Topological superconductivity, topological confinement, and the vortex quantum Hall effect

Journal Article · Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2011 · Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVB.84.094520· OSTI ID:21596885

Diamantini, M Cristina; Trugenberger, Carlo A ^[1]

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1. INFN and Dipartimento di Fisica, University of Perugia, via A. Pascoli, I-06100 Perugia (Italy)

Topological matter is characterized by the presence of a topological BF term in its long-distance effective action. Topological defects due to the compactness of the U(1) gauge fields induce quantum phase transitions between topological insulators, topological superconductors, and topological confinement. In conventional superconductivity, because of spontaneous symmetry breaking, the photon acquires a mass due to the Anderson-Higgs mechanism. In this paper we derive the corresponding effective actions for the electromagnetic field in topological superconductors and topological confinement phases. In topological superconductors magnetic flux is confined and the photon acquires a topological mass through the BF mechanism: no symmetry breaking is involved, the ground state has topological order, and the transition is induced by quantum fluctuations. In topological confinement, instead, electric charge is linearly confined and the photon becomes a massive antisymmetric tensor via the Stueckelberg mechanism. Oblique confinement phases arise when the string condensate carries both magnetic and electric flux (dyonic strings). Such phases are characterized by a vortex quantum Hall effect potentially relevant for the dissipationless transport of information stored on vortices.

• OSTI ID: 21596885
• Journal Information: Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, Vol. 84, Issue 9; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.84.094520; (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1098-0121
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
CONDENSATES
CONFINEMENT
DEFECTS
ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS
FLUCTUATIONS
GAUGE INVARIANCE
GROUND STATES
HALL EFFECT
HIGGS BOSONS
HIGGS MODEL
MAGNETIC FLUX
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
PHOTONS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY
SUPERCONDUCTORS
SYMMETRY BREAKING
TOPOLOGY
U-1 GROUPS
VORTICES
BOSONS
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ENERGY LEVELS
INVARIANCE PRINCIPLES
LIE GROUPS
MASSLESS PARTICLES
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MATHEMATICS
PARTICLE MODELS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
POSTULATED PARTICLES
SYMMETRY GROUPS
U GROUPS
VARIATIONS