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---
title: The Amorphous Kitaev Model - Introduction part 2
excerpt: A short introduction to the weird and wonderful world of exactly solvable quantum models.
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<title>The Amorphous Kitaev Model - Introduction part 2</title>
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{% include header.html %}
<main>
<nav id="TOC" role="doc-toc">
<ul>
<li><a href="#gauge-fields" id="toc-gauge-fields">Gauge Fields</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#vortices-and-their-movements"
id="toc-vortices-and-their-movements">Vortices and their
movements</a></li>
<li><a href="#dual-loops-and-gauge-symmetries"
id="toc-dual-loops-and-gauge-symmetries">Dual Loops and gauge
symmetries</a></li>
<li><a href="#composition-of-wilson-loops"
id="toc-composition-of-wilson-loops">Composition of Wilson
loops</a></li>
<li><a href="#gauge-degeneracy-and-the-euler-equation"
id="toc-gauge-degeneracy-and-the-euler-equation">Gauge Degeneracy and
the Euler Equation</a></li>
<li><a href="#counting-edges-plaquettes-and-vertices"
id="toc-counting-edges-plaquettes-and-vertices">Counting edges,
plaquettes and vertices</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="#the-projector" id="toc-the-projector">The Projector</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#ground-state-degeneracy"
id="toc-ground-state-degeneracy">Ground State Degeneracy</a></li>
<li><a href="#quick-breather" id="toc-quick-breather">Quick
Breather</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="#the-ground-state" id="toc-the-ground-state">The Ground
State</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#finite-size-effects" id="toc-finite-size-effects">Finite
size effects</a></li>
<li><a href="#chiral-symmetry" id="toc-chiral-symmetry">Chiral
Symmetry</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="#phases-of-the-kitaev-model"
id="toc-phases-of-the-kitaev-model">Phases of the Kitaev Model</a></li>
<li><a href="#what-is-so-great-about-two-dimensions"
id="toc-what-is-so-great-about-two-dimensions">What is so great about
two dimensions?</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#topology-chirality-and-edge-modes"
id="toc-topology-chirality-and-edge-modes">Topology, chirality and edge
modes</a></li>
<li><a href="#anyonic-statistics" id="toc-anyonic-statistics">Anyonic
Statistics</a></li>
</ul></li>
</ul>
</nav>
<h2 id="gauge-fields">Gauge Fields</h2>
<p>The bond operators <span class="math inline">\(u_{ij}\)</span> are
useful because they label a bond sector <span
class="math inline">\(\mathcal{\tilde{L}}_u\)</span> in which we can
easy solve the Hamiltonian. However, the gauge operators move us between
bond sectors. <strong>Bond sectors are not gauge invariant!</strong></p>
<p>Let us consider instead the properties of the plaquette operators
<span class="math inline">\(\hat{\phi}_i\)</span> that live on the faces
of the lattice.</p>
<p>We already showed that they are conserved. As one might hope and
expect, the plaquette operators also map cleanly onto the bond operators
of the Majorana representation:</p>
<p><span class="math display">\[\begin{aligned}
\tilde{W}_p &amp;= \prod_{\mathrm{i,j}\; \in\; p} \tilde{K}_{ij}\\
&amp;= \prod_{\mathrm{i,j}\; \in\; p}
\tilde{\sigma}_i^\alpha \tilde{\sigma}_j^\alpha\\
&amp;= \prod_{\mathrm{i,j}\; \in\; p} (ib^\alpha_i
c_i)(ib^\alpha_j c_j)\\
&amp;= \prod_{\mathrm{i,j}\; \in\; p} i u_{ij} c_i c_j\\
&amp;= \prod_{\mathrm{i,j}\; \in\; p} i u_{ij}
\end{aligned}\]</span></p>
<p>Where the last steps hold because each <span
class="math inline">\(c_i\)</span> appears exactly twice and is adjacent
to its neighbour in each plaquette operator. This is consistent with the
earlier observation that each <span class="math inline">\(W_p\)</span>
takes values <span class="math inline">\(\pm 1\)</span> for even paths
and <span class="math inline">\(\pm i\)</span> for odd paths.</p>
<h3 id="vortices-and-their-movements">Vortices and their movements</h3>
<div id="fig:types_of_dual_loops_animated" class="fignos">
<figure>
<img
src="/assets/thesis/figure_code/amk_chapter/intro/types_of_dual_loops_animated/types_of_dual_loops_animated.gif"
style="width:100.0%"
alt="Figure 1: Dual Loops and Vortex Pairs The different kinds of strings and loops that we can make by flipping bond variables or transporting vortices around. (a) Flipping a single bond makes a pair of vortices on either side. (b) Flipping a string of bonds separates the vortex pair spatially. The flipped bonds form a path (in red) on the dual lattice. (c) If we create a vortex-vortex pair, transport one of them around a loop and then annihilate them, we can change the bond sector without changing the vortex sector. This is a manifestation of the gauge symmetry of the bond sector. (d) If we transport a vortex around the major or minor axes of the torus, we create a non-contractable loop of bonds \hat{\mathcal{T}}_{x/y}. Unlike all the other dual loops, These operators cannot be constructed from the contractable loops created by D_j. operators and they flip the value of the topological fluxes." />
<figcaption aria-hidden="true"><span>Figure 1:</span> <strong>Dual Loops
and Vortex Pairs</strong> The different kinds of strings and loops that
we can make by flipping bond variables or transporting vortices around.
(a) Flipping a single bond makes a pair of vortices on either side. (b)
Flipping a string of bonds separates the vortex pair spatially. The
flipped bonds form a path (in red) on the dual lattice. (c) If we create
a vortex-vortex pair, transport one of them around a loop and then
annihilate them, we can change the bond sector without changing the
vortex sector. This is a manifestation of the gauge symmetry of the bond
sector. (d) If we transport a vortex around the major or minor axes of
the torus, we create a non-contractable loop of bonds <span
class="math inline">\(\hat{\mathcal{T}}_{x/y}\)</span>. Unlike all the
other dual loops, These operators cannot be constructed from the
contractable loops created by <span class="math inline">\(D_j\)</span>.
operators and they flip the value of the topological
fluxes.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p>See fig. <a href="#fig:types_of_dual_loops_animated">1</a> for a
diagram of the next three paragraphs.</p>
<p>We started from the ground state of the model and flipped the sign of
a single bond (fig. <a href="#fig:types_of_dual_loops_animated">1</a>
(a)). In doing so, we will flip the sign of the two plaquettes adjacent
to that bond. We will call these disturbed plaquettes <em>vortices</em>.
We will refer to a particular choice values for the plaquette operators
as a <em>vortex sector</em>.</p>
<p>If we chain multiple bond flips, we can create a pair of vortices at
arbitrary locations (fig. <a
href="#fig:types_of_dual_loops_animated">1</a> (b)). The chain of bonds
that we must flip corresponds to a path on the dual of the lattice.</p>
<p>We can also create a pair of vortices, move one around a loop and
finally annihilate it with its partner (fig. <a
href="#fig:types_of_dual_loops_animated">1</a> (c)). This corresponds to
a closed loop on the dual lattice. Applying such a bond flip leaves the
vortex sector unchanged. We can also do the same thing but move the
vortex around one the non-contractible loops of the lattice (fig. <a
href="#fig:types_of_dual_loops_animated">1</a> (d)).</p>
<h3 id="dual-loops-and-gauge-symmetries">Dual Loops and gauge
symmetries</h3>
<div id="fig:gauge_symmetries" class="fignos">
<figure>
<img
src="/assets/thesis/figure_code/amk_chapter/intro/gauge_symmetries/gauge_symmetries.svg"
style="width:100.0%"
alt="Figure 2: Dual Loops and Gauge Symmetries A honeycomb lattice with edges in light grey, along with its dual, the triangle lattice in light blue. The vertices of the dual lattice are the faces of the original lattice and, hence, are the locations of the vortices. (Left) The action of the gauge operator D_j at a vertex is to flip the value of the three u_{jk} variables (black lines) surrounding site j. The corresponding edges of the dual lattice (red lines) form a closed triangle. (Middle) Composing multiple adjacent D_j operators produces a large closed dual loop or multiple disconnected dual loops. Dual loops are not directed like Wilson loops. (Right) A non-contractable loop which cannot be produced by composing D_j operators. All three operators can be thought of as the action of a vortex-vortex pair that is created, one of them is transported around the loop, and then the two annihilate again. Note that every plaquette has an even number of u_{ij}s flipped on its edge. Therefore, all retain the same value." />
<figcaption aria-hidden="true"><span>Figure 2:</span> <strong>Dual Loops
and Gauge Symmetries</strong> A honeycomb lattice with edges in light
grey, along with its dual, the triangle lattice in light blue. The
vertices of the dual lattice are the faces of the original lattice and,
hence, are the locations of the vortices. (Left) The action of the gauge
operator <span class="math inline">\(D_j\)</span> at a vertex is to flip
the value of the three <span class="math inline">\(u_{jk}\)</span>
variables (black lines) surrounding site <span
class="math inline">\(j\)</span>. The corresponding edges of the dual
lattice (red lines) form a closed triangle. (Middle) Composing multiple
adjacent <span class="math inline">\(D_j\)</span> operators produces a
large closed dual loop or multiple disconnected dual loops. Dual loops
are not directed like Wilson loops. (Right) A non-contractable loop
which cannot be produced by composing <span
class="math inline">\(D_j\)</span> operators. All three operators can be
thought of as the action of a vortex-vortex pair that is created, one of
them is transported around the loop, and then the two annihilate again.
Note that every plaquette has an even number of <span
class="math inline">\(u_{ij}\)</span>s flipped on its edge. Therefore,
all retain the same value.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p>See fig. <a href="#fig:gauge_symmetries">2</a> for a diagram of the
next few paragraphs.</p>
<p>Notice that the <span class="math inline">\(D_j\)</span> operators
flip three bonds around a vertex. This is the smallest dual loop around
which one can move a vortex pair and then annihilate it with itself.</p>
<p>Such operations compose, so we can build any larger loop (almost) by
applying a series of <span class="math inline">\(D_j\)</span>
operations. The symmetrisation procedure <span
class="math inline">\(\prod_i \left( \frac{1 + D_i}{2}\right)\)</span>
that maps from the bond sector to a physical state is really
constructing a superposition over every such dual loops that leaves the
vortex sector unchanged.</p>
<p>There is one kind of dual loop that we cannot build out of <span
class="math inline">\(D_j\)</span>s, the non-contractible loops.</p>
<p><strong>The plaquette operators and topological fluxes are the gauge
invariant quantities which determine the physics of the
model</strong></p>
<h3 id="composition-of-wilson-loops">Composition of Wilson loops</h3>
<div id="fig:plaquette_addition_by_hand" class="fignos">
<figure>
<img
src="/assets/thesis/figure_code/amk_chapter/plaquette_addition/plaquette_addition_by_hand.svg"
style="width:57.0%"
alt="Figure 3: In the product of individual plaquette operators, shared bonds cancel out. The product is equal to the enclosing path." />
<figcaption aria-hidden="true"><span>Figure 3:</span> In the product of
individual plaquette operators, shared bonds cancel out. The product is
equal to the enclosing path.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p>Second, one can now easily show that the loops and plaquettes satisfy
nice composition rules, so long as we keep to loops that wind in a
particular direction.</p>
<p>Consider the product of two non-overlapping loops <span
class="math inline">\(W_a\)</span> and <span
class="math inline">\(W_b\)</span> that share an edge <span
class="math inline">\(u_{12}\)</span>. Since the two loops both wind
clockwise and do not overlap, one will contain a term <span
class="math inline">\(i u_{12}\)</span> and the other <span
class="math inline">\(i u_{21}\)</span>. Since the <span
class="math inline">\(u_{ij}\)</span> commute with one another, they
square to <span class="math inline">\(1\)</span> and <span
class="math inline">\(u_{ij} = -u_{ji}\)</span>, we have <span
class="math inline">\(i u_{12} i u_{21} = 1\)</span>. We can repeat this
for any number of shared edges. Hence, we get a version of Stokes
theorem: the product of <span class="math inline">\(i u_{jk}\)</span>
around any closed loop <span class="math inline">\(\partial A\)</span>
is equal to the product of plaquette operators <span
class="math inline">\(\Phi\)</span> that span the area <span
class="math inline">\(A\)</span> enclosed by that loop: <span
class="math display">\[\prod_{u_{jk} \in \partial A} i \; u_{jk} =
\prod_{\phi_i \in A} \phi_i\]</span></p>
<div id="fig:stokes_theorem" class="fignos">
<figure>
<img
src="/assets/thesis/figure_code/amk_chapter/stokes_theorem/stokes_theorem.svg"
style="width:71.0%"
alt="Figure 4: The loop composition rule extends to arbitrary numbers of vortices which gives a discrete version of Stokes theorem." />
<figcaption aria-hidden="true"><span>Figure 4:</span> The loop
composition rule extends to arbitrary numbers of vortices which gives a
discrete version of Stokes theorem.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p><strong>Wilson loops can always be decomposed into products of
plaquettes operators unless they are non-contractable</strong></p>
<h3 id="gauge-degeneracy-and-the-euler-equation">Gauge Degeneracy and
the Euler Equation</h3>
<div id="fig:state_decomposition_animated" class="fignos">
<figure>
<img
src="/assets/thesis/figure_code/amk_chapter/state_decomposition_animated/state_decomposition_animated.gif"
style="width:114.0%"
alt="Figure 5: (Bond Sector) A state in the bond sector is specified by assigning \pm 1 to each edge of the lattice. However, this description has a substantial gauge degeneracy. We can simplify things by decomposing each state into the product of three kinds of objects: (Vortex Sector) Only a small number of bonds need to be flipped (compared to some arbitrary reference) to reconstruct the vortex sector. Here, the edges are chosen from a spanning tree of the dual lattice, so there are no loops. (Gauge Field) The loopiness of the bond sector can be factored out. This gives a network of loops that can always be written as a product of the gauge operators D_j. (Topological Sector) Finally, there are two loops that have no effect on the vortex sector, nor can they be constructed from gauge symmetries. These can be thought of as two fluxes \Phi_{x/y} that thread through the major and minor axes of the torus. Measuring \Phi_{x/y} amounts to constructing Wilson loops around the axes of the torus. We can flip the value of \Phi_{x} by transporting a vortex pair around the torus in the y direction, as shown here. In each of the three figures on the right, black bonds correspond to those that must be flipped. Composing the three together gives back the original bond sector on the left." />
<figcaption aria-hidden="true"><span>Figure 5:</span> (Bond Sector) A
state in the bond sector is specified by assigning <span
class="math inline">\(\pm 1\)</span> to each edge of the lattice.
However, this description has a substantial gauge degeneracy. We can
simplify things by decomposing each state into the product of three
kinds of objects: (Vortex Sector) Only a small number of bonds need to
be flipped (compared to some arbitrary reference) to reconstruct the
vortex sector. Here, the edges are chosen from a spanning tree of the
dual lattice, so there are no loops. (Gauge Field) The loopiness of
the bond sector can be factored out. This gives a network of loops that
can always be written as a product of the gauge operators <span
class="math inline">\(D_j\)</span>. (Topological Sector) Finally, there
are two loops that have no effect on the vortex sector, nor can they be
constructed from gauge symmetries. These can be thought of as two fluxes
<span class="math inline">\(\Phi_{x/y}\)</span> that thread through the
major and minor axes of the torus. Measuring <span
class="math inline">\(\Phi_{x/y}\)</span> amounts to constructing Wilson
loops around the axes of the torus. We can flip the value of <span
class="math inline">\(\Phi_{x}\)</span> by transporting a vortex pair
around the torus in the <span class="math inline">\(y\)</span>
direction, as shown here. In each of the three figures on the right,
black bonds correspond to those that must be flipped. Composing the
three together gives back the original bond sector on the
left.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p>We can check this analysis with a counting argument. For a lattice
with <span class="math inline">\(B\)</span> bonds, <span
class="math inline">\(P\)</span> plaquettes and <span
class="math inline">\(V\)</span> vertices, we can count the number of
bond sectors, vortices sectors and gauge symmetries and check them
against Eulers polyhedra equation.</p>
<p>Eulers equation states for a closed surface of genus <span
class="math inline">\(g\)</span>, i.e that has <span
class="math inline">\(g\)</span> holes so <span
class="math inline">\(0\)</span> for the sphere, <span
class="math inline">\(1\)</span> for the torus and <span
class="math inline">\(g\)</span> for <span
class="math inline">\(g\)</span> tori stuck together <span
class="math display">\[B = P + V + 2 - 2g\]</span></p>
<div id="fig:torus" class="fignos">
<figure>
<img src="/assets/thesis/figure_code/amk_chapter/torus.jpeg"
style="width:86.0%"
alt="Figure 6: In periodic boundary conditions the Kitaev model is defined on the surface of a torus. Topologically, the torus is distinct from the sphere in that it has a hole that cannot be smoothly deformed away. Associated with each such hole are two non-contractible loops on the surface, here labelled x and y, which cannot be smoothly deformed to a point. These two non-contractible loops can be used to construct two special pairs of operators: The two topological fluxes \Phi_x and \Phi_y that are the expectation values of u_{jk} loops around each path. There are also two operators \hat{\mathcal{T}}_x and \hat{\mathcal{T}}_y that transform one half of a vortex pair around the loop before annihilating them together again, see later." />
<figcaption aria-hidden="true"><span>Figure 6:</span> In periodic
boundary conditions the Kitaev model is defined on the surface of a
torus. Topologically, the torus is distinct from the sphere in that it
has a hole that cannot be smoothly deformed away. Associated with each
such hole are two non-contractible loops on the surface, here labelled
<span class="math inline">\(x\)</span> and <span
class="math inline">\(y\)</span>, which cannot be smoothly deformed to a
point. These two non-contractible loops can be used to construct two
special pairs of operators: The two topological fluxes <span
class="math inline">\(\Phi_x\)</span> and <span
class="math inline">\(\Phi_y\)</span> that are the expectation values of
<span class="math inline">\(u_{jk}\)</span> loops around each path.
There are also two operators <span
class="math inline">\(\hat{\mathcal{T}}_x\)</span> and <span
class="math inline">\(\hat{\mathcal{T}}_y\)</span> that transform one
half of a vortex pair around the loop before annihilating them together
again, see later.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p>For the case of the torus where <span class="math inline">\(g =
1\)</span>, we can rearrange this to read: <span
class="math display">\[B = (P-1) + (V-1) + 2\]</span></p>
<p><strong>Bond Sectrors</strong>: Each <span
class="math inline">\(u_{ij}\)</span> takes two values and there is one
associated with each bond so there are exactly <span
class="math inline">\(2^B\)</span> distinct configurations of the bond
sector. Let us see if we can factor those configurations out into the
Cartesian product of vortex sectors, gauge symmetries and
non-contractible loop operators.</p>
<p><strong>Vortex sectors</strong>: Each plaquette operator <span
class="math inline">\(\phi_i\)</span> takes two values (<span
class="math inline">\(\pm 1\)</span> or <span class="math inline">\(\pm
i\)</span>) and there are <span class="math inline">\(P\)</span> of
them. Vortices can only be created in pairs so there are <span
class="math inline">\(\tfrac{2^P}{2} = 2^{P-1}\)</span> vortex sectors
in total. Denoting the number of pairs of vortices as <span
class="math inline">\(N_v\)</span>, the vortex parity <span
class="math inline">\(1 - 2*(N_v \mod 2)\)</span> will be relevant in
the projector later.</p>
<p><strong>Gauge symmetries</strong>: As discussed earlier, these
correspond to all possible compositions of the <span
class="math inline">\(D_j\)</span> operators. Again, there are only
<span class="math inline">\(2^{V-1}\)</span> of these because, as we
will see in the next section, <span class="math inline">\(\prod_{j} D_j
= \mathbb{1}\)</span> in the physical space. We enforce this by choosing
the correct product of single particle fermion states. One can get an
intuitive picture for why <span class="math inline">\(\prod_{j} D_j =
\mathbb{1}\)</span> by imagining larger and larger patches of <span
class="math inline">\(D_j\)</span> operators on the torus. These patches
correspond to transporting a vortex pair around the edge of the patch.
At some point, the patch wraps around and starts to cover the entire
torus. As this happens, the boundary of the patch disappears and, hence,
it corresponds to the identity operation. See fig. <a
href="#fig:flood_fill">7</a> and fig. <a
href="#fig:flood_fill_amorphous">8</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Topological Sectors</strong>: Finally, the torus has two
non-contractible loop operators associated with its major and minor
diameters. These give us two extra fluxes <span
class="math inline">\(\Phi_x\)</span> and <span
class="math inline">\(\Phi_y\)</span> each with two distinct values.</p>
<p>Putting this all together, we see that there are <strong><span
class="math inline">\(2^B\)</span> bond sectors</strong> a space which
can be decomposed into the Cartesian product of <strong><span
class="math inline">\(2^{P-1}\)</span> vortex sectors</strong>,
<strong><span class="math inline">\(2^{V-1}\)</span> gauge
symmetries</strong> and <strong><span class="math inline">\(2^2 =
4\)</span> topological sectors</strong>.</p>
<p>The topological sector forms the basis of proposals to construct
topologically protected qubits since the four sectors can only be mixed
by a highly non-local perturbations<span class="citation"
data-cites="kitaevFaulttolerantQuantumComputation2003"><sup><a
href="#ref-kitaevFaulttolerantQuantumComputation2003"
role="doc-biblioref">1</a></sup></span>.</p>
<p><strong>The Extended Hilbert Space decomposes into a direct product
of Flux Sectors, four Topological Sectors and a set of gauge
symmetries.</strong></p>
<div id="fig:flood_fill" class="fignos">
<figure>
<img
src="/assets/thesis/figure_code/amk_chapter/intro/flood_fill/flood_fill.gif"
style="width:100.0%"
alt="Figure 7: A honeycomb lattice (in black) along with its dual (in red). (Left) Taking a larger and larger set of D_j operators (Bold Vertices) leads to an outward expanding boundary dual loop. Eventually every lattice on the torus is included and the boundary contracts to a point and disappears. This is a visual proof that \prod_i D_i \propto \mathbb{1}. Well see later that it takes values \pm 1 and is a key part of the projection to the physical subspace. (Right) In black and red the edges and dual edges that must be flipped to add vortices at the sites highlighted in orange. Flipping all the plaquettes in the system is not equivalent to the identity. Not that the edges that must be flipped can always be chosen from a tree since loops can be removed by a gauge transformation." />
<figcaption aria-hidden="true"><span>Figure 7:</span> A honeycomb
lattice (in black) along with its dual (in red). (Left) Taking a larger
and larger set of <span class="math inline">\(D_j\)</span> operators
(Bold Vertices) leads to an outward expanding boundary dual loop.
Eventually every lattice on the torus is included and the boundary
contracts to a point and disappears. This is a visual proof that <span
class="math inline">\(\prod_i D_i \propto \mathbb{1}\)</span>. Well see
later that it takes values <span class="math inline">\(\pm 1\)</span>
and is a key part of the projection to the physical subspace. (Right) In
black and red the edges and dual edges that must be flipped to add
vortices at the sites highlighted in orange. Flipping all the
<em>plaquettes</em> in the system is <strong>not</strong> equivalent to
the identity. Not that the edges that must be flipped can always be
chosen from a tree since loops can be removed by a gauge
transformation.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<h3 id="counting-edges-plaquettes-and-vertices">Counting edges,
plaquettes and vertices</h3>
<p>It is useful to know how the trivalent structure of the lattice
constrains the number of bonds <span class="math inline">\(B\)</span>,
plaquettes <span class="math inline">\(P\)</span> and vertices <span
class="math inline">\(V\)</span> it has.</p>
<p>The lattice is built from vertices that each share three edges with
their neighbours. This means that each vertex comes with <span
class="math inline">\(\tfrac{3}{2}\)</span> bonds i.e <span
class="math inline">\(3V = 2B\)</span>. This is consistent with the fact
that, in the Majorana representation on the torus, each vertex brings
three <span class="math inline">\(b^\alpha\)</span> operators which then
pair along bonds to give <span class="math inline">\(3/2\)</span> bonds
per vertex.</p>
<p>If we define an integer <span class="math inline">\(N\)</span> such
that <span class="math inline">\(V = 2N\)</span> and <span
class="math inline">\(B = 3N\)</span> and substitute this into the
polyhedra equation for the torus, we see that <span
class="math inline">\(P = N\)</span>. Therefore, if a trivalent lattice
on the torus has <span class="math inline">\(N\)</span> plaquettes, it
has <span class="math inline">\(2N\)</span> vertices and <span
class="math inline">\(3N\)</span> bonds.</p>
<p>We can also consider the sum of the number of bonds in each plaquette
<span class="math inline">\(S_p\)</span>, since each bond is a member of
exactly two plaquettes <span class="math display">\[S_p = 2B =
6N\]</span></p>
<p>The mean size of a plaquette in a trivalent lattice on the torus is
exactly six. As the sum is even, this also tells us that all odd
plaquettes must come in pairs.</p>
<div id="fig:flood_fill_amorphous" class="fignos">
<figure>
<img
src="/assets/thesis/figure_code/amk_chapter/intro/flood_fill_amorphous/flood_fill_amorphous.gif"
style="width:100.0%"
alt="Figure 8: The same as fig. 7 but for the amorphous lattice." />
<figcaption aria-hidden="true"><span>Figure 8:</span> The same as
fig. <a href="#fig:flood_fill">7</a> but for the amorphous
lattice.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<h2 id="the-projector">The Projector</h2>
<p>The projection from the extended space to the physical space will not
be particularly important for the results presented here. However, the
theory remains useful to explain why this is.</p>
<div id="fig:hilbert_spaces" class="fignos">
<figure>
<img src="/assets/thesis/figure_code/amk_chapter/hilbert_spaces.svg"
style="width:100.0%"
alt="Figure 9: The relationship between the different Hilbert spaces used in the solution. needs updating" />
<figcaption aria-hidden="true"><span>Figure 9:</span> The relationship
between the different Hilbert spaces used in the solution. <strong>needs
updating</strong></figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p>The physical states are defined as those for which <span
class="math inline">\(D_i |\phi\rangle = |\phi\rangle\)</span> for all
<span class="math inline">\(D_i\)</span>. Since <span
class="math inline">\(D_i\)</span> has eigenvalues <span
class="math inline">\(\pm1\)</span>, the quantity <span
class="math inline">\(\tfrac{(1+D_i)}{2}\)</span> has eigenvalue <span
class="math inline">\(1\)</span> for physical states and <span
class="math inline">\(0\)</span> for extended states so is the local
projector onto the physical subspace.</p>
<p>Therefore, the global projector is <span class="math display">\[
\mathcal{P} = \prod_{i=1}^{2N} \left( \frac{1 +
D_i}{2}\right)\]</span></p>
<p>for a toroidal trivalent lattice with <span
class="math inline">\(N\)</span> plaquettes <span
class="math inline">\(2N\)</span> vertices and <span
class="math inline">\(3N\)</span> edges. As discussed earlier, the
product over <span class="math inline">\((1 + D_j)\)</span> can also be
thought of as the sum of all possible subsets <span
class="math inline">\(\{i\}\)</span> of the <span
class="math inline">\(D_j\)</span> operators, which is the set of all
possible gauge symmetry operations.</p>
<p><span class="math display">\[ \mathcal{P} = \frac{1}{2^{2N}}
\sum_{\{i\}} \prod_{i\in\{i\}} D_i\]</span></p>
<p>Since the gauge operators <span class="math inline">\(D_j\)</span>
commute and square to one, we can define the complement operator <span
class="math inline">\(C = \prod_{i=1}^{2N} D_i\)</span> and see that it
takes each set of <span class="math inline">\(\prod_{i \in \{i\}}
D_j\)</span> operators and gives us the complement of that set. We will
shortly see why <span class="math inline">\(C\)</span> is the identity
in the physical subspace, as noted earlier.</p>
<p>We use the complement operator to rewrite the projector as a sum over
half the subsets of <span class="math inline">\(\{i\}\)</span> -
referred to as <span class="math inline">\(\Lambda\)</span>. The
complement operator deals with the other half</p>
<p><span class="math display">\[ \mathcal{P} = \left(
\frac{1}{2^{2N-1}} \sum_{\Lambda} \prod_{i\in\{i\}} D_i\right)
\left(\frac{1 + \prod_i^{2N} D_i}{2}\right) = \mathcal{S} \cdot
\mathcal{P}_0\]</span></p>
<p>To compute <span class="math inline">\(\mathcal{P}_0\)</span>, the
main quantity needed is the product of the local projectors <span
class="math inline">\(D_i\)</span> <span
class="math display">\[\prod_i^{2N} D_i = \prod_i^{2N} b^x_i b^y_i b^z_i
c_i \]</span> for a toroidal trivalent lattice with <span
class="math inline">\(N\)</span> plaquettes <span
class="math inline">\(2N\)</span> vertices and <span
class="math inline">\(3N\)</span> edges.</p>
<p>First, we reorder the operators by bond type. This does not require
any information about the underlying lattice.</p>
<p><span class="math display">\[\prod_i^{2N} D_i = \prod_i^{2N} b^x_i
\prod_i^{2N} b^y_i \prod_i^{2N} b^z_i \prod_i^{2N} c_i\]</span></p>
<p>The product over <span class="math inline">\(c_i\)</span> operators
reduces to a determinant of the Q matrix and the fermion parity,
see<span class="citation"
data-cites="pedrocchiPhysicalSolutionsKitaev2011b"><sup><a
href="#ref-pedrocchiPhysicalSolutionsKitaev2011b"
role="doc-biblioref">2</a></sup></span>. The only difference from the
honeycomb case is that we cannot explicitly compute the factors <span
class="math inline">\(p_x,p_y,p_z = \pm\;1\)</span> that arise from
reordering the b operators such that pairs of vertices linked by the
corresponding bonds are adjacent.</p>
<p><span class="math display">\[\prod_i^{2N} b^\alpha_i = p_\alpha
\prod_{(i,j)}b^\alpha_i b^\alpha_j\]</span></p>
<p>However, they are simply the parity of the permutation from one
ordering to the other and can be computed in linear time with a cycle
decomposition<span class="citation"
data-cites="app:cycle_decomp"><sup><a href="#ref-app:cycle_decomp"
role="doc-biblioref"><strong>app:cycle_decomp?</strong></a></sup></span>.</p>
<p>We find that <span class="math display">\[\mathcal{P}_0 = 1 +
p_x\;p_y\;p_z\; \hat{\pi} \; \mathrm{det}(Q^u) \; \prod_{\{i,j\}}
-iu_{ij}\]</span></p>
<p>where <span class="math inline">\(p_x\;p_y\;p_z = \pm 1\)</span> are
lattice structure factors and <span
class="math inline">\(\mathrm{det}(Q^u)\)</span> is the determinant of
the matrix mentioned earlier that maps <span
class="math inline">\(c_i\)</span> operators to normal mode operators
<span class="math inline">\(b&#39;_i, b&#39;&#39;_i\)</span>. These
depend only on the lattice structure.</p>
<p><span class="math inline">\(\hat{\pi} = \prod{i}^{N} (1 -
2\hat{n}_i)\)</span> is the parity of the particular many body state
determined by fermionic occupation numbers <span
class="math inline">\(n_i\)</span>. As discussed in +<span
class="citation"
data-cites="pedrocchiPhysicalSolutionsKitaev2011b"><sup><a
href="#ref-pedrocchiPhysicalSolutionsKitaev2011b"
role="doc-biblioref">2</a></sup></span>, <span
class="math inline">\(\hat{\pi}\)</span> is gauge invariant in the sense
that <span class="math inline">\([\hat{\pi}, D_i] = 0\)</span>.</p>
<p>This implies that <span class="math inline">\(det(Q^u) \prod -i
u_{ij}\)</span> is also a gauge invariant quantity. In translation
invariant models this quantity which can be related to the parity of the
number of vortex pairs in the system<span class="citation"
data-cites="yaoAlgebraicSpinLiquid2009"><sup><a
href="#ref-yaoAlgebraicSpinLiquid2009"
role="doc-biblioref">3</a></sup></span>. I am unsure if this is true for
the amorphous case.</p>
<p>All these factors take values <span class="math inline">\(\pm
1\)</span> so <span class="math inline">\(\mathcal{P}_0\)</span> is 0 or
1 for a particular state. Since <span
class="math inline">\(\mathcal{S}\)</span> corresponds to symmetrising
over all the gauge configurations and cannot be 0, once we have
determined the single particle eigenstates of a bond sector, the true
many body ground state has the same energy as either the empty state
with <span class="math inline">\(n_i = 0\)</span> or a state with a
single fermion in the lowest level.</p>
<h3 id="ground-state-degeneracy">Ground State Degeneracy</h3>
<div id="fig:loops_and_dual_loops" class="fignos">
<figure>
<img
src="/assets/thesis/figure_code/amk_chapter/loops_and_dual_loops/loops_and_dual_loops.svg"
style="width:114.0%"
alt="Figure 10: (Left) The two topological flux operators of the toroidal lattice. These do not correspond to any face of the lattice, but rather measure flux that threads through the major and minor axes of the torus. This shows a particular choice. Yet, any loop that crosses the boundary is gauge equivalent to one of or the sum of these two loop. (Right) The two ways to transport vortices around the diameters. These amount to creating a vortex pair, transporting one of them around the major or minor diameters of the torus and, then, annihilating them again." />
<figcaption aria-hidden="true"><span>Figure 10:</span> (Left) The two
topological flux operators of the toroidal lattice. These do not
correspond to any face of the lattice, but rather measure flux that
threads through the major and minor axes of the torus. This shows a
particular choice. Yet, any loop that crosses the boundary is gauge
equivalent to one of or the sum of these two loop. (Right) The two ways
to transport vortices around the diameters. These amount to creating a
vortex pair, transporting one of them around the major or minor
diameters of the torus and, then, annihilating them again.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p>More general arguments<span class="citation"
data-cites="chungExplicitMonodromyMoore2007 oshikawaTopologicalDegeneracyNonAbelian2007"><sup><a
href="#ref-chungExplicitMonodromyMoore2007"
role="doc-biblioref">4</a>,<a
href="#ref-oshikawaTopologicalDegeneracyNonAbelian2007"
role="doc-biblioref">5</a></sup></span> imply that <span
class="math inline">\(det(Q^u) \prod -i u_{ij}\)</span> has an
interesting relationship to the topological fluxes. In the non-Abelian
phase, we expect that it will change sign in exactly one of the four
topological sectors.</p>
<p>This means that the lowest state in three of the topological sectors
contain no fermions, while in one of them there must be one fermion to
preserve product of fermion vortex parity. So overall the non-Abelian
model has a three-fold degenerate ground state rather than the fourfold
of the Abelian case (and of my intuition!). In the Abelian phase, this
does not happen and we get a fourfold degenerate ground state. Whether
this analysis generalises to the amorphous case is unclear.</p>
<p>An alternative way to view this is to imagine we start in one state
of the ground state manifold. We then attempt to construct other ground
states by creating vortex pairs, transporting one vortex around one or
both non-contractible loops and then annihilating them. This works for
either of the two non-contractible loops but when we try to do it for
<em>both</em> something strange happens. When we transport a vortex
around <strong>both</strong> the major and minor axes of the torus this
changes its fusion channel. Normally two vortices fuse to the vacuum but
after this operation they fuse into a fermion excitation. And hence our
attempt to construct that last ground state doesnt yield a ground state
at all, leaving us with just three.</p>
<p><strong>NOTE to self: This argument seems to involve adiabatic
insertion of the fluxes <span class="math inline">\(\Phi_{x,y}\)</span>
as the operations that undo vortex transport around the lattice. I dont
understand why that part is necessary</strong></p>
<div id="fig:threefold_degeneracy" class="fignos">
<figure>
<img
src="/assets/thesis/figure_code/amk_chapter/threefold_degeneracy.png"
style="width:86.0%"
alt="Figure 11: In the non-Abelian phase one of the lowest energy state in one of the topological sectors contains a fermion and hence is slightly higher in energy than the other three. This manifests as a fourfold ground state degeneracy in the Abelian phase and a threefold degeneracy in the non-Abelian phase." />
<figcaption aria-hidden="true"><span>Figure 11:</span> In the
non-Abelian phase one of the lowest energy state in one of the
topological sectors contains a fermion and hence is slightly higher in
energy than the other three. This manifests as a fourfold ground state
degeneracy in the Abelian phase and a threefold degeneracy in the
non-Abelian phase.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<h3 id="quick-breather">Quick Breather</h3>
<p>Lets consider where are with the model now. We can map the spin
Hamiltonian to a Majorana Hamiltonian in an extended Hilbert space.
Along with that mapping comes a gauge field <span
class="math inline">\(u_{jk}\)</span> defining <strong>bond
sectors</strong>. The gauge symmetries of <span
class="math inline">\(u_{jk}\)</span> are generated by the set of <span
class="math inline">\(D_j\)</span> operators. The gauge invariant, and,
therefore, physically, relevant variables are the plaquette operators
<span class="math inline">\(\phi_i\)</span> which define as a
<strong>vortex sector</strong>. To solve the Majorana Hamiltonian, we
must remove hats from the gauge field by restricting ourselves to a
particular bond sector. At this stage, the Majorana Hamiltonian becomes
non-interacting and we can solve it like any quadratic theory. This lets
us construct the single particle eigenstates from which we can also
construct many body states. Yet, the many body states constructed in
this way are not in the physical subspace!</p>
<p>For the many body states within a particular bond sector, <span
class="math inline">\(\mathcal{P}_0 = 0,1\)</span> tells us which of
those overlap with the physical sector.</p>
<p>We see that finding a state that has overlap with a physical state
only ever requires the addition or removal of one fermion. There are
cases where this can make a difference, but for most observables, such
as ground state energy, this correction scales away as the number of
fermions in the system grows.</p>
<p>If we wanted to construct a full many body wavefunction in the spin
basis, we would need to include the full symmetrisation over the gauge
fields. However, this was not necessary for any of the results that will
be presented here.</p>
<h2 id="the-ground-state">The Ground State</h2>
<p>We have shown that the Hamiltonian is gauge invariant. As a result,
only the flux sector and the two topological fluxes affect the spectrum
of the Hamiltonian. Thus, we can label the many body ground state by a
combination of fluxes and fermionic occupation numbers.</p>
<p>By studying the projector, we saw that the fermionic occupation
numbers of the ground state will always be either <span
class="math inline">\(n_m = 0\)</span> or <span
class="math inline">\(n_0 = 1, n_{m&gt;1} = 0\)</span> because the
projector only enforces combined vortex and fermion parity.</p>
<p>I refer to the flux sector that contains the ground state as the
ground state flux sector. Recall that the excitations of the fluxes away
from the ground ground state configuration are called
<strong>vortices</strong>, so that the ground state flux sector is, by
definition, the vortex free sector.</p>
<p>On the Honeycomb, Liebs theorem implies that the ground state
corresponds to the state where all <span class="math inline">\(u_{jk} =
1\)</span>. This implies that the flux free sector is the ground state
sector<span class="citation" data-cites="lieb_flux_1994"><sup><a
href="#ref-lieb_flux_1994" role="doc-biblioref">6</a></sup></span>.</p>
<p>Liebs theorem does not generalise easily to the amorphous case.
However, we can get some intuition by examining the problem that will
lead to a guess for the ground state. We will then provide numerical
evidence that this guess is in fact correct.</p>
<p>Consider the partition function of the Majorana hamiltonian: <span
class="math display">\[ \mathcal{Z} = \mathrm{Tr}\left( e^{-\beta
H}\right) = \sum_i \exp{-\beta \epsilon_i}\]</span> At low temperatures
<span class="math inline">\(\mathcal{Z} \approx \beta
\epsilon_0\)</span> where <span
class="math inline">\(\epsilon_0\)</span> is the lowest energy fermionic
state.</p>
<p>How does the <span class="math inline">\(\mathcal{Z}\)</span> depend
on the Majorana hamiltonian? Expanding the exponential out gives <span
class="math display">\[ \mathcal{Z} = \sum_n \frac{(-\beta)^n}{n!}
\mathrm{Tr(H^k)} \]</span></p>
<p>This makes for an interesting observation. The Hamiltonian is
essentially a scaled adjacency matrix. An adjacency matrix being a
matrix <span class="math inline">\(g_{ij}\)</span> such that <span
class="math inline">\(g_{ij} = 1\)</span> if vertices <span
class="math inline">\(i\)</span> and <span
class="math inline">\(j\)</span> and joined by an edge and 0
otherwise.</p>
<p>Powers of adjacency matrices have the property that the entry <span
class="math inline">\((g^n)_{ij}\)</span> corresponds to the number of
paths of length <span class="math inline">\(n\)</span> on the graph that
begin at site <span class="math inline">\(i\)</span> and end at site
<span class="math inline">\(j\)</span>. These include somewhat
degenerate paths that go back on themselves.</p>
<p>Therefore, the trace of an adjacency matrix <span
class="math display">\[\mathrm{Tr}(g^n) = \sum_i (g^n)_{ii}\]</span>
counts the number of loops of size <span
class="math inline">\(n\)</span> that can be drawn on the graph.</p>
<p>Applying the same treatment to our Majorana Hamiltonian, we can
interpret <span class="math inline">\(u_ij\)</span> to equal 0 if the
two sites are not joined by a bond and we put ourselves in the isotropic
phase where <span class="math inline">\(J^\alpha = 1\)</span> <span
class="math display">\[ \tilde{H}_{ij} = \tfrac{1}{2} i
u_{ij}\]</span></p>
<p>We then see that the trace of the nth power of H is a sum over Wilson
loops of size <span class="math inline">\(n\)</span> with an additional
factor of <span class="math inline">\(2^{-n}\)</span>. We showed earlier
that the Wilson loop operators can always be written as products of the
plaquette operators that they enclose.</p>
<p>Lumping all the prefactors together, we will get something
schematically like: <span class="math display">\[ \mathcal{Z} = c_A
\hat{A} + c_B \hat{B} + \sum_i c_i \hat{\phi}_i + \sum_{ij}
c_{ij} \hat{\phi}_i \hat{\phi}_j + \sum_{ijk} c_{ijk} \hat{\phi}_i
\hat{\phi}_j \hat{\phi}_k + ...\]</span></p>
<p>Where the <span class="math inline">\(c\)</span> factors would be
something like <span class="math display">\[c_{ijk...} = \sum_n
\tfrac{(-\beta)^n}{n!} \tfrac{1}{2^n} K_{ijk...}\]</span> This is a sum
over all loop lengths <span class="math inline">\(n\)</span> with, for
each, a combinatorial factor <span
class="math inline">\(K_{ijk...}\)</span> that counts how many ways
exist to draw a loop of length <span class="math inline">\(n\)</span>
that only encloses plaquettes <span
class="math inline">\(ijk...\)</span>.</p>
<p>We also have the pesky topological fluxes <span
class="math inline">\(Phi_x\)</span> and <span
class="math inline">\(\Phi_y\)</span>. Again, the prefactors for these
are very complicated. However, we can intuitively see that for larger
and larger loops lengths, there will be a combinatorial explosion of
possible ways that they appear in these sums. We know that explosion
will be suppressed exponentially for sufficiently large system sizes but
for practical lattices they cause significant finite size effects.</p>
<p>We do not have much hope of actually evaluating this for an amorphous
lattice. However, we can guess that the ground state vortex sector might
be a simple function of the side length of each plaquette.</p>
<p>The ground state of the Amorphous Kitaev Model is found by setting
the flux through each plaquette <span
class="math inline">\(\phi\)</span> to be equal to <span
class="math inline">\(\phi^{\mathrm{g.s.}}(n_{\mathrm{sides}})\)</span></p>
<p><span class="math display">\[\begin{aligned}
\phi^{\mathrm{g.s.}}(n_{\mathrm{sides}}) = -(\pm
i)^{n_{\mathrm{sides}}},
\end{aligned}\]</span> where <span
class="math inline">\(n_{\mathrm{sides}}\)</span> is the number of edges
that form each plaquette and the choice of sign gives a twofold chiral
ground state degeneracy.</p>
<p>This conjecture is consistent with Liebs theorem on regular
lattices<span class="citation" data-cites="lieb_flux_1994"><sup><a
href="#ref-lieb_flux_1994" role="doc-biblioref">6</a></sup></span> and
is supported by numerical evidence. As noted before, any flux that
differs from the ground state is an excitation which we call a
vortex.</p>
<h3 id="finite-size-effects">Finite size effects</h3>
<p>This guess only works for larger lattices. To rigorously test it, we
would want to directly enumerate the <span
class="math inline">\(2^N\)</span> vortex sectors for a smaller lattice
and check that the lowest state found is the vortex sector predicted by
our conjecture.</p>
<p>To do this we tile an amorphous lattice as the unit cell of a
periodic <span class="math inline">\(N\times N\)</span> system. Bonds
that originally crossed the periodic boundaries now connect adjacent
unit cells. Using Blochs theorem, the problem essentially reduces back
to the single amorphous unit cell. However, now the edges that cross the
periodic boundaries pick up a phase dependent on the crystal momentum
<span class="math inline">\(\vec{q} = (q_x, q_y)\)</span> and the
lattice vector of the bond <span class="math inline">\(\vec{x} = (+1, 0,
-1, +1, 0, -1)\)</span>. Assigning these lattice vectors to each bond is
also a very convenient way to store and plot toroidal graphs.</p>
<p>This can then be solved using Blochs theorem. For a given crystal
momentum <span class="math inline">\(\textbf{q} \in [0,2\pi)^2\)</span>,
we are left with a Bloch Hamiltonian, which is identical to the original
Hamiltonian aside from an extra phase on edges that cross the periodic
boundaries in the <span class="math inline">\(x\)</span> and <span
class="math inline">\(y\)</span> directions, <span
class="math display">\[\begin{aligned}
M_{jk}(\textbf{q}) = \frac{i}{2} J^{\alpha} u_{jk} e^{i
q_{jk}},\end{aligned}\]</span> where <span class="math inline">\(q_{jk}
= q_x\)</span> for a bond that crosses the <span
class="math inline">\(x\)</span>-periodic boundary in the positive
direction, with the analogous definition for <span
class="math inline">\(y\)</span>-crossing bonds. We also have <span
class="math inline">\(q_{jk} = -q_{kj}\)</span>. Finally, <span
class="math inline">\(q_{jk} = 0\)</span> if the edge does not cross any
boundaries at all. In essence, we are imposing twisted boundary
conditions on our system. The total energy of the tiled system can be
calculated by summing the energy of <span class="math inline">\(M(
\textbf{q})\)</span> for every value of <span
class="math inline">\(\textbf{q}\)</span>.</p>
<p>With this technique, the finite size effects related to the
non-contractible loop operators are removed with only a linear penalty
in computation time compared to the exponential penalty paid by simply
diagonalising larger lattices.</p>
<p>This technique verifies that <span
class="math inline">\(\phi_0\)</span> correctly predicts the ground
state for hundreds of thousands of lattices with up to twenty
plaquettes. For larger lattices, we verified that random perturbations
around the predicted ground state never yield a lower energy state.</p>
<h3 id="chiral-symmetry">Chiral Symmetry</h3>
<p>The discussion above shows that the ground state has a twofold
<strong>chiral</strong> degeneracy which arises because the global sign
of the odd plaquettes does not matter.</p>
<p>This happens because we have broken the time reversal symmetry of the
original model by adding odd plaquettes<span class="citation"
data-cites="Chua2011 yaoExactChiralSpin2007 ChuaPRB2011 Fiete2012 Natori2016 Wu2009 Peri2020 WangHaoranPRB2021"><sup><a
href="#ref-Chua2011" role="doc-biblioref">7</a><a
href="#ref-WangHaoranPRB2021"
role="doc-biblioref">14</a></sup></span>.</p>
<p>Similarly to the behaviour of the original Kitaev model in response
to a magnetic field, we get two degenerate ground states of different
handedness. Practically speaking, one ground state is related to the
other by inverting the imaginary <span
class="math inline">\(\phi\)</span> fluxes<span class="citation"
data-cites="yaoExactChiralSpin2007"><sup><a
href="#ref-yaoExactChiralSpin2007"
role="doc-biblioref">8</a></sup></span>.</p>
<h2 id="phases-of-the-kitaev-model">Phases of the Kitaev Model</h2>
<p>discuss the Abelian A phase / toric code phase / anisotropic
phase</p>
<p>the isotropic gapless phase of the standard model</p>
<p>The isotropic gapped phase with the addition of a magnetic field</p>
<h2 id="what-is-so-great-about-two-dimensions">What is so great about
two dimensions?</h2>
<h3 id="topology-chirality-and-edge-modes">Topology, chirality and edge
modes</h3>
<p>Most thermodynamic and quantum phases studied can be characterised by
a local order parameter. That is, a function or operator that only
requires knowledge about some fixed sized patch of the system that does
not scale with system size.</p>
<p>However, there are quantum phases that cannot be characterised by
such a local order parameter. These phases are instead said to possess
topological order.</p>
<p>One easily observable property of topological order is that the
ground state degeneracy depends on the topology of the manifold that we
put the system on to. This is referred to as topological degeneracy to
distinguish it from standard symmetry breaking.</p>
<p>The Kitaev model is a good example. We have already looked at it
defined on a graph that is embedded either into the plane or onto the
torus. The extension to surfaces like the torus but with more than one
handle is relatively easy.</p>
<h3 id="anyonic-statistics">Anyonic Statistics</h3>
<p><strong>NB: Im thinking about moving this section to the overall
intro, but its nice to be able to refer to specifics of the Kitaev
model also so Im not sure. It currently repeats a discussion of the
ground state degeneracy from the projector section.</strong></p>
<p>In dimensions greater than two, the quantum state of a system must
pick up a factor of <span class="math inline">\(-1\)</span> or <span
class="math inline">\(+1\)</span> if two identical particles are
swapped. We call these Fermions and Bosons.</p>
<p>This argument is predicated on the idea that performing two swaps is
equivalent to doing nothing. Doing nothing should not change the quantum
state at all. Therefore, doing one swap can at most multiply it by <span
class="math inline">\(\pm 1\)</span>.</p>
<p>However, there are many hidden parts to this argument. First, this
argument does not present the whole story. For instance, if you want to
know why Fermions have half integer spin, you have to go to field
theory.</p>
<p>Second, why does this argument only work in dimensions greater than
two? When we say that two swaps do nothing, we in fact say that the
world lines of two particles that have been swapped twice can be
untangled without crossing. Why cant they cross? Because if they cross,
the particles can interact and the quantum state could change in an
arbitrary way. We are implicitly using the locality of physics to argue
that, if the worldlines stay well separated, the overall quantum state
cannot change.</p>
<p>In two dimensions, we cannot untangle the worldlines of two particles
that have swapped places. They are braided together (see fig. <a
href="#fig:braiding">12</a>).</p>
<div id="fig:braiding" class="fignos">
<figure>
<img src="/assets/thesis/figure_code/amk_chapter/braiding.png"
style="width:71.0%" alt="Figure 12: " />
<figcaption aria-hidden="true"><span>Figure 12:</span> </figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p>From this fact flows a whole of behaviours. The quantum state can
acquire a phase factor <span class="math inline">\(e^{i\phi}\)</span>
upon exchange of two identical particles, which we now call Anyons.</p>
<p>The Kitaev Model is a good demonstration of the connection between
Anyons and topological degeneracy. In the Kitaev model, we can create a
pair of vortices, move one around a non-contractable loop <span
class="math inline">\(\mathcal{T}_{x/y}\)</span> and then annihilate
them together. Without topology, this should leave the quantum state
unchanged. Instead, we move towards another ground state in a
topologically degenerate ground state subspace. Practically speaking, it
flips a dual line of bonds <span class="math inline">\(u_{jk}\)</span>
going around the loop which we cannot undo with any gauge transformation
made from <span class="math inline">\(D_j\)</span> operators.</p>
<p>If the ground state subspace is multidimensional, quasiparticle
exchange can move us around in the space with an action corresponding to
a matrix. In general, these matrices do not commute so these are known
as non-Abelian anyons.</p>
<p>From here, the situation becomes even more complex. The Kitaev model
has a non-Abelian phase when exposed to a magnetic field. The amorphous
Kitaev Model has a non-Abelian phase because of its broken chiral
symmetry.</p>
<p>By subdividing the Kitaev model into vortex sectors, we neatly
separate between vortices and fermionic excitations. However, if we
looked at the full many body picture, we would see that a vortex carries
with it a cloud of bound Majorana states.</p>
<div id="fig:majorana_bound_states" class="fignos">
<figure>
<img
src="/assets/thesis/figure_code/amk_chapter/majorana_bound_states/majorana_bound_states.svg"
style="width:100.0%"
alt="Figure 13: (Left) A large amorphous lattice in the ground state save for a single pair of vortices shown in red, separated by the string of bonds that we flipped to create them. (Right) The density of the lowest energy Majorana state in this vortex sector. These Majorana states are bound to the vortices. They dress the vortices to create a composite object." />
<figcaption aria-hidden="true"><span>Figure 13:</span> (Left) A large
amorphous lattice in the ground state save for a single pair of vortices
shown in red, separated by the string of bonds that we flipped to create
them. (Right) The density of the lowest energy Majorana state in this
vortex sector. These Majorana states are bound to the vortices. They
dress the vortices to create a composite object.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p>Consider two processes</p>
<ol type="1">
<li><p>We transport one half of a vortex pair around either the x or y
loops of the torus before annihilating back to the ground state vortex
sector <span class="math inline">\(\mathcal{T}_{x,y}\)</span>.</p></li>
<li><p>We flip a line of bond operators corresponding to measuring the
flux through either the major or minor axes of the torus <span
class="math inline">\(\mathcal{\Phi}_{x,y}\)</span></p></li>
</ol>
<p>The plaquette operators <span class="math inline">\(\phi_i\)</span>
are associated with fluxes. Wilson loops that wind the torus are
associated with the fluxes through its two diameters <span
class="math inline">\(\mathcal{\Phi}_{x,y}\)</span>.</p>
<p>In the Abelian phase, we can move a vortex along any path at will
before bringing them back together. They will annihilate back to the
vacuum, where we understand the vacuum to refer to one of the ground
states. However, this will not necessarily be the same ground state we
started in. We can use this to get from the <span
class="math inline">\((\Phi_x, \Phi_y) = (+1, +1)\)</span> ground state
and construct the set <span class="math inline">\((+1, +1), (+1, -1),
(-1, +1), (-1, -1)\)</span>.</p>
<div id="fig:topological_fluxes" class="fignos">
<figure>
<img src="/assets/thesis/figure_code/amk_chapter/topological_fluxes.png"
style="width:57.0%"
alt="Figure 14: Wilson loops that wind the major or minor diameters of the torus measure flux winding through the hole of the doughnut/torus or through the filling. If they made doughnuts that both had a jam filling and a hole, this analogy would be a lot easier to make15." />
<figcaption aria-hidden="true"><span>Figure 14:</span> Wilson loops that
wind the major or minor diameters of the torus measure flux winding
through the hole of the doughnut/torus or through the filling. If they
made doughnuts that both had a jam filling and a hole, this analogy
would be a lot easier to make<span class="citation"
data-cites="parkerWhyDoesThis"><sup><a href="#ref-parkerWhyDoesThis"
role="doc-biblioref">15</a></sup></span>.</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p>However, in the non-Abelian phase we have to wrangle with
monodromy<span class="citation"
data-cites="chungExplicitMonodromyMoore2007 oshikawaTopologicalDegeneracyNonAbelian2007"><sup><a
href="#ref-chungExplicitMonodromyMoore2007"
role="doc-biblioref">4</a>,<a
href="#ref-oshikawaTopologicalDegeneracyNonAbelian2007"
role="doc-biblioref">5</a></sup></span>. Monodromy is the behaviour of
objects as they move around a singularity. This manifests here in that
the identity of a vortex and cloud of Majoranas can change as we wind
them around the torus in such a way that, rather than annihilating to
the vacuum, we annihilate them to create an excited state instead of a
ground state. This means that we end up with only three degenerate
ground states in the non-Abelian phase <span class="math inline">\((+1,
+1), (+1, -1), (-1, +1)\)</span><span class="citation"
data-cites="chungTopologicalQuantumPhase2010"><sup><a
href="#ref-chungTopologicalQuantumPhase2010"
role="doc-biblioref">16</a></sup></span>. Concretely, this is because
the projector enforces both flux and fermion parity. When we wind a
vortex around both non-contractible loops of the torus, it flips the
flux parity. Therefore, we have to introduce a fermionic excitation to
make the state physical. Hence, the process does not give a fourth
ground state.</p>
<p>Recently, the topology has notably gained interest because of
proposals to use this ground state degeneracy to implement both
passively fault tolerant and actively stabilised quantum computations
[<span class="citation"
data-cites="kitaevFaulttolerantQuantumComputation2003"><sup><a
href="#ref-kitaevFaulttolerantQuantumComputation2003"
role="doc-biblioref">1</a></sup></span>;<span class="citation"
data-cites="poulinStabilizerFormalismOperator2005"><sup><a
href="#ref-poulinStabilizerFormalismOperator2005"
role="doc-biblioref">17</a></sup></span>;
hastingsDynamicallyGeneratedLogical2021].</p>
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