Clifford modules and symmetries of topological insulators

TL;DR

This paper completes the classification of symmetry constraints on gapped quadratic fermion Hamiltonians in topological insulators, linking symmetry classes to Clifford algebra structures and homotopy theory.

Contribution

It establishes a one-to-one correspondence between symmetry classes of fermion systems and Morita equivalence classes of Clifford algebras, extending Kitaev's classification.

Findings

Classifies symmetry constraints using Clifford modules.

Identifies a correspondence between symmetry classes and Clifford algebra classes.

Describes the homotopy type of the space of gapped symmetric Hamiltonians.

Abstract

We complete the classification of symmetry constraints on gapped quadratic fermion hamiltonians proposed by Kitaev. The symmetry group is supposed compact and can include arbitrary unitary or antiunitary operators in the Fock space that conserve the algebra of quadratic observables. We analyze the multiplicity spaces of {\em real} irreducible representations of unitary symmetries in the Nambu space. The joint action of intertwining operators and antiunitary symmetries provides these spaces with the structure of Clifford module: we prove a one-to-one correspondence between the ten Altland-Zirnbauer symmetry classes of fermion systems and the ten Morita equivalence classes of real and complex Clifford algebras. The antiunitary operators, which occur in seven classes, are projectively represented in the Nambu space by unitary "chiral symmetries". The space of gapped symmetric hamiltonians is homotopically equivalent to the product of classifying spaces indexed by the dual object of the group of unitary symmetries.