Fracton topological order, generalized lattice gauge theory, and duality

We introduce a generalization of conventional lattice gauge theory to describe fracton topological phases, which are characterized by immobile, pointlike topological excitations, and subextensive topological degeneracy. We demonstrate a duality between fracton topological order and interacting spin...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Vijay, Sagar, Haah, Jeongwan, Fu, Liang
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Physical Society 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/106302
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4420-4932
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8803-1017
Description
Summary:We introduce a generalization of conventional lattice gauge theory to describe fracton topological phases, which are characterized by immobile, pointlike topological excitations, and subextensive topological degeneracy. We demonstrate a duality between fracton topological order and interacting spin systems with symmetries along extensive, lower-dimensional subsystems, which may be used to systematically search for and characterize fracton topological phases. Commutative algebra and elementary algebraic geometry provide an effective mathematical tool set for our results. Our work paves the way for identifying possible material realizations of fracton topological phases.