Unsupervised machine learning and band topology

Abstract

The study of topological bandstructures is an active area of research in condensed matter physics and beyond. Here, we combine recent progress in this field with developments in machine-learning, another rising topic of interest. Specifically, we introduce an unsupervised machine-learning approach that searches for and retrieves paths of adiabatic deformations between Hamiltonians, thereby clustering them according to their topological properties. The algorithm is general as it does not rely on a specific parameterization of the Hamiltonian and is readily applicable to any symmetry class. We demonstrate the approach using several different models in both one and two spatial dimensions and for different symmetry classes with and without crystalline symmetries. Accordingly, it is also shown how trivial and topological phases can be diagnosed upon comparing with a generally designated set of trivial atomic insulators.