by gauging the $extU(1)$ symmetry of a topologically ordered state with fractional charges. When time-reversal symmetry is imposed, the axion angle ($heta$) can take a nontrivial but still time-reversal invariant value $pi/t^2$ ($tinmathbbZ$). Here, $1/t$ specifies the minimal electric charge carried by bulk excitations. Such states with time-reversal and $extU(1)$ global symmetry (fermion number conservation) are fractional topological insulators (FTI). We propose a topological quantum field theory description, which microscopically justifies the fractional $S$-duality. Then, we consider stacking operations (i.e., a direct sum of Hamiltonians) among FTIs. We find that there are two topologically distinct classes of FTIs: type-I and type-II. Type-I ($tinmathbb{Z}_{modd}$) can be obtained by directly stacking a non-interacting topological insulator and a fractionalized gapped fermionic state with minimal charge $1/t$ and vanishing $heta$. But type-II ($tinmathbb{Z}_{meven}$) cannot be realized through any stacking. Finally, we study the Surface Topological Order of fractional topological insulators.

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