Quantum geometrical properties of topological materials

TL;DR

This paper explores the quantum geometric properties of topological insulators and superconductors using Dirac models, revealing universal features like constant Ricci scalar and satisfying Einstein's equations in momentum space.

Contribution

It demonstrates that certain geometric properties of topological materials are universal and independent of band gap, linking quantum geometry with differential geometry and Einstein's equations.

Findings

Ricci scalar is constant in the Brillouin zone

Vacuum Einstein equation is satisfied in 3D with a finite cosmological constant

Geometrical properties are independent of band gap in linear Dirac models

Abstract

The momentum space of topological insulators and topological superconductors is equipped with a quantum metric defined from the overlap of neighboring valence band states or quasihole states. We investigate the quantum geometrical properties of these materials within the framework of Dirac models and differential geometry. The Ricci scalar is found to be a constant throughout the whole Brillouin zone, and the vacuum Einstein equation is satisfied in 3D with a finite cosmological constant. For linear Dirac models, several geometrical properties are found to be independent of the band gap, including the straight line geodesic, constant volume of the curved momentum space, exponential decay form of the nonlocal topological marker, and unity Euler characteristic in 2D, indicating the peculiar yet universal quantum geometrical properties of these models.