Collective states of interacting anyons, edge states, and the nucleation of topological liquids.
Quantum mechanical systems, whose degrees of freedom are so-called su(2)k anyons, form a bridge between ordinary SU(2) quantum magnets (of arbitrary spin-S) and systems of interacting non-Abelian anyons. Anyonic spin-1/2 chains exhibit a topological protection mechanism that stabilizes their gapless ground states and which vanishes only in the limit (k-->infinity) of the ordinary spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain. For anyonic spin-1 chains the phase diagram closely mirrors the one of the biquadratic SU(2) spin-1 chain. Our results describe, at the same time, nucleation of different 2D topological quantum fluids within a "parent" non-Abelian quantum Hall state, arising from a macroscopic occupation with localized, interacting anyons. The edge states between the "nucleated" and the parent liquids are neutral, and correspond precisely to the gapless modes of the anyonic chains.
Theoretische Physik, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Zürich 8093, Switzerland.
Charlotte
C
Gils
Eddy
E
Ardonne
Simon
S
Trebst
Andreas W W
AW
Ludwig
Matthias
M
Troyer
Zhenghan
Z
Wang