Space group symmetry fractionalization in a family of exactly solvable models with Z2 topological order

TL;DR

This paper classifies which symmetry fractionalization patterns are realizable in a family of exactly solvable models with Z2 topological order on square lattices, identifying 487 realizable classes out of 2080 possible.

Contribution

It provides a complete realization and impossibility proof for symmetry classes in a family of Z2 topological models, clarifying the landscape of symmetry fractionalization.

Findings

487 symmetry classes realized in the models

82 classes realized with trivial space group action

A model that realizes all 64 fractionalization types for a single anyon

Abstract

We study square lattice space group symmetry fractionalization in a family of exactly solvable models with $\mathbb{Z}_2$ topological order in two dimensions. In particular, we have obtained a complete understanding of which distinct types of symmetry fractionalization (symmetry classes) can be realized within this class of models, which are generalizations of Kitaev's $\mathbb{Z}_2$ toric code to arbitrary lattices. This question is motivated by earlier work of A. M. Essin and one of us (M. H.), where the idea of symmetry classification was laid out, and which, for square lattice symmetry, produces 2080 symmetry classes consistent with the fusion rules of $\mathbb{Z}_2$ topological order. This approach does not produce a physical model for each symmetry class, and indeed there are reasons to believe that some symmetry classes may not be realizable in strictly two-dimensional systems, thus raising the question of which classes are in fact possible. While our understanding is limited to a restricted class of models, it is complete in the sense that for each of the 2080 possible symmetry classes, we either prove rigorously that the class cannot be realized in our family of models, or we give an explicit model realizing the class. We thus find that exactly 487 symmetry classes are realized in the family of models considered. With a more restrictive type of symmetry action, where space group operations act trivially in the internal Hilbert space of each spin degree of freedom, we find that exactly 82 symmetry classes are realized. In addition, we present a single model that realizes all $2^6 = 64$ types of symmetry fractionalization allowed for a single anyon species ($\mathbb{Z}_2$ charge excitation), as the parameters in the Hamiltonian are varied. The paper concludes with a summary and a discussion of two results pertaining to more general bosonic models.