Hybrid light-matter networks of Majorana zero modes

Topological excitations, such as Majorana zero modes, are a promising route for encoding quantum information. Topologically protected gates of Majorana qubits, based on their braiding, will require some form of network. Here, we propose to build such a network by entangling Majorana matter with light in a microwave cavity QED set-up. Our scheme exploits a light-induced interaction which is universal to all the Majorana nanoscale circuit platforms. This effect stems from a parametric drive of the light-matter coupling in a one-dimensional chain of physical Majorana modes. Our set-up enables all the basic operations needed in a Majorana quantum computing platform such as fusing, braiding, the crucial T-gate, the read-out, and importantly, the stabilization or correction of the physical Majorana modes.

Manipulating Vortices in F=2 Bose-Einstein Condensates through Magnetic Field and Spin-Orbit Coupling

We investigate the vortex structures excited by Ioffe-Pritchard magnetic field and Dresselhaus-type spin-orbit coupling in F = 2 ferromagnetic Bose-Einstein condensates. In the weakly interatomic interacting regime, an external magnetic field can generate a polar-core vortex in which the canonical particle current is zero. With the combined effect of spin-orbit coupling and magnetic field, the ground state experiences a transition from polar-core vortex to Mermin-Ho vortex, in which the canonical particle current is anticlockwise. For fixed spin-orbit coupling strengths, the evolution of phase winding, magnetization and degree of phase separation with magnetic field are studied. Additionally, with further increasing spin-orbit coupling strength, the condensate exhibits symmetrical density domains separated by radial vortex arrays. Our work paves the way to explore exotic topological excitations in high-spin system.

Ginzburg–Landau Theory of Condensates

Ginzburg–Landau theory is an important tool in condensed matter physics research, describing the ordered phases of condensed matter, including the dynamics, elasticity, and thermodynamics of the condensed configurations. In this systematic introduction to Ginzberg–Landau theory, both common and topological excitations are considered on the same footing (including their thermodynamics and dynamical phenomena). The role of the topological versus energetic considerations is made clear. Required mathematics (symmetry, including lattice translation, topology, and perturbative techniques) are introduced as needed. The results are illustrated using arguably the most fascinating class of such systems, high Tc superconductors subject to magnetic field. This book is an important reference for both researchers and graduate students working in condensed matter physics or can act as a textbook for those taking advanced courses on these topics.

Wigner solids of domain wall skyrmions

Detection and characterization of a different type of topological excitations, namely the domain wall (DW) skyrmion, has received increasing attention because the DW is ubiquitous from condensed matter to particle physics and cosmology. Here we present experimental evidence for the DW skyrmion as the ground state stabilized by long-range Coulomb interactions in a quantum Hall ferromagnet. We develop an alternative approach using nonlocal resistance measurements together with a local NMR probe to measure the effect of low current-induced dynamic nuclear polarization and thus to characterize the DW under equilibrium conditions. The dependence of nuclear spin relaxation in the DW on temperature, filling factor, quasiparticle localization, and effective magnetic fields allows us to interpret this ground state and its possible phase transitions in terms of Wigner solids of the DW skyrmion. These results demonstrate the importance of studying the intrinsic properties of quantum states that has been largely overlooked.

Evidence for an atomic chiral superfluid with topological excitations

Topological superfluidity is an important concept in electronic materials as well as ultracold atomic gases1. However, although progress has been made by hybridizing superconductors with topological substrates, the search for a material—natural or artificial—that intrinsically exhibits topological superfluidity has been ongoing since the discovery of the superfluid 3He-A phase2. Here we report evidence for a globally chiral atomic superfluid, induced by interaction-driven time-reversal symmetry breaking in the second Bloch band of an optical lattice with hexagonal boron nitride geometry. This realizes a long-lived Bose–Einstein condensate of 87Rb atoms beyond present limits to orbitally featureless scenarios in the lowest Bloch band. Time-of-flight and band mapping measurements reveal that the local phases and orbital rotations of atoms are spontaneously ordered into a vortex array, showing evidence of the emergence of global angular momentum across the entire lattice. A phenomenological effective model is used to capture the dynamics of Bogoliubov quasi-particle excitations above the ground state, which are shown to exhibit a topological band structure. The observed bosonic phase is expected to exhibit phenomena that are conceptually distinct from, but related to, the quantum anomalous Hall effect3–7 in electronic condensed matter.

Generalized Lieb-Schultz-Mattis theorem on bosonic symmetry protected topological phases

We propose and prove a family of generalized Lieb-Schultz-Mattis~(LSM) theorems for symmetry protected topological~(SPT) phases on boson/spin models in any dimensions. The ``conventional'' LSM theorem, applicable to e.g. any translation invariant system with an odd number of spin-1/2 particles per unit cell, forbids a symmetric short-range-entangled ground state in such a system. Here we focus on systems with no LSM anomaly, where global/crystalline symmetries and fractional spins within the unit cell ensure that any symmetric SRE ground state must be a non-trivial SPT phase with anomalous boundary excitations. Depending on models, they can be either strong or ``higher-order'' crystalline SPT phases, characterized by non-trivial surface/hinge/corner states. Furthermore, given the symmetry group and the spatial assignment of fractional spins, we are able to determine all possible SPT phases for a symmetric ground state, using the real space construction for SPT phases based on the spectral sequence of cohomology theory. We provide examples in one, two and three spatial dimensions, and discuss possible physical realization of these SPT phases based on condensation of topological excitations in fractionalized phases.

Localization of Dirac Fermions in Finite-Temperature Gauge Theory

It is by now well established that Dirac fermions coupled to non-Abelian gauge theories can undergo an Anderson-type localization transition. This transition affects eigenmodes in the lowest part of the Dirac spectrum, the ones most relevant to the low-energy physics of these models. Here we review several aspects of this phenomenon, mostly using the tools of lattice gauge theory. In particular, we discuss how the transition is related to the finite-temperature transitions leading to the deconfinement of fermions, as well as to the restoration of chiral symmetry that is spontaneously broken at low temperature. Other topics we touch upon are the universality of the transition, and its connection to topological excitations (instantons) of the gauge field and the associated fermionic zero modes. While the main focus is on Quantum Chromodynamics, we also discuss how the localization transition appears in other related models with different fermionic contents (including the quenched approximation), gauge groups, and in different space-time dimensions. Finally, we offer some speculations about the physical relevance of the localization transition in these models.