Wiener–Hopf factorization approach to a bulk-boundary correspondence and stability conditions for topological zero-energy modes

Abstract

Both the physics and applications of fermionic symmetry-protected topological phases rely heavily on a principle known as bulk-boundary correspondence, which predicts the emergence of protected boundary-localized energy excitations (boundary states) if the bulk is topologically non-trivial. Current theoretical approaches formulate a bulk-boundary correspondence as an equality between a bulk and a boundary topological invariant, where the latter is a property of boundary states. However, such an equality does not offer insight into the stability or the sensitivity of the boundary states to external perturbations. To solve this problem, we adopt a technique known as the Wiener–Hopf factorization of matrix functions. Using this technique, we first provide an elementary proof of the equality of the bulk and the boundary invariants for one-dimensional systems with arbitrary boundary conditions in all Altland–Zirnbauer symmetry classes. This equality also applies to quasi-one-dimensional systems (e.g., junctions) formed by bulks belonging to the same symmetry class. We then show that only topologically non-trivial Hamiltonians can host stable zero-energy edge modes, where stability refers to continuous deformation of zero-energy excitations with external perturbations that preserve the symmetries of the class. By leveraging the Wiener–Hopf factorization, we establish bounds on the sensitivity of such stable zero-energy modes to external perturbations. Our results show that the Wiener–Hopf factorization is a natural tool to investigate bulk-boundary correspondence in quasi-one-dimensional fermionic symmetry-protected topological phases. Our results on the stability and sensitivity of zero-energy modes are especially valuable for applications, including Majorana-based topological quantum computing.