Kitaev Model

Michele Burrello
SISSA
Firenze, September 3, 2008
Contents
1
Kitaev model
Majorana Operators
Exact Solution
Spectrum and phase diagram
2
Gapped Abelian Phase
3
Magnetic Field: NonAbelian Phase
Spectral Gap
Edge Modes
Non-Abelian Anyons
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Anyons and topological quantum computation
Quantum phenomena do not occur in a Hilbert space. They
occur in a laboratory
Asher Peres
Local errors, thermic noise and decoherence are considered the
main obstacles in the realization of a quantum computer
Topological properties of physical systems seem to be one of the
best answer to overcome those problems
Qubits encoded in topological states insensitive to local
perturbations
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Introduction
The aim of this talk is to study an example of anyonic system
realized through a particular honeycomb spin lattice.
The study of the Kitaev model will allow us to understand the main
features of non-abelian anyons and well analyze the interplay
between a simple anyonic theory dened by fusion and braiding rules
and the conformal eld theory of the Ising model (M
3
).
Main features of anyonic systems:
Energy gaps which allow the existence of local excitations
(exponential decay of correlators)
Topological Quantum Numbers which make such excitations
stable (anyons as topological defects: for example vortices)
Topological Order
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
The Model
Alexei Kitaev, Anyons in an exactly solved model and beyond, arXiv: cond-mat/0506438v3
H = J
x

xlinks

x
j

x
k
J
y

ylinks

y
j

y
k
J
z

zlinks

z
j

z
k
H =

j n.n. k
J
jk
K
jk
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Plaquettes: Integrals of Motion
W
p
=
x
1

y
2

z
3

x
4

y
5

z
6
= K
12
K
23
K
34
K
45
K
56
K
61
Commutation rules:
[K
ij
, W
p
] = 0 i, j, p [H, W
p
] = 0 , [W
q
, W
p
] = 0 q, p
To nd the eigenstates of the Hamiltonian it is convenient to divide the
total Hilbert space in sectors - eigenspaces of W
p
:
H =
w
1
,...,w
m
H
w
1
,...,w
m
For every n vertices there are m = n/2 plaquettes.
There are 2
n/2
sectors of dimension 2
n/2
.
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Majorana operators
To describe the spins one can use annihilation and creation fermionic
operators
_
a

, a

, a

, a

_
. It is also possible to dene their self adjoint
linear combinations:
c
2k1
= a
k
+ a

k
c
2k
= i
_
a
k
a

k
_
The Majorana operators c
j
dene a Clifford algebra:
{c
i
, c
j
} = 2
ij
Using these operators we are doubling the fermionic Fock space:
{| , |}
_
|00

, |11

, |01

, |10

_
We need a projector onto the physical space.
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
From Majorana to spin operators
For each vertex on the lattice we dene:
b
x
= a

+a

, b
y
= i
_
a

_
, b
z
= a

+a

, c = i
_
a

_
We can write:

x
= ib
x
c,
y
= ib
y
c,
z
= ib
z
c, D = i
x

z
= b
x
b
y
b
z
c
D is the gauge operator :
[D,

] = 0
Over the physical space D = 1 and the projector over the physical
space is:
P
phys
=

j
_
1 + D
j
2
_
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Kitaev model
Using the Majorana operators we can rewrite:
K
jk
=

k
=
_
ib

j
c
j
_
(ib

k
c
k
) = iu
jk
c
j
c
k
with u
jk
ib

j
b

k
And the Hamiltonian reads:
H =
i
4

j,k
A
jk
c
j
c
k
with A
jk

_
2J

jk
u
jk
if j and k are connected
0 otherwise
u
jk
= u
kj
A
jk
= A
kj
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
u
ij
operators
u
ij
are hermitian operators such that:
u
ij
commute with each other
u
ij
commute with H and have eigenvalues u
ij
= 1
We can study the Hamiltonian in an eigenspace of all the
operators u
jk
u
ij
is not gauge invariant: we need to project onto the physical
subspace.
D
j
changes the signs of the three operators u
jl
linked with j.
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Gauge invariant operators
Wilson loop over each plaquette:
w
p
=

(j,k)p
u
jk
Where j is in the even sublattice and k on the odd one.
Path operator:
W (j
0
, ..., j
n
) = K
j
n
j
n1
...K
j
1
j
0
=
_
n

s=1
iu
j
s
j
s1
_
c
n
c
0
u
jk
can be considered a Z
2
gauge eld and w
p
is the magnetic
ux through a plaquette.
If w
p
= 1 we have a vortex and a Majorana fermion moving
around p acquires a 1 phase.
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Quadratic Hamiltonian
H (A) =
i
4

j,k
A
jk
c
j
c
k
where A is a real skew-symmetric 2m2m matrix. Through a
transformation Q O(2m) we obtain:
H =
i
2
m

k=1

k
b

k
b

k
with:
(b

1
, b

1
, ..., b

m
, b

m
) = (c
1
, c
2
, ..., c
2m1
, c
2m
) Q
and:
A = Q
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
0
1

1
0
.
.
.
0
m

m
0
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
Q
T
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Quadratic Hamiltonian
H can be diagonalized using creation and annihilation operators:
H =
i
2
m

k=1

k
b

k
b

k
=
m

k=1

k
_
a

k
a
k

1
2
_
with:
_
a

a
_
=
1
2
_
1 i
i 1
__
b

_
It is possible to dene a spectral projector P onto the negative
eigenvectors of A which identies the ground state:
P =
1
2

Q
_
I iI
iI I
_

Q
T

j
P
kj
c
j
|
GS
= 0 k
a

a = cPc
GS
|c
j
c
k
|
GS
= P
kj
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Spectrum
In the physical space the energy minimum is reached in the
vortex free conguration (w
p
= 1 p).
We can consider the coupling between unit cells:
H (q) =
i
2
A(q) =
_
0 if (q)
if

(q) 0
_
f (q) =
_
J
x
e
iqn
1
+ J
y
e
iqn
2
+ J
z
_
Spectrum: (q) = |f (q)|
(q) vanishes for some q iff the triangle inequalities hold:
|J
x
| |J
y
| +|J
z
| |J
y
| |J
z
| +|J
x
| |J
z
| |J
x
| +|J
y
|
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Phase diagram
Phase B is gapless: there are two values q
0
such that
(q
0
) = 0
B acquires a gap in presence of an external magnetic eld
Phases A are gapped and are related by rotational symmetry
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Gapped Phases
In a gapped phase A correlations decay exponentially. There are
no long range interactions.
Local and distant particles can interact topologically. (Braiding
Rules)
We need to identify the right (stable and local) particles
(Superselection Sectors)
We will apply a perturbation theory study to reduce the Kitaev
model to the Toric model
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Phase A
z
: Perturbation Theory
Let us suppose J
z
J
x
, J
y
and J
z
> 0.
H
0
= J
z

zlinks

z
j

z
k
, V = J
x

xlinks

x
j

x
k
J
y

ylinks

y
j

y
k
The strong zlinks in the original model (a) become effective spins
(b) and can be associated with the links of a new lattice (c).
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Phase A
z
, J
z
J
x
, J
y
: Perturbative results
The rst 3 orders in the perturbative expansion give just a shift in the
spectrum. The fourth order is:
H
(4)
eff
=
J
2
x
J
2
y
16J
3
z

p
W
eff
p
where:
W
p
=
x
1

y
2
. .

y
l

z
3

x
4

y
5
. .

y
r

z
6
W
eff
p
=
y
l

z
u

y
r

z
d
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Phase A
z
: Toric Code Hamiltonian
A. Kitaev, arXiv: quant-ph/9707021
Through unitary transformations the previous effective Hamiltonian
can be mapped onto the toric code Hamiltonian:
H
eff
= J
eff
_
_

vertices
A
s
+

plaquettes
B
p
_
_
with:
A
s
=

jstar(s)

x
j
, B
p
=

jboundary(p)

z
j
and:
[A
s
, B
p
] = [B
p
, B
q
] = [A
s
, A
r
] = 0
and the translational invariance is
broken.
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Excitations
Ground State:
A
s
| = +| B
p
| = +|
Excitations:
Electric charge e: A
s
|e
s
= |e
s

Magnetic vortex m: B
p
|m
p
= |m
p

Superselection sectors: I (vacuum), e, m, = e m

jt

z
j
To create a pair of m, or move an m through a path
t

we must apply:
S
x
(t

) =

jt

x
j
e and m are bosons;
Moving an e around an m yields 1;
are fermions.
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Gapped Phases
We can translate these results into the original model.
e and m particles correspond to vortices that live in different rows:
e m =
e = m
m = e
e e = I
mm = I
= I
The Majorana fermions in the original model belong to the
superselection sector although they are not directly composed of e
and m (different energies between c and ).
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Phase B with Magnetic Field: NonAbelian Sector
Phase B is characterized by a gapless spectrum
Due to long range interactions there are no local and stable
excitations
To make phase B acquire a gap we need a perturbation
(breaking symmetry T)
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Effective Hamiltonian with Magnetic Field
Consider the case J
x
= J
y
= J
z
= J and the following perturbation:
V =

j
_
h
x

x
j
+ h
y

y
j
+ h
z

z
j
_
The third perturbative order is:
H
(3)
eff

h
x
h
y
h
z
J
2

j,k,l

x
j

y
k

z
l
And it contains terms of the following kind:

x
j

y
k

z
l
ic
j
c
k
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Effective Hamiltonian with Magnetic Field
H
eff
=
i
4

j,k
A
jk
c
j
c
k
A = 2J () + 2()

h
x
h
y
h
z
J
2
To nd the spectrum we consider the cell-coupling in momentum
representation:
iA(q) =
_
(q) if (q)
if

(q) (q)
_
, (q) =
_
(q)
2
+|f (q)|
2
f (q) = 2J
_
e
iqn
1
+ e
iqn
2
+ 1
_
, f (q
0
) = 0
(q) = 4(sin(qn
1
) sin(qn
2
) + sin(q (n
2
n
1
)))
The spectrum has a gap .
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Edge Modes and Chern Number
If we consider a nite system with a magnetic eld, we can show
that the Kitaev model has massless fermionic edge modes.
They are chiral Majorana fermions and are similar to the edge
modes in a Quantum Hall system.
Their existence and their spectrum can be deduced from a
truncated Hamiltonian
Starting from the projector onto the negative energy states P (q)
we can dene a Chern Number which is linked to the number
of Majorana modes:
= (n. of left movers n. of right movers) = 1
the sign depends on the direction of the magnetic eld.
It is possible to show that:

2
= c

c c
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Bulk/Edge correspondence
With a magnetic ux the particles in the system acquire a mass.
We can study their properties depending on = 1.
Superselection sectors:
I: vacuum
: fermion (massive)
: vortex (carrying an unpaired Majorana mode)
These particles can be put in correspondence with elds of the
kind ( + ix), acting on the edge
are described by holomorphic or antiholomorphic CFTs
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Non-Abelian Fusion Rules
In the bulk the massive fermion can be described by two
coupled Majorana modes (quantum Hall analogy).
H = i

j,k
A
j,k
a

j
a
k
=
i
4

j,k
A
j,k
_
c

j
c

k
+ c

j
c

k
_
with c hermitian (Clifford algebra).
It is possible to show that, if = 1, every vortex must carry
an unpaired Majorana mode.
If two vortices fuse, they either annihilate completely, or leave a
fermion behind.
Fusion rules:
= I, = , = I +
These are the well known fusion rules of the Ising model M
3
!
We can identify every superselection sector with an edge eld:
= +1 : I = (0, 0) =
_
1
2
, 0
_
=
_
1
16
, 0
_
= 1 : I = (0, 0) =
_
0,
1
2
_
=
_
0,
1
16
_
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Non-Abelian Anyons
= I +
A pair of vortices can be in two different states:
d

2
This is the characteristic feature of nonabelian anyons.
The braiding rule of two particles depends on their state (I or
).
Each vortex
p
carries an unpaired Majorana mode C
p
.
To study the braiding rule we use a gauge invariant path
operator:
W (l
p
) = C
p
c
0
where c
0
is located in a reference point.
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
R

Braiding rule
RW (l
1
) R

= W (l

1
) = W (l
2
)
RW (l
2
) R

= W (l

2
) = W (l
1
)
W (l
1
) W (l

2
) = 1
_
RC
1
R

= C
2
RC
2
R

= C
1
R = e

4
C
1
C
2
The two possible states of must be identied with the
eigenstates of C
1
C
2
:
C
1
C
2
|

I
= i|

I
C
1
C
2
|

= i|

with = 1
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Braiding and Topological spin
From the previous results:
R

I
= e
i/4
R

= e
i/4
where is a phase.
From CFT and the denition of topological spin we know that:
e
2i
(
h

h
)
= d
1

(R

I
+ R

)
so that a possible solution is:
= = e
i/8
There are 8 possible solutions given by
8
= 1.
They can be classied using nontrivial braiding rules and
associativity relations (pentagon and hexagon equations).
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Conclusions
The Kitaev model can be exactly solved through the
decomposition in Majorana operators
We can distinguish two different phases: a gapped spectrum
phase and a gapless one
To study anyons we need an energy gap. We studied the gapped
spectrum phase to nd e, m and particles
The gapless phase acquires a mass in presence of a magnetic
eld. In this case we can identify non-abelian anyonic excitations
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
References

A. Kitaev, Anyons in an exactly solved model and beyond

A. Kitaev, Fault tolerant quantum computation by anyons

12
2
To show it we consider the mapping on the cylinder (periodic in time):
z (w) = e
2i(v+ix)
v
w = v + ix
Stress tensor:
T (w) =

2
c
6v
2

2
I = P =
v
2
2

T

T
_
=
c

12
2
I
l
=
_
n(q) (q) v (q)
dq
2
=
1
2

_
0
d
1 + e

=

24
2
c

=

2
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model
Appendix: Chern Number
The Chern number is a topological quantity characterizing a 2D
system of free fermions with an energy gap:
=
1
2i
_
Tr
_
P (q)
_
P
q
x
P
q
y

P
q
y
P
q
x
__
dq
x
dq
y
This quantity is linked to edge modes on a cylinder: when the energy
(q
x
) of an edge mode crosses zero, P (q
x
) changes by | |. For
an edge observable Q we have:
1 | Q| =
_
Tr
_
Q
P
q
x
_
dq
x
For a quantum Hall system the Chern number coincides with the
lling factor. This can be shown calculating the conductance
through Kubos formula.
Michele Burrello Kitaev Model