Measuring space-group symmetry fractionalization in Z2 spin liquids

Michael P. Zaletel, Yuan-Ming Lu, and Ashvin Vishwanath
Phys. Rev. B 96, 195164 – Published 29 November 2017

Abstract

The interplay of symmetry and topological order leads to a variety of distinct phases of matter, the symmetry enriched topological (SET) phases. Here we discuss physical observables that distinguish different SETs in the context of Z2 quantum spin liquids with SU(2) spin rotation invariance. We focus on the cylinder geometry, and show that ground-state quantum numbers for different topological sectors are robust invariants which can be used to identify the SET phase. More generally, these invariants are related to 1D symmetry protected topological phases when viewing the cylinder geometry as a 1D spin chain. In particular, we show that the kagome spin liquid SET can be determined by measurements on one ground state, by wrapping the kagome in a few different ways on the cylinder. In addition to guiding numerical studies, this approach provides a transparent way to connect bosonic and fermionic mean-field theories of spin liquids. When fusing quasiparticles, it correctly predicts nontrivial phase factors for combining their space group quantum numbers.

  • Received 21 July 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.96.195164

©2017 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Michael P. Zaletel1,2, Yuan-Ming Lu3,4,5, and Ashvin Vishwanath4,5,6

  • 1Department of Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 93105, USA
  • 2Department of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, USA
  • 3Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
  • 4Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
  • 5Materials Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
  • 6Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA

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Issue

Vol. 96, Iss. 19 — 15 November 2017

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