Relating the topology of Dirac Hamiltonians to quantum geometry: When the quantum metric dictates Chern numbers and winding numbers

Quantum geometry has emerged as a central and ubiquitous concept in quantum sciences, with direct consequences on quantum metrology and many-body quantum physics. In this context, two fundamental geometric quantities are known to play complementary roles:~the Fubini-Study metric, which introduces a notion of distance between quantum states defined over a parameter space, and the Berry curvature associated with Berry-phase effects and topological band structures. In fact, recent studies have revealed direct relations between these two important quantities, suggesting that topological properties can, in special cases, be deduced from the quantum metric. In this work, we establish general and exact relations between the quantum metric and the topological invariants of generic Dirac Hamiltonians. In particular, we demonstrate that topological indices (Chern numbers or winding numbers) are bounded by the quantum volume determined by the quantum metric. Our theoretical framework, which builds on the Clifford algebra of Dirac matrices, is applicable to topological insulators and semimetals of arbitrary spatial dimensions, with or without chiral symmetry. This work clarifies the role of the Fubini-Study metric in topological states of matter, suggesting unexplored topological responses and metrological applications in a broad class of quantum-engineered systems.

Chiral Majorana Edge Modes and Vortex MajoranaZero Modes in Superconducting Antiferromagnetic TopologicalInsulator

The antiferromagnetic topological insulator (AFTI) is topologically protected by the combined time-reversal and translational symmetry $\mathcal{T}_c$. In this paper we investigate the effects of the $s$-wave superconducting pairings on the multilayers of AFTI, which breaks $\mathcal{T}_c$ symmetry and can realize quantum anomalous Hall insulator with unit Chern number. For the weakly coupled pairings, the system corresponds to the topological superconductor (TSC) with the Chern number $C=\pm 2$. We answer the following questions whether the local Chern numbers and chiral Majorana edge modes of such a TSC distribute around the surface layers. By the numerical calculations based on a theoretic model of AFTI, we find that when the local Chern numbers are always dominated by the surface layers, the wavefunctions of chiral Majorana edge modes must not localize on the surface layers and show a smooth crossover from spatially occupying all layers to only distributing near the surface layers, similar to the hinge states in a three dimensional second-order topological phases. The latter phase, denoted by the hinged TSC, can be distinguished from the former phase by the measurements of the local density of state. In addition we also study the superconducting vortex phase transition in this system and find that the exchange field in the AFTI not only enlarges the phase space of topological vortex phase but also enhances its topological stability. These conclusions will stimulate the investigations on superconducting effects of AFTI and drive the studies on chiral Majorana edge modes and vortex Majorana zero modes into a new era.

Linking topological features of the Hofstadter model to optical diffraction figures

In two, three and even four spatial dimensions, the transverse responses experienced by a charged particle on a lattice in a uniform magnetic field are fully controlled by topological invariants called Chern numbers, which characterize the energy bands of the underlying Hofstadter Hamiltonian. These remarkable features, solely arising from the magnetic translational symmetry, are captured by Diophantine equations which relate the fraction of occupied states, the magnetic flux and the Chern numbers of the system bands. Here we investigate the close analogy between the topological properties of Hofstadter Hamiltonians and the diffraction figures resulting from optical gratings. In particular, we show that there is a one-to-one relation between the above mentioned Diophantine equation and the Bragg condition determining the far-field positions of the optical diffraction peaks. As an interesting consequence of this mapping, we discuss how the robustness of diffraction figures to structural disorder in the grating is a direct analogy of the robustness of transverse conductance in the Quantum Hall effect.

Intrinsic Topological Magnons In Arrays of Magnetic Dipoles

We study a simple magnetic system composed of periodically modulated magnetic dipoles with an easy axis. Upon adjusting the modulation amplitude alone, chains and two-dimensional stacked chains exhibit a rich magnon spectrum where frequency gaps and magnon speeds are easily manipulable. The blend of anisotropy due to dipolar interactions between magnets and geometrical modulation induces a magnetic phase with fractional Zak number in infinite chains and end states in open one-dimensional systems. In two dimensions it gives rise to topological modes at the edges of stripes. Tuning the amplitude in two-dimensional lattices causes a band touching, which triggers the exchange of the Chern numbers of the volume bands and switches the sign of the thermal conductivity.

Fundamental group of Galois covers of degree 6 surfaces

In this paper, we consider the Galois covers of algebraic surfaces of degree 6, with all associated planar degenerations. We compute the fundamental groups of those Galois covers, using their degeneration. We show that for 8 types of degenerations, the fundamental group of the Galois cover is non-trivial and for 20 types it is trivial. Moreover, we compute the Chern numbers of all the surfaces with this type of degeneration and prove that the signatures of all their Galois covers are negative. We formulate a conjecture regarding the structure of the fundamental groups of the Galois covers based on our findings.

On the geography of line arrangements

We present various results about the combinatorial properties of line arrangements in terms of the Chern numbers of the corresponding log surfaces. This resembles the study of the geography of surfaces of general type. We prove some new results about the distribution of Chern slopes, we show a connection between their accumulation points and the accumulation points of linear H-constants on the plane, and we conclude with two open problems in relation to geography over ℚ and over ℂ.

Quantum entangled fractional topology and curvatures

Topological spaces have numerous applications for quantum matter with protected chiral edge modes related to an integer-valued Chern number, which also characterizes the global response of a spin-1/2 particle to a magnetic field. Such spin-1/2 models can also describe topological Bloch bands in lattice Hamiltonians. Here we introduce interactions in a system of spin-1/2s to reveal a class of topological states with rational-valued Chern numbers for each spin providing a geometrical and physical interpretation related to curvatures and quantum entanglement. We study a driving protocol in time to reveal the stability of the fractional topological numbers towards various forms of interactions in the adiabatic limit. We elucidate a correspondence of a one-half topological spin response in bilayer semimetals on a honeycomb lattice with a nodal ring at one Dirac point and a robust π Berry phase at the other Dirac point.

Correlations of quantum curvature and variance of Chern numbers

We analyse the correlation function of the quantum curvature in complex quantum systems, using a random matrix model to provide an exemplar of a universal correlation function. We show that the correlation function diverges as the inverse of the distance at small separations. We also define and analyse a correlation function of mixed states, showing that it is finite but singular at small separations. A scaling hypothesis on a universal form for both types of correlations is supported by Monte-Carlo simulations. We relate the correlation function of the curvature to the variance of Chern integers which can describe quantised Hall conductance.