Symmetry indicators in commensurate magnetic flux
Abstract
We derive a framework to apply topological quantum chemistry in systems subject to magnetic flux. We start by deriving the action of spatial symmetry operators in a uniform magnetic field, which extends Zak's magnetic translation groups to all crystal symmetry groups. Ultimately, the magnetic symmetries form a projective representation of the crystal symmetry group. As a consequence, band representations acquire an extra gauge invariant phase compared to the non-magnetic theory. Thus, the theory of symmetry indicators is distinct from the non-magnetic case. We give examples of new symmetry indicators that appear at flux. Finally, we apply our results to an obstructed atomic insulator with corner states in a magnetic field. The symmetry indicators reveal a topological-to-trivial phase transition at finite flux, which is confirmed by a Hofstadter butterfly calculation. The bulk phase transition provides a new probe of higher order topology in certain obstructed atomic insulators.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2209.10557,
title = {Symmetry indicators in commensurate magnetic flux},
author = {Yuan Fang and Jennifer Cano},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2209.10557},
year = {2023}
}
Comments
28 pages, 7 figures