Many-body localization, symmetry and topology

S A Parameswaran, Romain Vasseur
2018 Reports on progress in physics (Print)  
We review recent developments in the study of out-of-equilibrium topological states of matter in isolated systems. The phenomenon of many-body localization, exhibited by some isolated systems usually in the presence of quenched disorder, prevents systems from equilibrating to a thermal state where the delicate quantum correlations necessary for topological order are often washed out. Instead, many-body localized systems can exhibit a type of eigenstate phase structure wherein their entire
more » ... ody spectrum is characterized by various types of quantum order, usually restricted to quantum ground states. After introducing many-body localization and explaining how it can protect quantum order, we then explore how the interplay of symmetry and dimensionality with many-body localization constrains its role in stabilizing topological phases out of equilibrium.
doi:10.1088/1361-6633/aac9ed pmid:29862986 fatcat:iwyc2etqcjdxhkqilwkjujei2m