HomeEventsSeminarsOthers 》 Content

Category theory in physics丨Introduction to category theory in physics: Anyon condensation and topological Wick rotation

2022-08-02 08:44:04
报告人 Rongge Xu 时间 14:00-15:30
地点 E4-201 2022
月日 08-05

Time: 14:00-15:30, Friday, August 5, 2022

Venue: E4-201, Yungu Campus, Westlake University


Speaker: Rongge Xu, a Ph.D student in Condensed Matter Theory Group, Westlake University

Title: Introduction to category theory in physics: Anyon condensation and topological Wick rotation


Abstract:

A topological phase transition of 2d topological orders with the same central charge is called "anyon condensation". Assume that a system of anyons which form a modular tensor category D, is obtained via an anyon condensation from another modular tensor category C. It turns out that D consists of all deconfined particles in C. We provide examples of anyon condensation in the toric code model and double Ising model.

The same condensation process also happens in spacetime, which is related to a mysterious process called "topological Wick rotation". After the topological Wick rotation, we obtain an enriched fusion category, which can describe the excitations in a gapless phase.