Topological Phase Diagram Research Articles

Topological protection of coherence in disordered open quantum systems

We consider topological protection mechanisms in dissipative quantum systems in the presence of quenched disorder, with the intent to prolong coherence times of qubits. The physical setting is a network of qubits and dissipative cavities whose coupling parameters are tunable, such that topological edge states can be stabilized. The evolution of a fiducial qubit is entirely determined by a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian which thus emerges from a bona-fide physical process. It is shown how even in the presence of disorder winding numbers can be defined and evaluated in real space, as long as certain symmetries are preserved. Hence we can construct the topological phase diagrams of noisy open quantum models, such as the non-Hermitian disordered Su-Schrieffer- Heeger dimer model and a trimer model that includes longer-range couplings. In the presence of competing disorder parameters, interesting re-entrance phenomena of topologically non-trivial sectors are observed. This means that in certain parameter regions, increasing disorder drastically increases the coherence time of the fiducial qubit.

Unsupervised machine learning of topological phase transitions from experimental data

Identifying phase transitions is one of the key challenges in quantum many-body physics. Recently, machine learning methods have been shown to be an alternative way of localising phase boundaries from noisy and imperfect data without the knowledge of the order parameter. Here, we apply different unsupervised machine learning techniques, including anomaly detection and influence functions, to experimental data from ultracold atoms. In this way, we obtain the topological phase diagram of the Haldane model in a completely unbiased fashion. We show that these methods can successfully be applied to experimental data at finite temperatures and to the data of Floquet systems when post-processing the data to a single micromotion phase. Our work provides a benchmark for the unsupervised detection of new exotic phases in complex many-body systems.

Disorder-induced topological phase transition in a one-dimensional mechanical system

We numerically investigate the topological phase transition induced purely by disorder in a spring-mass chain. We employ two types of disorders---chiral and random types---to explore the interplay between topology and disorder. By tracking the evolution of real-space topological invariants, we obtain the topological phase diagrams and demonstrate the bilateral capacity of disorder to drive topological transitions, from topologically nontrivial to trivial and vice versa. The corresponding transition is accompanied by the realization of a mechanical topological Anderson insulator. The findings from this study hint that the combination of disorder and topology can serve as an efficient control knob to manipulate the transfer of mechanical energy.

Supervised Machine Learning Topological States of One-Dimensional Non-Hermitian SystemsSupported by the Key Area Research and Development Program of Guangdong Province (Grant No. 2019B030330001), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11474179, 11722438, 91736103, and 12074440), and Guangdong Project (Grant No. 2017GC010613).

We apply supervised machine learning to study the topological states of one-dimensional non-Hermitian systems. Unlike Hermitian systems, the winding number of such non-Hermitian systems can take half integers. We focus on a non-Hermitian model, an extension of the Su–Schrieffer–Heeger model. The non-Hermitian model maintains the chiral symmetry. We find that trained neuron networks can reproduce the topological phase diagram of our model with high accuracy. This successful reproduction goes beyond the parameter space used in the training process. Through analyzing the intermediate output of the networks, we attribute the success of the networks to their mastery of computation of the winding number. Our work may motivate further investigation on the machine learning of non-Hermitian systems.

Phase-induced topological superconductivity in a planar heterostructure

Topological superconductivity in quasi-one-dimensional systems is a novel phase of matter with possible implications for quantum computation. Despite years of effort, a definitive signature of this phase in experiments is still debated. A major cause of this ambiguity is the side effects of applying a magnetic field: induced in-gap states, vortices, and alignment issues. Here we propose a planar semiconductor-superconductor heterostructure as a platform for realizing topological superconductivity without applying a magnetic field to the two-dimensional electron gas hosting the topological state. Time-reversal symmetry is broken only by phase biasing the proximitizing superconductors, which can be achieved using extremely small fluxes or bias currents far from the quasi-one-dimensional channel. Our platform is based on interference between this phase biasing and the phase arising from strong spin-orbit coupling in closed electron trajectories. The principle is demonstrated analytically using a simple model, and then shown numerically for realistic devices. We show a robust topological phase diagram, as well as explicit wavefunctions of Majorana zero modes. We discuss experimental issues regarding the practical implementation of our proposal, establishing it as an accessible scheme with contemporary experimental techniques.

Random transverse crystal-field effects on the magnetic properties of the spin-[formula omitted] Blume–Capel model

The spin-3/2 Blume–Capel (BC) model under the effect of a random transverse crystal-field (RTCF) is studied on the square lattice within the mean-field approach. The crystal-field is either turned on or off randomly on the spin sites with probability p and 1−p, respectively. The probability p satisfies 0≤p≤1.0 and the magnetic bilinear interaction parameter, i.e. J>0. The thermal variations of the order parameters are examined to calculate the phase diagrams on the (Dz∕J,T∕J) and (Dx∕J,T∕J) planes for given values of the model parameters where Dx and Dz are respectively the transverse and longitudinal crystal-field components. It is found that the phase diagrams consist of second- and first-order phase transitions lines, in addition to the tricritical points and critical end-points that were observed. Negative values of Dz change fundamentally the topology of the system phase diagrams.

Spectral signatures of the surface anomalous Hall effect in magnetic axion insulators

The topological surface states of magnetic topological systems, such as Weyl semimetals and axion insulators, are associated with unconventional transport properties such as nonzero or half-quantized surface anomalous Hall effect. Here we study the surface anomalous Hall effect and its spectral signatures in different magnetic topological phases using both model Hamiltonian and first-principles calculations. We demonstrate that by tailoring the magnetization and interlayer electron hopping, a rich three-dimensional topological phase diagram can be established, including three types of topologically distinct insulating phases bridged by Weyl semimetals, and can be directly mapped to realistic materials such as MnBi2Te4/(Bi2Te3)n systems. Among them, we find that the surface anomalous Hall conductivity in the axion-insulator phase is a well-localized quantity either saturated at or oscillating around e2/2h, depending on the magnetic homogeneity. We also discuss the resultant chiral hinge modes embedded inside the side surface bands as the potential experimental signatures for transport measurements. Our study is a significant step forward towards the direct realization of the long-sought axion insulators in realistic material systems.

Effects of geometric frustration in Kitaev chains

We study the topological phase transitions of a Kitaev chain frustrated by the addition of a single long-range hopping. In order to study the topological properties of the resulting legged-ring geometry (Kitaev tie model), we generalize the transfer matrix approach through which the emergence of Majorana edge modes is analyzed. We find that geometric frustration gives rise to a topological phase diagram in which non-trivial phases alternate with trivial ones at varying the range of the hopping and the chemical potential. Robustness to disorder of non-trivial phases is also proven. Moreover, geometric frustration effects persist when translational invariance is restored by considering a multiple-tie system. These findings shed light on an entire class of experimentally realizable topological systems with long-range couplings.

Dynamical signatures of symmetry protected topology following symmetry breaking

We investigate topological signatures in the short-time non-equilibrium dynamics of symmetry protected topological (SPT) systems starting from initial states which break the protecting symmetry. Na\"ively, one might expect that topology loses meaning when a protecting symmetry is broken. Defying this intuition, we illustrate, in an interacting Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model, how this combination of symmetry breaking and quench dynamics can give rise to both single-particle and many-body signatures of topology. From the dynamics of the symmetry broken state, we find that we are able to dynamically probe the equilibrium topological phase diagram of a symmetry respecting projection of the post-quench Hamiltonian. In the ensemble dynamics, we demonstrate how spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) of the protecting symmetry can result in a quantized many-body topological `invariant' which is not pinned under unitary time evolution. We dub this `dynamical many-body topology' (DMBT). We show numerically that both the pure state and ensemble signatures are remarkably robust, and argue that these non-equilibrium signatures should be quite generic in SPT systems, regardless of protecting symmetries or spatial dimension.

Non-Hermitian semi-Dirac semi-metals

Recently, many novel and exotic phases have been proposed by considering the role of topology in non-Hermitian systems, and their emergent properties are of wide current interest. In this work we propose the non-Hermitian generalization of semi-Dirac semimetals, which feature a linear dispersion along one momentum direction and a quadratic one along the other. We study the topological phase transitions in such two-dimensional semi-Dirac semimetals in the presence of a particle gain-and-loss term. We show that such a non-Hermitian term creates exceptional points (EPs) originating out of each semi-Dirac point. We map out the topological phase diagram of our model, using winding number and vorticity as topological invariants of the system. By means of numerical and analytical calculations, we examine the nature of edge states for different types of semi-Dirac models and establish bulk-boundary correspondence and absence of the non-Hermitian skin effect, in one class. On the other hand, for other classes of semi-Dirac models with asymmetric hopping, we restore the non-Hermitian skin effect, an anomalous feature usually present in non-Hermitian topological systems.

Topological Edge States of a Majorana BBH Model

We investigate a Majorana Benalcazar–Bernevig–Hughes (BBH) model showing the emergence of topological corner states. The model, consisting of a two-dimensional Su–Schrieffer–Heeger (SSH) system of Majorana fermions with π flux, exhibits a non-trivial topological phase in the absence of Berry curvature, while the Berry connection leads to a non-trivial topology. Indeed, the system belongs to the class of second-order topological superconductors (HOTSC2), exhibiting corner Majorana states protected by C4 symmetry and reflection symmetries. By calculating the 2D Zak phase, we derive the topological phase diagram of the system and demonstrate the bulk-edge correspondence. Finally, we analyze the finite size scaling behavior of the topological properties. Our results can serve to design new 2D materials with non-zero Zak phase and robust edge states.

Majorana bound states in a superconducting Rashba nanowire in the presence of antiferromagnetic order

Theoretical studies have shown that Majorana bound states can be induced at the ends of a one dimensional wire, a phenomenon possible due to the interplay between s-wave superconductivity, spin-orbit coupling, and an external magnetic field. These states have been observed in superconductor-semiconductor hybrid nanostructures in the presence of a Zeeman field, and in the limit of a low density of particles. In this paper, we demonstrate and discuss the possibility of the emergence of Majorana bound states in a superconducting Rashba nanowire deposited on an antiferromagnetically ordered surface. We calculate the relevant topological invariant in several complementary ways. Studying the topological phase diagram reveals two branches of the non trivial topological phase -- a main branch, which is typical for Rashba nanowires, and an additional branch emerging due to the antiferromagnetic order. In the case of the additional topological branch, Majorana bound states can also exist close to half-filling, obviating the need for either doping or gating the nanowire to reach the low density regime. Moreover, we show the emergence of the Majorana bound states in the absence of the external magnetic field, which is possible due to the antiferromagnetic order. We also discuss the properties of the bound states in the context of real space localization and the spectral function of the system. This allows one to perceive the band inversion within the spin and sublattice subspaces in the additional branch, contrary to the main branch, where the only band inversion reported in previous studies exists in the spin subspace. Finally, we demonstrate how these topological phases can be confirmed experimentally in transport measurements.

A Bidimensional Gay-Berne Calamitic Fluid: Structure and Phase Behavior in Bulk and Strongly Confined Systems

A bidimensional (2D) thermotropic liquid crystal (LC) is investigated with Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations. The Gay-Berne mesogen with parameterization GB(3, 5, 2, 1) is used to model a calamitic system. Spatial orientation of the LC samples is probed with the nematic order parameter: a sharp isotropic-smectic (I-Sm) transition is observed at lower pressures. At higher pressures, the I-Sm transition involves an intermediate nematic phase. Topology of the orthobaric phase diagram for the 2D case differs from the 3D case in two important respects: 1) the nematic region appears at lower temperatures and slightly lower densities, and 2) the critical point occurs at lower temperature and slightly higher density. The 2D calamitic model is used to probe the structural behavior of LC samples under strong confinement when either planar or homeotropic anchoring prevails. Samples subjected to circular, square, and triangular boundaries are gradually cooled to study how orientational order emerges. Depending on anchoring mode and confining geometry, characteristic topological defects emerge. Textures in these systems are similar to those observed in experiments and simulations of lyotropic LCs.

Machine learning topological invariants of non-Hermitian systems

The study of topological properties by machine learning approaches has attracted considerable interest recently. Here we propose machine learning the topological invariants that are unique in non-Hermitian systems. Specifically, we train neural networks to predict the winding of eigenvalues of four prototypical non-Hermitian Hamiltonians on the complex energy plane with nearly $100\%$ accuracy. Our demonstrations in the non-Hermitian Hatano-Nelson model, Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model and generalized Aubry-Andr\'e-Harper model in one dimension, and two-dimensional Dirac fermion model with non-Hermitian terms show the capability of the neural networks in exploring topological invariants and the associated topological phase transitions and topological phase diagrams in non-Hermitian systems. Moreover, the neural networks trained by a small data set in the phase diagram can successfully predict topological invariants in untouched phase regions. Thus, our work paves the way to revealing non-Hermitian topology with the machine learning toolbox.

Topological s -wave superconductors driven by electron correlation

It is interesting to ask whether electron interaction can turn a topologically trivial superconductor into a nontrivial one without the presence of spin-obital coupling. In this paper we solve a correlated $s$-wave superconducting model exactly. The variation of the fermion number parity of the superconducting ground state as a function of the electron interaction is calculated and the topological phase diagram is obtained. Topological $s$-wave superconducting states are revealed in the doped Mott insulators, which is further confirmed by the numerical investigation of the topological boundary zero mode.

Simplicity in mean-field phase behavior of two-component miktoarm star copolymers.

Using self-consistent field theory, we systematically explore the microphase separation in the class of two-component miktoarm star copolymers containing a single conjunction point between different blocks by considering an extended list of candidate microphases. We plot mean-field phase diagrams in the plane of segregation strength and composition for an array of representative star copolymers. Three principal phase diagram topologies, dictated by different phase stabilities, are exposed, displaying a hierarchy in complexity by increasing the molecular asymmetry. Our investigation indicates that the phase diagram topology depends on the ratios of arm numbers and Kuhn segment lengths, which highlights the role of the coordination number ratio between different polymers at the domain interface. These findings reveal the simplicity of the general phase behavior and suggest a complete list of stable microphases for the entire class, which provide useful insight into studying copolymers with more complicated architectures and conformational properties.

Magnonic Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model in honeycomb ferromagnets

Topological electronics has extended its richness to non-electronic systems where phonons and magnons can play the role of electrons. In particular, topological phases of magnons can be enabled by the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) which acts as an effective spin-orbit coupling. We show that besides DMI, an alternating arrangement of Heisenberg exchange interactions critically determines the magnon band topology, realizing a magnonic analog of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model. On a honeycomb ferromagnet with perpendicular anisotropy, we calculate the topological phase diagram, the chiral edge states, and the associated magnon Hall effect by allowing the relative strength of exchange interactions on different links to be tunable. Including weak phonon-magnon hybridization does not change the result. Candidate materials are discussed.

Cooperative Dynamics in Bidirectional Transport on Flexible Lattice

Several theoretical models based on totally asymmetric simple exclusion process (TASEP) have been extensively utilized to study various non-equilibrium transport phenomena. Inspired by the the role of microtubule-transported vesicles in intracellular transport, we propose a generalized TASEP model where two distinct particles are directed to hop stochastically in opposite directions on a flexible lattice immersed in a three dimensional pool of diffusing particles. We investigate the interplay between lattice conformation and bidirectional transport by obtaining the stationary phase diagrams and density profiles within the framework of mean field theory. For the case when recycling strength is independent of density of particles, the topology of phase diagram alters quantitatively. However, if the lattice occupancy governs the global conformation of lattice, in addition to the pre-existing phases for bidirectional transport a new asymmetric shock-low density phase originates in the system. We identified that this phase is sensitive to finite size effect and vanishes in the thermodynamic limit.

Band Structure Extraction at Hybrid Narrow-Gap Semiconductor-Metal Interfaces.

The design of epitaxial semiconductor–superconductor and semiconductor–metal quantum devices requires a detailed understanding of the interfacial electronic band structure. However, the band alignment of buried interfaces is difficult to predict theoretically and to measure experimentally. This work presents a procedure that allows to reliably determine critical parameters for engineering quantum devices; band offset, band bending profile, and number of occupied quantum well subbands of interfacial accumulation layers at semiconductor‐metal interfaces. Soft X‐ray angle‐resolved photoemission is used to directly measure the quantum well states as well as valence bands and core levels for the InAs(100)/Al interface, an important platform for Majorana‐zero‐mode based topological qubits, and demonstrate that the fabrication process strongly influences the band offset, which in turn controls the topological phase diagrams. Since the method is transferable to other narrow gap semiconductors, it can be used more generally for engineering semiconductor–metal and semiconductor–superconductor interfaces in gate‐tunable superconducting devices.

Spin-orbital polarization of Majorana edge states in oxide nanowires

We investigate a paradigmatic case of topological superconductivity in a one-dimensional nanowire with $d-$orbitals and a strong interplay of spin-orbital degrees of freedom due to the competition of orbital Rashba interaction, atomic spin-orbit coupling, and structural distortions. We demonstrate that the resulting electronic structure exhibits an orbital dependent magnetic anisotropy which affects the topological phase diagram and the character of the Majorana bound states (MBSs). The inspection of the electronic component of the MBSs reveals that the spin-orbital polarization generally occurs along the direction of the applied Zeeeman magnetic field, and transverse to the magnetic and orbital Rashba fields. The competition of symmetric and antisymmetric spin-orbit coupling remarkably leads to a misalignment of the spin and orbital moments transverse to the orbital Rashba fields, whose manifestation is essentially orbital dependent. The behavior of the spin-orbital polarization along the applied Zeeman field reflects the presence of multiple Fermi points with inequivalent orbital character in the normal state. Additionally, the response to variation of the electronic parameters related with the degree of spin-orbital entanglement leads to distinctive evolution of the spin-orbital polarization of the MBSs. These findings unveil novel paths to single-out hallmarks relevant for the experimental detection of MBSs.