Journal
PHYSICAL REVIEW B
Volume 86, Issue 11, Pages -Publisher
AMER PHYSICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.86.115109
Keywords
-
Funding
- NSF [NSFPHY05-51164]
- Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship
Ask authors/readers for more resources
We construct a two-dimensional (2D) quantum spin model that realizes an Ising paramagnet with gapless edge modes protected by Ising symmetry. This model provides an example of a symmetry-protected topological phase. We describe a simple physical construction that distinguishes this system from a conventional paramagnet: We couple the system to aZ(2) gauge field and then showthat the pi-flux excitations have different braiding statistics from that of a usual paramagnet. In addition, we show that these braiding statistics directly imply the existence of protected edge modes. Finally, we analyze a particular microscopic model for the edge and derive a field theoretic description of the low energy excitations. We believe that the braiding statistics approach outlined in this paper can be generalized to a large class of symmetry-protected topological phases.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available