Topological order in three-dimensional systems and 2-gauge symmetry

Topological order is a new paradigm for quantum phases of matter developed to explain phase transitions which do not fit the symmetry breaking scheme for classifying phases of matter. They are characterized by patterns of entanglement that lead to topologically depended ground state degeneracy and a...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Almeida, Ricardo Costa de
Tipo de recurso: tesis de maestría
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2017
País:Brasil
Institución:Universidade de São Paulo (USP)
Repositorio:Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações da USP
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:teses.usp.br:tde-05122017-094209
Acceso en línea:http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/43/43134/tde-05122017-094209/
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Algebraic Topology
Gauge Theory
Mecânica Quântica
Quantum Mechanics
Teoria de Gauge
Topológica Algébrica
Descripción
Sumario:Topological order is a new paradigm for quantum phases of matter developed to explain phase transitions which do not fit the symmetry breaking scheme for classifying phases of matter. They are characterized by patterns of entanglement that lead to topologically depended ground state degeneracy and anyonic excitations. One common approach for studying such phases in two-dimensional systems is through exactly solvable lattice Hamiltonian models such as quantum double models and String-Net models. The former can be understood as the Hamiltonian formulation of lattice gauge theories and, as such, it is defined by a finite gauge group. However, not much is known about topological phases in tridimensional systems. Motivated by this we develop a new class of three-dimensional exactly solvable models which go beyond quantum double models by using finite crossed modules instead of gauge groups. This approach relies on a lattice implementation of 2-gauge theory to obtain models with a richer topological structure. We construct the Hamiltonian model explicitly and provide a rigorous proof that the ground state degeneracy is a topological invariant and that the ground states can only be characterized with nonlocal order parameters.