Topological phase transitions driven by gauge fields in an exactly solvable model

TL;DR

This paper discovers a new topologically ordered phase in Kitaev's honeycomb model, driven by vortex lattices and characterized by Dirac fermions coupled to gauge fields, revealing novel phase transitions.

Contribution

It introduces a new topological phase induced by vortex lattices and analytically characterizes its phase transitions and critical behavior.

Findings

Existence of a new topologically ordered phase with chiral Abelian anyons

Identification of two distinct types of topological phase transitions

Analytical description of critical behavior and Fermi surface evolution

Abstract

We demonstrate the existence of a new topologically ordered phase in Kitaev's honeycomb lattice model. This new phase appears due to the presence of a vortex lattice and it supports chiral Abelian anyons. We characterize the phase by its low-energy behavior that is described by a distinct number of Dirac fermions. We identify two physically distinct types of topological phase transitions and obtain analytically the critical behavior of the extended phase space. The Fermi surface evolution associated with the transitions is shown to be due to the Dirac fermions coupling to chiral gauge fields. Finally, we describe how the new phase can be understood in terms of interactions between the anyonic vortices.