Related papers: Topological Insulators and C^*-Algebras: Theory an…
The theory of almost commuting matrices can be used to quantify topological obstructions to the existence of localized Wannier functions with time-reversal symmetry in systems with time-reversal symmetry and strong spin-orbit coupling. We…
We study a wide class of topological free-fermion systems on a hypercubic lattice in spatial dimensions $d\ge 1$. When the Fermi level lies in a spectral gap or a mobility gap, the topological properties, e.g., the integral quantization of…
Axial vectors, such as current or magnetization, are commonly used order parameters in time-reversal symmetry breaking systems. These vectors also break isotropy in three dimensional systems, lowering the spatial symmetry. We demonstrate…
The topological invariant of a topological insulator (or superconductor) is given by the number of symmetry-protected edge states present at the Fermi level. Despite this fact, established expressions for the topological invariant require…
We consider the problem of calculating the weak and strong topological indices in noncentrosymmetric time-reversal (T) invariant insulators. In 2D we use a gauge corresponding to hybrid Wannier functions that are maximally localized in one…
We lay out an experiment to realize time-reversal invariant topological insulators in alkali atomic gases. We introduce an original method to synthesize a gauge field in the near-field of an atom-chip, which effectively mimics the effects…
We study topological insulators, regarded as physical systems giving rise to topological invariants determined by symmetries both linear and anti-linear. Our perspective is that of noncommutative index theory of operator algebras. In…
This thesis investigates parametrized quantum spin systems in the thermodynamic limit from a $C^*$-algebraic point of view. Our main physical result is the construction of a phase invariant for one-dimensional quantum spin chains…
The note is concerned with inductive systems of Toeplitz algebras and their $*$-homomorphisms over arbitrary partially ordered sets. The Toeplitz algebra is the reduced semigroup $C^*$-algebra for the additive semigroup of non-negative…
The discovery of topological insulators has reformed modern materials science, promising to be a platform for tabletop relativistic physics, electronic transport without scattering, and stable quantum computation. Topological invariants are…
Topological insulators are a broad class of unconventional materials that are insulating in the interior but conduct along the edges. This edge transport is topologically protected and dissipationless. Until recently, all existing…
We demonstrate the existence of topological insulators in one dimension protected by mirror and time-reversal symmetries. They are characterized by a nontrivial $\mathbb{Z}_2$ topological invariant defined in terms of the "partial"…
Topological insulators in three dimensions are characterized by a Z2-valued topological invariant, which consists of a strong index and three weak indices. In the presence of disorder, only the strong index survives. This paper studies the…
We analyze the topological $\mathbb{Z}_2$ invariant, which characterizes time reversal invariant topological insulators, in the framework of index theory and K-theory. The topological $\mathbb{Z}_2$ invariant counts the parity of…
The notion of a topological phase of an insulator is based on the concept of homotopy between Hamiltonians. It therefore depends on the choice of a topological space to which the Hamiltonians belong. We advocate that this space should be…
We investigate the possibility of constructing exponentially localized composite Wannier bases, or equivalently smooth periodic Bloch frames, for 3-dimensional time-reversal symmetric topological insulators, both of bosonic and of fermionic…
Motivated by algebraic quantum field theory and our previous work we study properties of inductive systems of \ $C^*$-algebras over arbitrary partially ordered sets. A partially ordered set can be represented as the union of the family of…
We consider a gapped periodic quantum system with time-reversal symmetry of fermionic (or odd) type, i.e. the time-reversal operator squares to -1. We investigate the existence of periodic and time-reversal invariant Bloch frames in…
The topological invariants of a time-reversal-invariant band structure in two dimensions are multiple copies of the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ invariant found by Kane and Mele. Such invariants protect the topological insulator and give rise to a spin…
We explore a large family of one-dimensional (1D) topological crystalline insulators (TCIs) classified by $\mathbb{Z}$ invariants protected by space-time inversion symmetry. This finding stands in marked contrast to the conventional…