K-Theory and Pseudospectra for Topological Insulators

2015/02/12 by Terry A. Loring · 3 citations
Physics and Astronomy · Mathematics · #cond-mat.mes-hall #math.OA

paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.aop.2015.02.031

published as Annals of Physics, Volume 356, May 2015, Pages 383--416 · 43 pages. Lots of figures, some pf reduced quality to limit overall file size

arxiv created 2015/02/12 · arxiv updated 2015/08/11

Abstract

We derive formulas and algorithms for Kitaev's invariants in the periodic table for topological insulators and superconductors for finite disordered systems on lattices with boundaries. We find that K-theory arises as an obstruction to perturbing approximately compatible observables into compatible observables. We derive formulas in all symmetry classes up to dimension two, and in one symmetry class in dimension three, that can be computed with sparse matrix algorithms. We present algorithms in two symmetry classes in 2D and one in 3D and provide illustrative studies regarding how these algorithms can detect the scaling properties of phase transitions.

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