Topological phases of matter, symmetries, and K-theory

Thesis

This thesis contains a study of topological phases of matter, with a strong emphasis on symmetry as a unifying theme. We take the point of view that the "topology" in many examples of what is loosely termed "topological matter", has its origin in the symmetry data of the system in question. From the fundamental work of Wigner, we know that topology resides not only in the group of symmetries, but also in the cohomological data of projective unitary-antiunitary representations. Furthermore, recent ideas from condensed matter physics highlight the fundamental role of charge-conjugation symmetry. With these as physical motivation, we propose to study the topological features of gapped phases of free fermions through a Ζ₂-graded C*-algebra encoding the symmetry data of their dynamics.

In particular, each combination of time reversal and charge conjugation symmetries can be associated with a Clifford algebra. K-theory is intimately related to topology, representation theory, Clifford algebras, and Ζ₂-gradings, so it presents itself as a powerful tool for studying gapped topological phases. Our basic strategy is to use various K-theoretic invariants of the symmetry algebra to classify symmetry-compatible gapped phases. The super-representation group of the algebra classifies such gapped phases, while its K-theoretic difference-group classifies the obstructions in passing between two such phases. Our approach is a noncommutative version of the twisted K-theory approach of Freed--Moore, and generalises the K-theoretic classification first suggested by Kitaev. It has the advantage of conceptual simplicity in its uniform treatment of all symmetries. Physically, it encompasses phenomena which require noncommutative algebras in their description; mathematically, it clarifies and provides rigour to the meaning of "homotopic phases", and easily explains the salient features of Kitaev's Periodic Table.

Authors: Thiang, G

• Publication date: 2014
• DOI: 10.5287/ora-y07ka8nqg
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: K-theory; topological matter
• Subjects: Theoretical physics; Quantum theory (mathematics); Algebraic topology