SU(2)$_1$ chiral edge modes of a critical spin liquid
Abstract
Protected chiral edge modes are a well-known signature of topologically ordered phases like the Fractional Quantum Hall States. Recently, using the framework of projected entangled pair states (PEPS) on the square lattice, we constructed a family of chiral Resonating Valence Bond states with gauge symmetry. Here we revisit and analyze in full details the properties of the edge modes as given by their Entanglement Spectra on a cylinder. Surprisingly, we show that the latter can be well described by a chiral SU(2) Conformal Field Theory (CFT), as for the (bosonic) gapped Laughlin state, although our numerical data suggest a critical bulk compatible with an emergent gauge symmetry. We propose that our family of PEPS may physically describe a boundary between a chiral topological phase and a trivial phase.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1602.05969,
title = {SU(2)$_1$ chiral edge modes of a critical spin liquid},
author = {Didier Poilblanc and Norbert Schuch and Ian Affleck},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1602.05969},
year = {2016}
}
Comments
9 pages, 10 figures. v2: minor changes in introduction, refs added