Gauge symmetry in Kitaev-type spin models and index theorems on odd manifolds

Abstract

We construct an exactly soluble spin- 1 2 model on a honeycomb lattice, which is a generalization of Kitaev model. The topological phases of the system are analyzed by study of the ground state sector of this model, the vortex-free states. Basically, there are two phases, A phase and B phase. The behaviors of both A and B phases may be studied by mapping the ground state sector into a general p-wave paired states of spinless fermions with tunable pairing parameters on a square lattice. In this p-wave paired state theory, the A phase is shown to be the strong paired phase, an insulating phase. The B phase may be either gapped or gapless determined by the generalized inversion symmetry is broken or not. The gapped B is the weak pairing phase described by either the Moore–Read Pfaffian state of the spinless fermions or anti-Pfaffian state of holes depending on the sign of the next nearest neighbor hopping amplitude. A phase transition between Pfaffian and anti-Pfaffian states are found in the gapped B phase. Furthermore, we show that there is a hidden SU(2) gauge symmetry in our model. In the gapped B phase, the ground state has a non-trivial topological number, the spectral first Chern number or the chiral central charge, which reflects the chiral anomaly of the edge state. We proved that the topological number is identified to the reduced eta-invariant and this anomaly may be cancelled by a bulk Wess–Zumino term of SO(3) group through an index theorem in 2 + 1 dimensions.