Schematic illustration classifying perturbations in the symmetry-protected topological phase (SPT phase). (IMAGE)

Institut national de la recherche scientifique - INRS

Schematic illustration classifying perturbations in the symmetry-protected topological phase (SPT phase).

Caption

Schematic illustration classifying perturbations in the symmetry-protected topological phase (SPT phase). The overlapping region surrounded by red, gray, and green lines represents a symmetry-protected topological phase featuring topological invariant and corresponding topological boundary states. The gray line is a set of perturbations affecting the boundary states but not breaking the topological invariant of the overall system. Red and green line areas show boundary states protected by their respectively associated sub-symmetry. Illustrated example shows two sets of perturbations that satisfy the sub-symmetry but destroy the topological invariant of the overall system. In this case, sub-symmetry protects boundary states.

Credit

Domenico Bongiovanni and co-authors

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