Colloquium: Zoo of quantum-topological phases of matter

Xiao-Gang Wen
Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 041004 – Published 4 December 2017

Abstract

What are topological phases of matter? First, they are phases of matter at zero temperature. Second, they have a nonzero energy gap for the excitations above the ground state. Third, they are disordered liquids that seem to have no feature. But those disordered liquids actually can have rich patterns of many-body entanglement representing new kinds of order. This Colloquium gives a simple introduction and a brief survey of topological phases of matter. First topological phases with topological order (i.e., with long-range entanglement) are discussed. Then topological phases without topological order (i.e., with short-range entanglement) are covered.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
1 More
  • Received 16 October 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.89.041004

© 2017 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Xiao-Gang Wen

  • Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 89, Iss. 4 — October - December 2017

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
CHORUS

Article Available via CHORUS

Download Accepted Manuscript
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Reviews of Modern Physics

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×