2016/06/30 by Sergej Moroz, Abhinav Prem, Victor Gurarie +1 · 1 citation
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Condensed Matter Physics #Condensed matter physics #Electromagnetism #Fermion #Magnetic field #Mathematics #Physics #Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism #Quantum #Quantum Hall effect #Quantum mechanics #Singlet state #Spin (aerodynamics) #Superconductivity #Symmetry (geometry) #Theoretical physics #Topological Materials and Phenomena #Topological order #Topology (electrical circuits) #cond-mat.mes-hall #cond-mat.str-el #cond-mat.supr-con #hep-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevb.95.014508
published as Phys. Rev. B 95, 014508 (2017) · 15 pages, 6 figures, published version
arxiv created 2017/01/13 · openalex publication_date 2017/01/13 · arxiv updated 2017/01/17 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The interplay between symmetry and topology is one of the most exciting avenues of modern condensed matter research. Here, the authors propose a new and unified approach for describing the low-energy physics of two-dimensional spin-singlet superconductors, placing them in a class of topologically ordered states akin to quantum Hall fluids and spin liquids. Starting from a microscopic model of two-dimensional paired fermions with a dynamical electromagnetism (that is also confined to two spatial dimensions), the authors derive Chern-Simons theories for all spin-singlet gapped superconductors, including s-wave and chiral states. The topological field theories constructed here thus pave the way towards understanding superconductors as symmetry-enriched topological phases of matter.