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arXiv · 1001.0763

Topological Insulators and Superconductors from D-branes

Shinsei Ryu·Tadashi Takayanagi
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Abstract

Realization of topological insulators (TIs) and superconductors (TSCs), such as the quantum spin Hall effect and the Z_2 topological insulator, in terms of D-branes in string theory is proposed. We establish a one-to-one correspondence between the K-theory classification of TIs/TSCs and D-brane charges. The string theory realization of TIs and TSCs comes naturally with gauge interactions, and the Wess-Zumino term of the D-branes gives rise to a gauge field theory of topological nature. This sheds light on TIs and TSCs beyond non-interacting systems, and the underlying topological field theory description thereof. In particular, our string theory realization includes the honeycomb lattice Kitaev model in two spatial dimensions, and its higher-dimensional extensions.

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Shinsei Ryu, Tadashi Takayanagi. 2010-08-08. Topological Insulators and Superconductors from D-branes. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2010.08.019

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