Condensed Matter and Statistical Mechanics

A conformal net on $S^1$ is an assignment $\mathcal{A}:\left\{\textrm{open subsets of } S^1\right\} \to \left\{\mbox{von Neumann algebras acting on } \mathcal{F}\right\}$, which satisfies a slew of axioms motivated by quantum field theory. In this talk, I will consider the free fermionic conformal net. In this case, the Hilbert space $\mathcal{F}$ is the Fock space generated by the positive energy modes of square-integrable spinors on the circle $𝐿^2(𝑆^1,\mathbb{S})$; and the von Neumann algebras are Clifford algebras generated by those elements of $𝐿^2(𝑆^1,\mathbb{S})$ whose support lies in $𝐼\subset 𝑆^1$. After going over this construction, I will argue that given an open interval $𝐼\subset 𝑆^1$, one can equip $\mathcal{F}$ with the structure of $\mathcal{A}(I)-\mathcal{A}(I)$-bimodule. I will then outline the construction of a canonical isomorphism of bimodules $\mathcal{F}\boxtimes_{\mathcal{A}(I_\_)}\mathcal{F}\to\mathcal{F}$ where $\boxtimes_{\mathcal{A}(I_\_)}$ stands for the Connes fusion product over the algebra assigned to the lower semi-circle $I_\_$. If time permits, I will discuss some (anticipated) applications of this isomorphism, for example in string geometry, or in the construction of the free fermion extended topological field theory.

Harmonic analysis on the multiplicative group of positive rational numbers (ℚ+) has not been part of the common quantum-theoretic toolkit. In this talk, I will discuss how it lends itself to the analysis of operators in ℓ2(ℕ), in some cases leading to spectacular new insights into their spectral properties. I will also discuss its application in a study of the Bose-Hubbard model, i.e. a model of an array of bosons with the nearest-neighbour interactions. The Fourier transform on ℚ+ uncovers the model's unobvious symmetries and surprising connections with other structures. In addition, I will report a rigorous, albeit computer-assisted, proof of the existence of quantum phase transitions in finite quantum systems of this type. The study of the Bose-Hubbard model has been carried out in collaboration with Prof. Jonas Fransson (Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Uppsala).

A central question in quantum information theory is to determine physical resources required for quantum computational speedup. In the model of quantum computation with magic states classical simulation algorithms based on quasi-probability distributions, such as discrete Wigner functions, are used to study this question. For quantum systems of odd local dimension it has been known that negativity in the Wigner function can be seen as a computational resource. The case of qubits, however, resisted a similar approach for some time since the nice properties of Wigner functions for odd dimensional systems no longer hold for qubits. In our recent work we construct a hidden variable model, which replaces the Wigner function representation, for qubit systems where any quantum state can be represented by a probability distribution over a finite state space and quantum operations correspond to Bayesian update of the probability distribution. When applied to the model of quantum computation with magic states the size of the state space only depends on the number of magic states. This is joint work with Michael Zurel and Robert Raussendorf; Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 260404 (2020).

Majorana fermions -- charge-neutral spin-1/2 particles that are their own antiparticles -- have been detected in one- and two-dimensional topological superconductors. Due to the non-Abelian exchange statistics that they obey, Majorana fermions open the door to new and powerful methods of quantum information processing. Motivated by the recent experimental discovery of superconductivity in a quasicrystal, we study the possible occurrence of non-Abelian topological superconductivity (TSC) in two-dimensional quasicrystals by the same mechanism as in crystalline counterparts. We show that the TSC phase can be realised in Penrose and Ammann-Beenker quasicrystals, where the Bott index is unity. Furthermore, we confirm the existence of Majorana zero modes along the surfaces and in a vortex at the centre of the system, consistently with the bulk-boundary correspondence.

I will discuss recent results in the theory of symmetry-enriched topological phases, with a focus on the (2+1) case. I will review the classification of symmetry-enriched topological order and present general formula to compute relative 't Hooft anomaly for bosonic topological phases. I will also discuss partial results for fermionic topological phases and open questions.