Topological Superconductors, Majorana Fermions and Topological Quantum Computation

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Topological Superconductors, Majorana Fermions and Topological Quantum Computation Topological Superconductors, Majorana Fermions and Topological Quantum Computation 0. … from last time: The surface of a topological insulator 1. Bogoliubov de Gennes Theory 2. Majorana bound states, Kitaev model 3. Topological superconductor 4. Periodic Table of topological insulators and superconductors 5. Topological quantum computation 6. Proximity effect devices Unique Properties of Topological Insulator Surface States “Half” an ordinary 2DEG ; ¼ Graphene EF Spin polarized Fermi surface • Charge Current ~ Spin Density • Spin Current ~ Charge Density Berry’s phase • Robust to disorder • Weak Antilocalization • Impossible to localize Exotic States when broken symmetry leads to surface energy gap: • Quantum Hall state, topological magnetoelectric effect • Superconducting state Even more exotic states if surface is gapped without breaking symmetry • Requires intrinsic topological order like non-Abelian FQHE Surface Quantum Hall Effect Orbital QHE : E=0 Landau Level for Dirac fermions. “Fractional” IQHE 2 2 e xy 1 2h B 2 0 e 1 xy n -1 h 2 2 -2 e n=1 chiral edge state xy 2h Anomalous QHE : Induce a surface gap by depositing magnetic material † 2 2 Hi0 ( - v - DM z ) e e - Mass due to Exchange field 2h 2h M↑ M↓ e2 xyDsgn( M ) EF 2h TI Egap = 2|DM| Chiral Edge State at Domain Wall : DM ↔ -DM Topological Magnetoelectric Effect Qi, Hughes, Zhang ’08; Essin, Moore, Vanderbilt ‘09 Consider a solid cylinder of TI with a magnetically gapped surface M 2 e 1 J xy E n E M h 2 J Magnetoelectric Polarizability topological “q term” 2 DL EB E e 1 ME n e2 h 2 q 2 h TR sym. : q 02 or mod The fractional part of the magnetoelectric polarizability is determined by the bulk, and independent of the surface (provided there is a gap) Analogous to the electric polarization, P, in 1D. DL formula “uncertainty quantum” e d=1 : Polarization P PE Tr[]A e (extra end electron) BZ 2 2 d=3 : Magnetoelectric e 2 eh2 / (extra surface EB 2 Tr[]AAAAAd poliarizability 43 h BZ quantum Hall layer) BCS Theory of Superconductivity mean field theory : ††††* D H D 1 † Bogoliubov de Gennes 0 HH H BdG † Hamiltonian BdG 2 * k D-H0 Intrinsic anti-unitary particle – hole symmetry -1 01 HH - x * x BdG BdG 10 2 1 E E Particle – hole redundancy k = k † same state --EEEE -1 Bloch - BdG Hamiltonians satisfy HHBdG()()kk - BdG - Topological classification problem similar to time reversal symmetry 1D 2 Topological Superconductor : n = 0,1 (Kitaev, 2000) Bulk-Boundary correspondence : Discrete end state spectrum END n=0 “trivial” n=1 “topological” E D D Zero mode E E E=0 † 0 0 EE00 -E † -EE Majorana fermion -D -D bound state † Majorana Fermion : Particle = Antiparticle † ; i 2 1 Real part of a Dirac fermion : 1 1 2 i -ii( - †† ) ; - ,2 2 1 2 i j ij “Half a state” Two Majorana fermions define a single two level system occupied † Hi2 0 1 2 0 empty 0 Kitaev Model for 1D p wave superconductor ††††† H- N tcc()()i i1 cc i 1 i - cc i i D cc i i 1 cc i 1 i i - t c † k D ck c- k H BdG () k † k c-k HBdG( k ) z (2 t cos k - ) x D sin k d ( k ) dx d(k) ||>2t : Strong pairing phase dz trivial superconductor dx d(k) ||<2t : Weak pairing phase topological superconductor dz Similar to SSH model, except different symmetry : (,,)(,,)d d d - d - d d x y zkk x y z - Majorana Chain H2 i t t cii12 i i 1 1i 2 i 2 2 i 1 i 1 i † ci c i 2 i 12 i i †† For D=t : nearest neighbor Majorana chain t ci c i1 c i 1 c i 2 it 1 i 2 i 1 - 2 i 1 i 1 †† t12, t2 t Dci c i1 c i 1 c i 2 i D 1 i 2 i 1 2 i 1 i 1 t1 t2 1i 2i t1>t2 trivial SC t1<t2 topological SC Unpaired Majorana Fermion at end 2D topological superconductor (broken T symmetry) Bulk-Boundary correspondence: n = # Chiral Majorana Fermion edge states E T-SC k Examples † k • Spinless px+ipy superconductor (n=1) -kk • Chiral triplet p wave superconductor (eg Sr2RuO4) (n=2) k 2 † D()k Dk ik Read Green model : H - ck c k D()..k c k c- k c c 0 xy k 2m Lattice BdG model : HBdG(kd ) z 2 t cos k x cos k y - D x sin k x y sin k y ( k ) dx d(k) ||>4t : Strong pairing phase dz trivial superconductor Chern number 0 dy dx d(k) ||<4t : Weak pairing phase dz Chern number 1 topological superconductor dy Majorana zero mode at a vortex Boundary condition on fermion wavefunction h 0 p1 p A (L )- ( 1) (0) 2e L (x ) eiqm x ; q 2 m 1 p m L Hole in a topological superconductor threaded by flux p even p odd E E 2v D ~ L q q zero mode D2 Without the hole : Caroli, de Gennes, Matricon theory (’64) D ~ EF Periodic Table of Topological Insulators and Superconductors Anti-Unitary Symmetries : - Time Reversal : HH(kk ) -1 ( - ) ; 2 1 -1 2 - Particle - Hole : HH(kk ) - ( - ) ; 1 -1 Unitary (chiral) symmetry : HH()()kk - ; 8 antiunitary symmetry classes Complex K-theory Altland- Zirnbauer Random Matrix Real Classes K-theory Kitaev, 2008 Schnyder, Ryu, Furusaki, Ludwig 2008 Bott Periodicity d→d+8 Majorana Fermions and Topological Quantum Computing (Kitaev ’03) The degenerate states associated with Majorana zero modes define a topologically protected quantum memory • 2 Majorana separated bound states = 1 fermion 12 i - 2 degenerate states (full/empty) = 1 qubit • 2N separated Majoranas = N qubits • Quantum Information is stored non locally - Immune from local decoherence Braiding performs unitary operations Measure 012 0 34 1 12 1 34 / 2 Non-Abelian statistics Interchange rule (Ivanov 03) t ij Braid ji- These operations, however, are not sufficient to make a universal quantum computer Create 0012 34 Potential condensed matter hosts for topological superconductivity • Quasiparticles in fractional Quantum Hall effect at n=5/2 Moore Read ‘91 • Unconventional superconductors - Sr2RuO4 Das Sarma, Nayak, Tewari ‘06 - Fermionic atoms near feshbach resonance Gurarie ‘05 - CuxBi2Se3 ? • Proximity Effect Devices using ordinary superconductors - Topological Insulator devices Fu, Kane ‘08 - 2D Semiconductor/Magnet devices Sau, Lutchyn, Tewari, Das Sarma ’09, Lee ’09 - 1D Semiconductor devices: eg In As quantum wires Oreg, von Oppen, Alicea, Fisher ’10 Lutchyn, Sau, Das Sarma ‘10 Expt : Maurik et al. (Kouwenhoven) ‘12 - 1D Ferromagnetic atomic chains on superconductors Expt : Nadj-Perg et al. (Yazdani) ‘14 Topological Superconductors Spinless p-wave superconductor: -k †† i ck c- k D e() k x ik y k Ordinary Superconductor : -k↓ †† i ckk c - D e (s-wave, singlet pairing) k↑ Surface of topological insulator -k ← Dirac point c†† cD ei kk- surface ↓ ↑ (s-wave, singlet pairing) → Half an ordinary superconductor k Nontrivial ground state supports Majorana fermions at vortices Majorana Bound States on Topological Insulators 1. h/2e vortex in 2D superconducting state E † E h/2e D † 0 00 SC -D † TI -EE Quasiparticle Bound state at E=0 Majorana Fermion 0 “Half a State” 2. Superconductor-magnet interface at edge of 2D QSHI m | DSM | - | D | M S.C. m>0 Egap =2|m| QSHI m<0 Domain wall bound state 0 1D Majorana Fermions on Topological Insulators 1. 1D Chiral Majorana mode at superconductor-magnet interface E M SC kx TI † kk - : “Half” a 1D chiral Dirac fermion Hi -vF x 2. S-TI-S Josephson Junction f 0 f f SC SC TI Gapless non-chiral Majorana fermion for phase difference f H - ivF L x L - R x R i Dcos( f / 2) L R Another route to the 2D p+ip superconductor Sau, Lutchyn, Tewari, Semiconductor - Magnet - Superconductor structure Das Sarma ‘09 E Superconductor Rashba split 2DEG bands Semiconductor EF Magnetic Insulator k • Single Fermi circle with Berry phase - Zeeman splitting • Topological superconductor with Majorana edge states and Majorana bound states at vortices. • Variants : - use applied magnetic field to lift Kramers degeneracy (Alicea ’10) - Use 1D quantum wire (eg InSb ). A route to 1D p wave superconductor with Majorana end states. (Oreg, von Oppen, Alicea, Fisher ’10 Experiments on Proximity Devices Superconducting Proximity Effect: Use ordinary superconductors and topological materials to engineer topological superconductivity Superconductor - Topological Insulator Devices Expt: Hart, … Yacoby ‘14 (HgTe); Theory: Fu, Kane ‘07, ’08 Pribiag, … Kouwenhoven ‘14 (InAs/GaSb) Majorana Boundary Mode magnetic s-wave insulator superconductor QSHI SC SC B Quantum Spin Hall Insulator “Two slit” interference pattern in a S-TI-S Josephson Junction Demonstrates edge superconductivity Superconductor - Semiconductor Nanowire Devices tunneling conductance Theory: Lutchyn, Sau , Das Sarma ‘10 B Oreg, Refael, von Oppen ’10 InSb nanowire Expt: Mourik, …Kouwenhoven ‘12 SC Majorana end mode Ferromagnetic Atomic Chains STM Spectroscopy on Superconductors E=0 Nadj-Perg, …, Yazdani ’14 (Fe on Pb) STM Majorana topography end mode Fractional Josephson Effect Kitaev ’01 Kwon, Sengupta, Yakovenko ’04 Fu, Kane ’08 1 2 o 1112 34 e 3 4 0012 34 • 4 perioidicity of E(f) protected by local conservation of fermion parity. • AC Josephson effect with half the usual frequency: f = eV/h A Z2 Interferometer for Majorana Fermions A signature for neutral Majorana fermions probed with charge transport N even ci† - 12 2 ci12e e h 1 N 2e N odd • Chiral electrons on magnetic domain wall split into a pair of chiral Majorana fermions 2 -2 • “Z2 Aharonov Bohm phase” converts an e h electron into a hole 1 G N Akhmerov, Nilsson, Beenakker, PRL ’09 Fu and Kane, PRL ‘09 Symmetry Respecting Gapped (SRG) State of a TI Surface Without interactions such as state is impossible.
Recommended publications
  • Lecture Notes: BCS Theory of Superconductivity
    Lecture Notes: BCS theory of superconductivity Prof. Rafael M. Fernandes Here we will discuss a new ground state of the interacting electron gas: the superconducting state. In this macroscopic quantum state, the electrons form coherent bound states called Cooper pairs, which dramatically change the macroscopic properties of the system, giving rise to perfect conductivity and perfect diamagnetism. We will mostly focus on conventional superconductors, where the Cooper pairs originate from a small attractive electron-electron interaction mediated by phonons. However, in the so- called unconventional superconductors - a topic of intense research in current solid state physics - the pairing can originate even from purely repulsive interactions. 1 Phenomenology Superconductivity was discovered by Kamerlingh-Onnes in 1911, when he was studying the transport properties of Hg (mercury) at low temperatures. He found that below the liquifying temperature of helium, at around 4:2 K, the resistivity of Hg would suddenly drop to zero. Although at the time there was not a well established model for the low-temperature behavior of transport in metals, the result was quite surprising, as the expectations were that the resistivity would either go to zero or diverge at T = 0, but not vanish at a finite temperature. In a metal the resistivity at low temperatures has a constant contribution from impurity scattering, a T 2 contribution from electron-electron scattering, and a T 5 contribution from phonon scattering. Thus, the vanishing of the resistivity at low temperatures is a clear indication of a new ground state. Another key property of the superconductor was discovered in 1933 by Meissner.
    [Show full text]
  • Electron-Phonon Interaction in Conventional and Unconventional Superconductors
    Electron-Phonon Interaction in Conventional and Unconventional Superconductors Pegor Aynajian Max-Planck-Institut f¨ur Festk¨orperforschung Stuttgart 2009 Electron-Phonon Interaction in Conventional and Unconventional Superconductors Von der Fakult¨at Mathematik und Physik der Universit¨at Stuttgart zur Erlangung der W¨urde eines Doktors der Naturwissenschaften (Dr. rer. nat.) genehmigte Abhandlung vorgelegt von Pegor Aynajian aus Beirut (Libanon) Hauptberichter: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Keimer Mitberichter: Prof. Dr. Harald Giessen Tag der m¨undlichen Pr¨ufung: 12. M¨arz 2009 Max-Planck-Institut f¨ur Festk¨orperforschung Stuttgart 2009 2 Deutsche Zusammenfassung Die Frage, ob ein genaueres Studium der Phononen-Spektren klassischer Supraleiter wie Niob und Blei mittels inelastischer Neutronenstreuung der M¨uhe wert w¨are, w¨urde sicher von den meisten Wissenschaftlern verneint werden. Erstens erk¨art die ber¨uhmte mikroskopische Theorie von Bardeen, Cooper und Schrieffer (1957), bekannt als BCS Theorie, nahezu alle Aspekte der klassischen Supraleitung. Zweitens ist das aktuelle Interesse sehr stark auf die Hochtemperatur-Supraleitung in Kupraten und Schwere- Fermionen Systemen fokussiert. Daher waren die ersten Experimente dieser Arbeit, die sich mit der Bestimmung der Phononen-Lebensdauern in supraleitendem Niob und Blei befaßten, nur als ein kurzer Test der Aufl¨osung eines neuen hochaufl¨osenden Neutronen- spektrometers am Forschungsreaktor FRM II geplant. Dieses neuartige Spektrometer TRISP (triple axis spin echo) erm¨oglicht die Bestimmung von Phononen-Linienbreiten uber¨ große Bereiche des Impulsraumes mit einer Energieaufl¨osung im μeV Bereich, d.h. zwei Gr¨oßenordnungen besser als an klassische Dreiachsen-Spektrometern. Philip Allen hat erstmals dargelegt, daß die Linienbreite eines Phonons proportional zum Elektron-Phonon Kopplungsparameter λ ist.
    [Show full text]
  • BCS Thermal Vacuum of Fermionic Superfluids and Its Perturbation Theory
    www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN BCS thermal vacuum of fermionic superfuids and its perturbation theory Received: 14 June 2018 Xu-Yang Hou1, Ziwen Huang1,4, Hao Guo1, Yan He2 & Chih-Chun Chien 3 Accepted: 30 July 2018 The thermal feld theory is applied to fermionic superfuids by doubling the degrees of freedom of the Published: xx xx xxxx BCS theory. We construct the two-mode states and the corresponding Bogoliubov transformation to obtain the BCS thermal vacuum. The expectation values with respect to the BCS thermal vacuum produce the statistical average of the thermodynamic quantities. The BCS thermal vacuum allows a quantum-mechanical perturbation theory with the BCS theory serving as the unperturbed state. We evaluate the leading-order corrections to the order parameter and other physical quantities from the perturbation theory. A direct evaluation of the pairing correlation as a function of temperature shows the pseudogap phenomenon, where the pairing persists when the order parameter vanishes, emerges from the perturbation theory. The correspondence between the thermal vacuum and purifcation of the density matrix allows a unitary transformation, and we found the geometric phase associated with the transformation in the parameter space. Quantum many-body systems can be described by quantum feld theories1–4. Some available frameworks for sys- tems at fnite temperatures include the Matsubara formalism using the imaginary time for equilibrium systems1,5 and the Keldysh formalism of time-contour path integrals3,6 for non-equilibrium systems. Tere are also alterna- tive formalisms. For instance, the thermal feld theory7–9 is built on the concept of thermal vacuum.
    [Show full text]
  • How the Electron-Phonon Coupling Mechanism Work in Metal Superconductor
    How the electron-phonon coupling mechanism work in metal superconductor Qiankai Yao1,2 1College of Science, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou450001, China 2School of physics and Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou450001, China Abstract Superconductivity in some metals at low temperature is known to arise from an electron-phonon coupling mechanism. Such the mechanism enables an effective attraction to bind two mobile electrons together, and even form a kind of pairing system(called Cooper pair) to be physically responsible for superconductivity. But, is it possible by an analogy with the electrodynamics to describe the electron-phonon coupling as a resistivity-dependent attraction? Actually so, it will help us to explore a more operational quantum model for the formation of Cooper pair. In particularly, by the calculation of quantum state of Cooper pair, the explored model can provide a more explicit explanation for the fundamental properties of metal superconductor, and answer: 1) How the transition temperature of metal superconductor is determined? 2) Which metals can realize the superconducting transition at low temperature? PACS numbers: 74.20.Fg; 74.20.-z; 74.25.-q; 74.20.De ne is the mobile electron density, η the damping coefficient 1. Introduction that is determined by the collision time τ . In the BCS theory[1], superconductivity is attributed to a In metal environment, mobile electrons are usually phonon-mediated attraction between mobile electrons near modeled to be a kind of classical particles like gas molecules, Fermi surface(called Fermi electrons). The attraction is each of which performs a Brown-like motion and satisfies the sometimes referred to as a residual Coulomb interaction[2] that Langevin equation can glue Cooper pair together to cause superconductivity.
    [Show full text]
  • Theory of Superconductivity
    Theory of Superconductivity Kwon Park KIAS-SNU Physics Winter Camp Camp Winter KIAS-SNU Physics Phoenix Park Jan 20 – 27, 2013 Outline • Why care about superconductivity? • BCS theory as a trial wave function method • BCS theory as a mean-field theory • High-temperature superconductivity and strong correlation • Effective field theory for superconductivity: Ginzburg- Landau theory Family tree of strongly correlated electron systems Quantum magnetism Topological Mott insulator FQHE insulator HTSC Quantum Hall effect Superconductivity Wigner crystal Breakdown of the Landau-Fermi liquid Collective behavior of a staring crowd Disordered State Ordered State Superconductivity as an emergent phenomenon Superconducting phase coherence: Josephson effect • Cooper-pair box: An artificial two-level system composed of many superconducting electron pairs in a “box.” reservoir box - - - - + + + + gate Josephson effect in the Cooper-pair box Nakamura, Pashkin, Tsai, Nature 398, 786 (99) • Phase vs. number uncertainty relationship: When the phase gets coherent, the Cooper-pair number becomes uncertain, which is nothing but the Josephson effect. Devoret and Schoelkopf, Nature 406, 1039 (00) Meissner effect • mv-momentum = p-momentum − e/c × vector potential • current density operator = 2e × Cooper pair density × velocity operator • θ=0 for a coherent Cooper-pair condensate in a singly connected region.region London equation • The magnetic field is expelled from the inside of a superconductor: Meissner effect. London equation where Electromagnetic field, or wave are attenuated inside a superconductor, which means that, in quantum limit, photons become massive while Maxwell’s equations remain gauge-invariant! Anderson-Higgs mechanism • Quantum field theories should be renormalizable in order to produce physically meaningful predictions via systematic elimination of inherent divergences.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction to Unconventional Superconductivity Manfred Sigrist
    Introduction to Unconventional Superconductivity Manfred Sigrist Theoretische Physik, ETH-Hönggerberg, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland Abstract. This lecture gives a basic introduction into some aspects of the unconventionalsupercon- ductivity. First we analyze the conditions to realized unconventional superconductivity in strongly correlated electron systems. Then an introduction of the generalized BCS theory is given and sev- eral key properties of unconventional pairing states are discussed. The phenomenological treatment based on the Ginzburg-Landau formulations provides a view on unconventional superconductivity based on the conceptof symmetry breaking.Finally some aspects of two examples will be discussed: high-temperature superconductivity and spin-triplet superconductivity in Sr2RuO4. Keywords: Unconventional superconductivity, high-temperature superconductivity, Sr2RuO4 INTRODUCTION Superconductivity remains to be one of the most fascinating and intriguing phases of matter even nearly hundred years after its first observation. Owing to the breakthrough in 1957 by Bardeen, Cooper and Schrieffer we understand superconductivity as a conden- sate of electron pairs, so-called Cooper pairs, which form due to an attractive interaction among electrons. In the superconducting materials known until the mid-seventies this interaction is mediated by electron-phonon coupling which gises rise to Cooper pairs in the most symmetric form, i.e. vanishing relative orbital angular momentum and spin sin- glet configuration (nowadays called s-wave pairing). After the introduction of the BCS concept, also studies of alternative pairing forms started. Early on Anderson and Morel [1] as well as Balian and Werthamer [2] investigated superconducting phases which later would be identified as the A- and the B-phase of superfluid 3He [3]. In contrast to the s-wave superconductors the A- and B-phase are characterized by Cooper pairs with an- gular momentum 1 and spin-triplet configuration.
    [Show full text]
  • Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking and Mass Generation As Built-In Phenomena in Logarithmic Nonlinear Quantum Theory
    Vol. 42 (2011) ACTA PHYSICA POLONICA B No 2 SPONTANEOUS SYMMETRY BREAKING AND MASS GENERATION AS BUILT-IN PHENOMENA IN LOGARITHMIC NONLINEAR QUANTUM THEORY Konstantin G. Zloshchastiev Department of Physics and Center for Theoretical Physics University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, 2050, South Africa (Received September 29, 2010; revised version received November 3, 2010; final version received December 7, 2010) Our primary task is to demonstrate that the logarithmic nonlinearity in the quantum wave equation can cause the spontaneous symmetry break- ing and mass generation phenomena on its own, at least in principle. To achieve this goal, we view the physical vacuum as a kind of the funda- mental Bose–Einstein condensate embedded into the fictitious Euclidean space. The relation of such description to that of the physical (relativis- tic) observer is established via the fluid/gravity correspondence map, the related issues, such as the induced gravity and scalar field, relativistic pos- tulates, Mach’s principle and cosmology, are discussed. For estimate the values of the generated masses of the otherwise massless particles such as the photon, we propose few simple models which take into account small vacuum fluctuations. It turns out that the photon’s mass can be naturally expressed in terms of the elementary electrical charge and the extensive length parameter of the nonlinearity. Finally, we outline the topological properties of the logarithmic theory and corresponding solitonic solutions. DOI:10.5506/APhysPolB.42.261 PACS numbers: 11.15.Ex, 11.30.Qc, 04.60.Bc, 03.65.Pm 1. Introduction Current observational data in astrophysics are probing a regime of de- partures from classical relativity with sensitivities that are relevant for the study of the quantum-gravity problem [1,2].
    [Show full text]
  • Lectures on Holographic Superfluidity and Superconductivity
    PUPT-2297 Lectures on Holographic Superfluidity and Superconductivity C. P. Herzog Department of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA (Dated: March 26, 2009) Four lectures on holography and the AdS/CFT correspondence applied to condensed matter systems.1 The first lecture introduces the concept of a quantum phase transition. The second lecture discusses linear response theory and Ward identities. The third lecture presents transport coefficients derived from AdS/CFT that should be applicable in the quantum critical region associated to a quantum phase transition. The fourth lecture builds in the physics of a superconducting or superfluid phase transition to the simple holographic model of the third lecture. I. INTRODUCTION: QUANTUM PHASE TRANSITIONS Spurred by the concrete proposal of refs. [1{3] for an AdS/CFT correspondence, there are some good reasons why holographic ideas have become so important in high energy theoretical physics over the last ten years. The first and perhaps most fundamental reason is that the AdS/CFT conjecture provides a definition of quantum gravity in a particular curved background space-time. The second is that AdS/CFT provides a tool for studying strongly interacting field theories. These lectures concern themselves with the second reason, but I will spend a paragraph on the first. Given the lack of alternative definitions of quantum gravity, the AdS/CFT conjecture is diffi- cult to prove, but the correspondence does give a definition of type IIB string theory in a fixed ten dimensional background and by extension of type IIB supergravity. Recall that the original 5 conjecture posits an equivalence between type IIB string theory in the space-time AdS5 × S and the maximally supersymmetric (SUSY) SU(N) Yang-Mills theory in 3+1 dimensions.
    [Show full text]
  • Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking in the Higgs Mechanism
    Spontaneous symmetry breaking in the Higgs mechanism August 2012 Abstract The Higgs mechanism is very powerful: it furnishes a description of the elec- troweak theory in the Standard Model which has a convincing experimental ver- ification. But although the Higgs mechanism had been applied successfully, the conceptual background is not clear. The Higgs mechanism is often presented as spontaneous breaking of a local gauge symmetry. But a local gauge symmetry is rooted in redundancy of description: gauge transformations connect states that cannot be physically distinguished. A gauge symmetry is therefore not a sym- metry of nature, but of our description of nature. The spontaneous breaking of such a symmetry cannot be expected to have physical e↵ects since asymmetries are not reflected in the physics. If spontaneous gauge symmetry breaking cannot have physical e↵ects, this causes conceptual problems for the Higgs mechanism, if taken to be described as spontaneous gauge symmetry breaking. In a gauge invariant theory, gauge fixing is necessary to retrieve the physics from the theory. This means that also in a theory with spontaneous gauge sym- metry breaking, a gauge should be fixed. But gauge fixing itself breaks the gauge symmetry, and thereby obscures the spontaneous breaking of the symmetry. It suggests that spontaneous gauge symmetry breaking is not part of the physics, but an unphysical artifact of the redundancy in description. However, the Higgs mechanism can be formulated in a gauge independent way, without spontaneous symmetry breaking. The same outcome as in the account with spontaneous symmetry breaking is obtained. It is concluded that even though spontaneous gauge symmetry breaking cannot have physical consequences, the Higgs mechanism is not in conceptual danger.
    [Show full text]
  • Arxiv:1709.01979V1 [Cond-Mat.Str-El] 6 Sep 2017 Strong Candidate Schemes for Quantum Computing
    The BCS wave function, matrix product states, and the Ising conformal field theory 1, 2 1 Sebastian´ Montes, ∗ Javier Rodr´ıguez-Laguna, and German´ Sierra 1Instituto de F´ısica Teorica´ (IFT), UAM-CSIC, Madrid, Spain 2Dept. of Fundamental Physics, Universidad Nacional de Educacion´ a Distancia (UNED), Madrid, Spain (Dated: March 7, 2018) We present a characterization of the many-body lattice wave functions obtained from the conformal blocks (CBs) of the Ising conformal field theory (CFT). The formalism is interpreted as a matrix product state using continuous ancillary degrees of freedom. We provide analytic and numerical evidence that the resulting states can be written as BCS states. We give a complete proof that the translationally invariant 1D configurations have a BCS form and we find suitable parent Hamiltonians. In particular, we prove that the ground state of the finite-size critical Ising transverse field (ITF) Hamiltonian can be obtained with this construction. Finally, we study 2D configurations using an operator product expansion (OPE) approximation. We associate these states to the weak pairing phase of the p+ip superconductor via the scaling of the pairing function and the entanglement spectrum. I. INTRODUCTION states (iMPS)16–19. In this latter case, the entanglement struc- ture has some features that cannot be easily obtained from fi- nite matrices, such as logarithmic scaling of the entanglement Even though superconductivity was discovered experimen- entropy16. tally in 1911 by Kamerlingh Onnes1, a sufficiently predic- tive microscopic theory was not available until the work of It has been argued that conformal blocks (CBs) of ratio- 2 nal CFTs can be used to construct wave functions for lattice Bardeen, Cooper and Schriefer, published in 1957 (known 20 today as BCS theory).
    [Show full text]
  • 50 Years of BCS Theory “A Family Tree” Ancestors BCS Descendants
    APS March Meeting 2007 50 Years of BCS Theory “A Family Tree” Ancestors BCS Descendants D. Scalapino: Ancestors and BCS J. Rowell : A “tunneling” branch of the family G. Baym: From Atoms and Nuclei to the Cosmos Supraconductivity 1911 H. Kamerlingh Onnes `(Gilles Holst) finds a sudden drop in the resistance of Hg at ~ 4.2K. R(ohms) T 1933 Meissner and Ochsenfeld discover that superconductors are perfect diamagnets --flux expulsion Robert Ochsenfeld 1901 - 1993 Phenomenolog` y • 1934 Casimir and Gorter ‘s two-fluid phenomenological model of thermodynamic properties. • 1934 Heinz and Fritz London’s phenomenological electrodynamics. F. London’s suggestion of the rigidity of the wave function. • 1948 Fritz London, “Quantum mechanics on a macroscopic scale, long range order in momentum.” Fritz London (1900-1954) 1950 Ginzburg-Landau Theory n∗ ! e∗ β f(x) = Ψ(x) + A(x)Ψ(x) 2 + α Ψ(x) 2 + Ψ(x) 4 2m∗ | i ∇ c | | | 2 | | β +α Ψ(x) 2 + Ψ(x) 4 | | 2 | | V. Ginzburg L. Landau 1957 Type II Superconductivity Aleksei Abrikosov But the question remained: “How does it work?” R.P. Feynman ,1956 Seattle Conference But the question remained: “How does it work?” A long list of the leading theoretical physicists in the world had taken up the challenge of developing a microscopic theory of superconductivity. A.Einstein,“Theoretische Bemerkungen zur Supraleitung der Metalle” Gedenkboek Kamerlingh Onnes, p.435 ( 1922 ) translated by B. Schmekel cond-mat/050731 “...metallic conduction is caused by atoms exchanging their peripheral electrons. It seems unavoidable that supercurrents are carried by closed chains of molecules” “Given our ignorance of quantum mechanics of composite systems, we are far away from being able to convert these vague ideas into a theory.” Felix Bloch is said to have joked that ”superconductivity is impossible”.
    [Show full text]
  • Quantum Field Theory in Condensed Matter Physics
    QUANTUM FIELD THEORY IN CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS Wolfgang Belzig FORMAL MATTERS “Wahlpflichtfach” 4h lecture + 2h exercise Lecture: Mon & Thu, 10-12, P603 Tutorial: Mon, 14-16 (P912) or 16-18 (P712) 50% of exercises needed for exam Language: “English” (German questions allowed) No lecture on 21. April, 25. April, 9. May, 2. June, 13. June, 16. June, 23. June, 14. July EXERCISE GROUPS • Two groups @ 14h (P912) and 16h (P712) • Distribution: see list • Exercise sheets usually 5-8 days before exercise (see webpage for preview) • Question on exercise to one of the tutors (preferably the one who is responsible) • Plan: 18.4. Milena Filipovic; 2.5. Martin Bruderer; 9.5. Fei Xu 16.5. Cecilia Holmqvist; 23.5. Peter Machon LITERATURE G. Rickayzen: Green’s functions and Condensed Matter H. Bruus and K. Flensberg: Many-Body Quantum Theory in Condensed Matter Physics J. Rammer: Quantum Field Theory of Non-equilibium States G. Mahan: Quantum Field Theoretical Methods Fetter & Walecka: Quantum Theory of Many Particle Systems Yu. V. Nazarov & Ya. Blanter: Quantum Transport J. Rammer and H. Smith, Rev. Mod. Phys. 58, 323 (1986) CONTENT A. Introduction, the Problem B. Formalities, Definitions C. Diagrammatic Methods D. Disordered Conductors E. Electrons and Phonons F. Superconductivity G. Quasiclassical Methods H. Nonequilibrium and Keldysh formalism I. Quantum Transport and Quantum Noise PHYSICAL OVERVIEW Solid state physics: Many electrons and phonons interacting with the lattice potential and among each other (band structure, disorder, electron-electron
    [Show full text]