Publications

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Mode-Shell correspondence, a unifying phase space theory in topological physics - Part II: Higher-dimensional spectral invariants

Lucien Jezequel, Pierre Delplace

SciPost Phys. 18, 193 (2025) · published 18 June 2025 | · pdf

The mode-shell correspondence relates the number $\mathcal{I}_M$ of gapless modes in phase space to a topological \textit{shell invariant} $\mathcal{I}_S$ defined on a closed surface - the shell - surrounding those modes, namely $\mathcal{I}_M=\mathcal{I}_S$. In part I, we introduced the mode-shell correspondence for zero-modes of chiral symmetric Hamiltonians (class AIII). In this part II, we broaden the correspondence to arbitrary dimension and to both symmetry classes A and AIII. This allows us to include, in particular, $1D$-unidirectional edge modes of Chern insulators, $2D$ massless Dirac and $3D$-Weyl cones, within the same formalism. We provide an expression for $\mathcal{I}_M$ that only depends on the dimension of the dispersion relation of the gapless mode, and does not require a translation invariance. Then, we show that the topology of the shell (a circle, a sphere, a torus), that must account for the spreading of the gapless mode in phase space, yields specific expressions of the shell index. Semi-classical expressions of those shell indices are also derived and reduce to either Chern or winding numbers depending on the parity of the mode’s dimension. In that way, the mode-shell correspondence provides a unified and systematic topological description of both bulk and boundary gapless modes in any dimension, and in particular includes the bulk-boundary correspondence. We illustrate the generality of the theory by analyzing several models of semimetals and insulators, both on lattices and in the continuum, and also discuss weak and higher-order topological phases within this framework. Although this paper is a continuation of Part I, the content remains sufficiently independent to be mostly read separately.
Non-linear photoconductivity of strongly driven graphene

Lukas Broers, Ludwig Mathey

SciPost Phys. 18, 199 (2025) · published 20 June 2025 | · pdf

We present the non-linear DC photoconductivity of graphene under strong infra-red (IR) radiation. The photoconductivity is obtained as the response to a strong DC electric field, with field strengths outside of the linear-response regime, while the IR radiation is described by a strong AC electric field. The conductivity displays two distinct regimes in which either the DC or the AC field dominates. We explore these regimes and associate them with the dynamics of driven Landau-Zener quenches in the case of a large DC field. In the limit of a large AC field, we describe the conductivity in a Floquet picture and compare the results to the closely related Tien-Gordon effect. We present analytical calculations for the non-linear differential photoconductivity, for both regimes based on the corresponding mechanisms. As part of this discussion of the non-equilibrium state of graphene, we present analytical estimates of the conductivity of undriven graphene as a function of temperature and DC bias field strength that show very good agreement with our simulations.
Quasiperiodic quadrupole insulators

Raul Liquito, Miguel Gonçalves, Eduardo V. Castro

SciPost Phys. 18, 208 (2025) · published 26 June 2025 | · pdf

Higher-order topological insulators are an intriguing new family of topological states that host lower-dimensional boundary states. Concurrently, quasiperiodic systems have garnered significant interest due to their complex localization and topological properties. In this work we study the impact of chiral symmetry preserving quasiperiodic modulations on the paradigmatic Benalcazar-Bernevig-Hughes model, which hosts topological insulating phases with zero-energy sublattice-polarized modes. We find that the topological properties are not only robust to the quasiperiodic modulation, but can even be enriched. In particular, we unveil the first instance of a quasiperiodic induced second-order topological insulating phase. Furthermore, in contrast with disorder, we find that quasiperiodic modulations can induce multiple reentrant topological transitions, showing an intricate sequence of localization properties. Our results open a promising avenue for exploring the rich interplay between higher-order topology and quasiperiodicity.
Topological-insulator nanocylinders

Michele Governale, Fabio Taddei

SciPost Phys. Core 6, 032 (2023) · published 21 April 2023 | · pdf

Nanostructures, such a quantum dots or nanoparticles, made of three-dimensional topological insulators (3DTIs) have been recently attracting increasing interest, especially for their optical properties. In this paper we calculate the energy spectrum, the surface states and the dipole matrix elements for optical transitions with in-plane polarization of 3DTI nanocylinders of finite height $L$ and radius $R$. We first derive an effective 2D Hamiltonian by exploiting the cylindrical symmetry of the problem. We develop two approaches: the first one is an exact numerical tight-binding model obtained by discretising the Hamiltonian. The second one, which allows us to obtain analytical results, is an approximated model based on a large-$R$ expansion and on an effective boundary condition to account for the finite height of the nanocylinder. We find that the agreement between the two models, as far as eigenenergies and eigenfunctions are concerned, is excellent for the lowest absolute value of the longitudinal component of the angular momentum. Finally, we derive analytical expressions for the dipole matrix elements by first considering the lateral surface alone and the bases alone, and then for the whole nanocylinder. In particular, we focus on the two limiting cases of tall and squat nanocylinders. The latter case is compared with the numerical results finding a good agreement.
On the breakdown of dimensional reduction and supersymmetry in random-field models

Gilles Tarjus, Matthieu Tissier, Ivan Balog

SciPost Phys. 19, 001 (2025) · published 1 July 2025 | · pdf

We discuss the breakdown of the Parisi-Sourlas supersymmetry (SUSY) and of the dimensional-reduction (DR) property in the random field Ising and O($N$) models as a function of space dimension $d$ and/or number of components $N$. The functional renormalization group (FRG) predicts that this takes place below a critical line $d_\mathrm{DR}(N)$. We revisit the perturbative FRG results for the RFO($N$)M in $d=4+\epsilon$ and carry out a more comprehensive investigation of the nonperturbative FRG approximation for the RFIM. In light of this FRG description, we discuss the perturbative results in $\epsilon=6-d$ recently derived for the RFIM by Kaviraj, Rychkov, and Trevisani. We stress in particular that the disappearance of the SUSY/DR fixed point below $d_\mathrm{DR}$ arises as a consequence of the nonlinearity of the FRG equations and cannot be found via the perturbative expansion in $\epsilon=6-d$ (nor in $1/N$). We also provide an error bar on the value of the critical dimension $d_\mathrm{DR}$ for the RFIM, which we find around $5.11±0.09$, by studying several successive orders of the nonperturbative FRG approximation scheme.
Identifying biases of the Majorana scattering invariant

Isidora Araya Day, Antonio L. R. Manesco, Michael Wimmer, Anton R. Akhmerov

SciPost Phys. Core 8, 047 (2025) · published 4 July 2025 | · pdf

The easily accessible experimental signatures of Majorana modes are ambiguous and only probe topology indirectly: for example, quasi-Majorana states mimic most properties of Majoranas. Establishing a correspondence between an experiment and a theoretical model known to be topological resolves this ambiguity. Here we demonstrate that already theoretically determining whether a finite system is topological is by itself ambiguous. In particular, we show that the scattering topological invariant—a probe of topology most closely related to transport signatures of Majoranas—has multiple biases in finite systems. For example, we identify that quasi-Majorana states also mimic the scattering invariant of Majorana zero modes in intermediate-sized systems. We expect that the bias due to finite size effects is universal, and advocate that the analysis of topology in finite systems should be accompanied by a comparison with the thermodynamic limit. Our results are directly relevant to the applications of the topological gap protocol.
Probing dielectric breakdown in Mott insulators through current oscillations

Joan Triadú-Galí, Artur Garcia-Saez, Bruno Juliá-Díaz, Axel Pérez-Obiol

SciPost Phys. 19, 010 (2025) · published 7 July 2025 | · pdf

We investigate the dielectric breakdown of mesoscopic Mott insulators, a phenomenon where a strong electric field destabilizes the insulating state, resulting in a transition to a metallic phase. Using the Landau-Zener formalism, which models the excitation of a two-level system, we derive a theoretical expression for the threshold value of the field. To validate our predictions, we present an efficient protocol for estimating the charge gap and threshold field via non-equilibrium current oscillations, overcoming the computational limitations of exact diagonalization. Our simulations demonstrate the accuracy of our theoretical formula for systems with small gaps. Moreover, our findings are directly testable in ultracold atomic experiments with ring geometries and artificial gauge fields, as our method uses measurable quantities and relies on already available technologies. This work aims to bridge the gap between theoretical models and experimentally realizable protocols, providing tools to explore non-equilibrium mesoscopic phenomena in strongly correlated quantum systems.
Tunable anharmonicity in cavity optomechanics in the unresolved sideband regime

Jonathan L. Wise, Clement Dutreix, Fabio Pistolesi

SciPost Phys. 19, 016 (2025) · published 16 July 2025 | · pdf

Introducing a controlled and strong anharmonicity in mechanical systems is a present challenge of nanomechanics. In cavity optomechanics a mechanical oscillator may be made anharmonic by ponderomotively coupling its motion to the light field of a laser-driven cavity. In the regime where the mechanical resonating frequency and the single-photon coupling constant are small compared to the decay rate of the cavity field, it turns out that the quantum electromagnetic fluctuations of the laser field drive the oscillator into a high-temperature thermal state. The motional state may however be highly non-Gaussian; we show that a precise tuning of system parameters may even lead to a purely quartic effective potential for the mechanical oscillator. We present a theory that predicts the measurable signatures left by the mechanical anharmonicity. In particular, we obtain analytically and numerically the mechanical displacement spectrum, and explore the imprints of the mechanical anharmonicity on the cavity light field.
Fourier-transformed gauge theory models of three-dimensional topological orders with gapped boundaries

Siyuan Wang, Yanyan Chen, Hongyu Wang, Yuting Hu, Yidun Wan

SciPost Phys. 19, 018 (2025) · published 17 July 2025 | · pdf

In this paper, we apply the method of Fourier transform and basis rewriting developed in [H. Wang et al., J. High Energy Phys. 02, 030 (2020)] for the two-dimensional quantum double model of topological orders to the three-dimensional gauge theory model (with a gauge group $G$) of three-dimensional topological orders. We find that the gapped boundary condition of the gauge theory model is characterized by a Frobenius algebra in the representation category $Rep(G)$ of $G$, which also describes charge splitting and condensation on the boundary. We also show that our Fourier transform maps the three-dimensional gauge theory model with input data $G$ to the Walker-Wang model with input data $Rep(G)$ on a trivalent lattice with dangling edges, after truncating the Hilbert space by projecting all dangling edges to the trivial representation of $G$. This Fourier transform also provides a systematic construction of the gapped boundary theory of the Walker-Wang model. This establishes a correspondence between two types of topological field theories: the extended Dijkgraaf-Witten and extended Crane-Yetter theories.
Symmetry-enforced minimal entanglement and correlation in quantum spin chains

Kangle Li, Liujun Zou

SciPost Phys. 19, 020 (2025) · published 17 July 2025 | · pdf

The interplay between symmetry, entanglement and correlation is an interesting and important topic in quantum many-body physics. Within the framework of matrix product states, in this paper we study the minimal entanglement and correlation enforced by the $SO(3)$ spin rotation symmetry and lattice translation symmetry in a quantum spin-$J$ chain, with $J$ a positive integer. When neither symmetry is spontaneously broken, for a sufficiently long segment in a sufficiently large closed chain, we find that the minimal Rényi-$\alpha$ entropy compatible with these symmetries is $\min\{ -\frac{2}{\alpha-1}\ln(\frac{1}{2^\alpha}({1+\frac{1}{(2J+1)^{\alpha-1}}})), 2\ln(J+1) \}$, for any $\alpha∈\mathbb{R}^+$. In an infinitely long open chain with such symmetries, for any $\alpha∈\mathbb{R}^+$ the minimal Rényi-$\alpha$ entropy of half of the system is $\min\{ -\frac{1}{\alpha-1}\ln(\frac{1}{2^\alpha}({1+\frac{1}{(2J+1)^{\alpha-1}}})), \ln(J+1) \}$. When $\alpha→ 1$, these lower bounds give the symmetry-enforced minimal von Neumann entropies in these setups. Moreover, we show that no state in a quantum spin-$J$ chain with these symmetries can have a vanishing correlation length. Interestingly, the states with the minimal entanglement may not be a state with the minimal correlation length.

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