Publications
Instability of the non-Fermi-liquid state of the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model
We study a series of perturbations on the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model. We show that the maximal chaotic non-Fermi-liquid phase described by the ordinary q=4 SYK model has marginally relevant or irrelevant (depending on the sign of the coupling constants) four-fermion perturbations allowed by symmetry. Changing the sign of one of these four-fermion perturbations leads to a continuous chaotic-nonchaotic quantum phase transition of the system accompanied by a spontaneous time-reversal symmetry breaking.
Topological electromagnetic responses of bosonic quantum Hall, topological insulator, and chiral semimetal phases in all dimensions
We calculate the topological part of the electromagnetic response of bosonic integer quantum Hall (BIQH) phases in odd (space-time) dimensions, and bosonic topological insulator (BTI) and bosonic chiral semimetal (BCSM) phases in even dimensions. To do this, we use the nonlinear sigma model (NLSM) description of bosonic symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases, and the method of gauged Wess-Zumino (WZ) actions.
Featureless quantum insulator on the honeycomb lattice
We show how to construct fully symmetric states without topological order on a honeycomb lattice for S=12 spins using the language of projected entangled pair states. An explicit example is given for the virtual bond dimension D=4. Four distinct classes differing by lattice quantum numbers are found by applying the systematic classification scheme introduced by two of the authors [S. Jiang and Y. Ran, Phys. Rev. B 92, 104414 (2015)PRBMDO1098-012110.1103/PhysRevB.92.104414].
Bulk entanglement spectrum in gapped spin ladders
We study the bulk entanglement of a series of gapped ground states of spin ladders, representative of the Haldane phase. These ground states of spin S/2 ladders generalize the valence bond solid ground state. In the case of spin 1/2 ladders, we study a generalization of the Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki and Nersesyan-Tsvelik states and fully characterize the bulk entanglement Hamiltonian. In the case of general spin S, we argue that in the Haldane phase the bulk entanglement spectrum of a half-integer ladder is either gapless or possess a degenerate ground state.
Existence of featureless paramagnets on the square and the honeycomb lattices in 2+1 dimensions
The peculiar features of quantum magnetism sometimes forbid the existence of gapped "featureless" paramagnets which are fully symmetric and unfractionalized. The Lieb-Schultz-Mattis theorem is an example of such a constraint, but it is not known what the most general restriction might be. We focus on the existence of featureless paramagnets on the spin-1 square lattice and the spin-1 and spin-1/2 honeycomb lattice with spin rotation and space group symmetries in 2+1 dimensions.
Layer construction of 3D topological states and string braiding statistics
While the topological order in two dimensions has been studied extensively since the discovery of the integer and fractional quantum Hall systems, topological states in three spatial dimensions are much less understood. In this paper, we propose a general formalism for constructing a large class of threedimensional topological states by stacking layers of 2D topological states and introducing coupling between them.
Classification of topological defects in Abelian topological states
We propose the most general classification of pointlike and linelike extrinsic topological defects in (2+1)-dimensional Abelian topological states. We first map generic extrinsic defects to boundary defects, and then provide a classification of the latter. Based on this classification, the most generic point defects can be understood as domain walls between topologically distinct boundary regions. We show that topologically distinct boundaries can themselves be classified by certain maximal subgroups of mutually bosonic quasiparticles, called Lagrangian subgroups.
Theory of defects in Abelian topological states
The structure of extrinsic defects in topologically ordered states of matter is host to a rich set of universal physics. Extrinsic defects in 2+1-dimensional topological states include linelike defects, such as boundaries between topologically distinct states, and pointlike defects, such as junctions between different line defects. Gapped boundaries in particular can themselves be topologically distinct, and the junctions between them can localize topologically protected zero modes, giving rise to topological ground-state degeneracies and projective non-Abelian statistics.
Crystal-symmetry preserving Wannier states for fractional Chern insulators
Recently, many numerical evidences of fractional Chern insulator, i.e., the fractional quantum Hall states on lattices, are proposed when a Chern band is partially filled. Some trial wave functions of fractional Chern insulators can be obtained by mapping the fractional quantum Hall wave functions defined in the continuum onto the lattice through the Wannier state representation in which the single particle Landau orbits in the Landau levels are identified with the one-dimensional Wannier states of the Chern bands with Chern number C=1.
Momentum-space instantons and maximally localized flat-band topological Hamiltonians
Recently, two-dimensional band insulators with a topologically nontrivial (almost) flat band in which integer and fractional quantum Hall effect can be realized without an orbital magnetic field have been studied extensively. Realizing a topological flat band generally requires longer range hoppings in a lattice Hamiltonian. It is natural to ask what is the minimal hopping range required. In this letter, we prove that the mean hopping range of the flat-band Hamiltonian with Chern number C_1 and total number of bands N has a universal lower bound of \sqrt 4\vertC_1 |/\pi N.