Holographic classification of Topological Insulators and its 8-fold periodicity

Using generic properties of Clifford algebras in any spatial dimension, we explicitly classify Dirac hamiltonians with zero modes protected by the discrete symmetries of time-reversal, particle-hole symmetry, and chirality. Assuming the boundary states of topological insulators are Dirac fermions, we thereby holographically reproduce the Periodic Table of topological insulators found by Kitaev and Ryu. et. al, without using topological invariants nor K-theory. In addition we find candidate Z_2 topological insulators in classes AI, AII in dimensions 0,4 mod 8 and in classes C, D in dimensions 2,6 mod 8.Comment: 19 pages, 4 Table

Time-reversal symmetric Kitaev model and topological superconductor in two dimensions

A time-reversal invariant Kitaev-type model is introduced in which spins (Dirac matrices) on the square lattice interact via anisotropic nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor exchange interactions. The model is exactly solved by mapping it onto a tight-binding model of free Majorana fermions coupled with static Z_2 gauge fields. The Majorana fermion model can be viewed as a model of time-reversal invariant superconductor and is classified as a member of symmetry class DIII in the Altland-Zirnbauer classification. The ground-state phase diagram has two topologically distinct gapped phases which are distinguished by a Z_2 topological invariant. The topologically nontrivial phase supports both a Kramers' pair of gapless Majorana edge modes at the boundary and a Kramers' pair of zero-energy Majorana states bound to a 0-flux vortex in the \pi-flux background. Power-law decaying correlation functions of spins along the edge are obtained by taking the gapless Majorana edge modes into account. The model is also defined on the one-dimension ladder, in which case again the ground-state phase diagram has Z_2 trivial and non-trivial phases.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figure

Circulating and persistent currents induced by a current magnification and Aharonov-Casher phase

We considered the circulating current induced by the current magnification and the persistent current induced by Aharonov-Casher flux. The persistent currents have directional dependence on the direct current flow, but the circulating currents have no directional dependence. Hence in the equilibrium, only the persistent current can survives on the ring. For the charge current, the persistent charge current cancelled between spin up and down states, because of the time reversal symmetry of the Hamiltonian on the ring. So there are only circulating charge currents on the ring for electrons with unpolarized spin in the nonequilibrium. However, only the persistent spin currents contributes to the spin currents for electrons with unpolarized spin.Comment: 9 pages and 4 ps figure

Growth of Magnetic Fields Induced by Turbulent Motions

We present numerical simulations of driven magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence with weak/moderate imposed magnetic fields. The main goal is to clarify dynamics of magnetic field growth. We also investigate the effects of the imposed magnetic fields on the MHD turbulence, including, as a limit, the case of zero external field. Our findings are as follows. First, when we start off simulations with weak mean magnetic field only (or with small scale random field with zero imposed field), we observe that there is a stage at which magnetic energy density grows linearly with time. Runs with different numerical resolutions and/or different simulation parameters show consistent results for the growth rate at the linear stage. Second, we find that, when the strength of the external field increases, the equilibrium kinetic energy density drops by roughly the product of the rms velocity and the strength of the external field. The equilibrium magnetic energy density rises by roughly the same amount. Third, when the external magnetic field is not very strong (say, less than ~0.2 times the rms velocity when measured in the units of Alfven speed), the turbulence at large scales remains statistically isotropic, i.e. there is no apparent global anisotropy of order B_0/v. We discuss implications of our results on astrophysical fluids.Comment: 16 pages, 18 figures; ApJ, accepte

Empirical Comparisons of Virtual Environment Displays

There are many different visual display devices used in virtual environment (VE) systems. These displays vary along many dimensions, such as resolution, field of view, level of immersion, quality of stereo, and so on. In general, no guidelines exist to choose an appropriate display for a particular VE application. Our goal in this work is to develop such guidelines on the basis of empirical results. We present two initial experiments comparing head-mounted displays with a workbench display and a foursided spatially immersive display. The results indicate that the physical characteristics of the displays, users' prior experiences, and even the order in which the displays are presented can have significant effects on performance

A Simple and Accurate Riemann Solver for Isothermal MHD

A new approximate Riemann solver for the equations of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) with an isothermal equation of state is presented. The proposed method of solution draws on the recent work of Miyoshi and Kusano, in the context of adiabatic MHD, where an approximate solution to the Riemann problem is sought in terms of an average constant velocity and total pressure across the Riemann fan. This allows the formation of four intermediate states enclosed by two outermost fast discontinuities and separated by two rotational waves and an entropy mode. In the present work, a corresponding derivation for the isothermal MHD equations is presented. It is found that the absence of the entropy mode leads to a different formulation which is based on a three-state representation rather than four. Numerical tests in one and two dimensions demonstrates that the new solver is robust and comparable in accuracy to the more expensive linearized solver of Roe, although considerably faster.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figure

Field-driven topological glass transition in a model flux line lattice

We show that the flux line lattice in a model layered HTSC becomes unstable above a critical magnetic field with respect to a plastic deformation via penetration of pairs of point-like disclination defects. The instability is characterized by the competition between the elastic and the pinning energies and is essentially assisted by softening of the lattice induced by a dimensional crossover of the fluctuations as field increases. We confirm through a computer simulation that this indeed may lead to a phase transition from crystalline order at low fields to a topologically disordered phase at higher fields. We propose that this mechanism provides a model of the low temperature field--driven disordering transition observed in neutron diffraction experiments on ${\rm Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8\, }$ single crystals.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures available upon request via snail mail from [email protected]

Momentum space metric, non-local operator, and topological insulators

Momentum space of a gapped quantum system is a metric space: it admits a notion of distance reflecting properties of its quantum ground state. By using this quantum metric, we investigate geometric properties of momentum space. In particular, we introduce a non-local operator which represents distance square in real space and show that this corresponds to the Laplacian in curved momentum space, and also derive its path integral representation in momentum space. The quantum metric itself measures the second cumulant of the position operator in real space, much like the Berry gauge potential measures the first cumulant or the electric polarization in real space. By using the non-local operator and the metric, we study some aspects of topological phases such as topological invariants, the cumulants and topological phase transitions. The effect of interactions to the momentum space geometry is also discussed.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure