Efficient algorithm to compute the second Chern number in four dimensional systems

TL;DR

This paper introduces an efficient numerical algorithm for calculating the second Chern number in four-dimensional topological systems, crucial for understanding higher-dimensional quantum Hall effects and topological invariants.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel, efficient algorithm based on lattice gauge theory to compute the second Chern number in 4D systems, with demonstrated rapid convergence and applicability to relevant models.

Findings

Algorithm shows rapid convergence in simulations.

Successfully applied to 4D Dirac Hamiltonian.

Effective for modeling 4D quantum Hall effect.

Abstract

Topological insulators are exotic material that possess conducting surface states protected by the topology of the system. They can be classified in terms of their properties under discrete symmetries and are characterized by topological invariants. The latter has been measured experimentally for several models in one, two and three dimensions in both condensed matter and quantum simulation platforms. The recent progress in quantum simulation opens the road to the simulation of higher dimensional Hamiltonians and in particular of the 4D quantum Hall effect. These systems are characterized by the second Chern number, a topological invariant that appears in the quantization of the transverse conductivity for the non-linear response to both external magnetic and electric fields. This quantity cannot always be computed analytically and there is therefore a need of an algorithm to compute it numerically. In this work, we propose an efficient algorithm to compute the second Chern number in 4D systems. We construct the algorithm with the help of lattice gauge theory and discuss the convergence to the continuous gauge theory. We benchmark the algorithm on several relevant models, including the 4D Dirac Hamiltonian and the 4D quantum Hall effect and verify numerically its rapid convergence.