English

Classification of (2+1)D invertible fermionic topological phases with symmetry

Strongly Correlated Electrons 2022-07-11 v5 High Energy Physics - Theory Mathematical Physics math.MP Quantum Algebra Quantum Physics

Abstract

We provide a classification of invertible topological phases of interacting fermions with symmetry in two spatial dimensions for general fermionic symmetry groups GfG_f and general values of the chiral central charge cc_-. Here GfG_f is a central extension of a bosonic symmetry group GbG_b by fermion parity, (1)F(-1)^F, specified by a second cohomology class [ω2]H2(Gb,Z2)[\omega_2] \in \mathcal{H}^2(G_b, \mathbb{Z}_2). Our approach proceeds by gauging fermion parity and classifying the resulting GbG_b symmetry-enriched topological orders while keeping track of certain additional data and constraints. We perform this analysis through two perspectives, using GG-crossed braided tensor categories and Spin(2c)1(2c_-)_1 Chern-Simons theory coupled to a background GG gauge field. These results give a way to characterize and classify invertible fermionic topological phases in terms of a concrete set of data and consistency equations, which is more physically transparent and computationally simpler than the more abstract methods using cobordism theory and spectral sequences. Our results also generalize and provide a different approach to the recent classification of fermionic symmetry-protected topological phases by Wang and Gu, which have chiral central charge c=0c_- = 0. We show how the 10-fold way classification of topological insulators and superconductors fits into our scheme, along with general non-perturbative constraints due to certain choices of cc_- and GfG_f. Mathematically, our results also suggest an explicit general parameterization of deformation classes of (2+1)D invertible topological quantum field theories with GfG_f symmetry.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2109.11039,
  title  = {Classification of (2+1)D invertible fermionic topological phases with symmetry},
  author = {Maissam Barkeshli and Yu-An Chen and Po-Shen Hsin and Naren Manjunath},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2109.11039},
  year   = {2022}
}

Comments

45+27 pages, 5 figures, v2: corrected typos, added Appendix D showing agreement with Wang-Gu results for O_4 obstruction, v3: corrected typos, v4: minor corrections, v5: minor corrections, added Appendix G