Reduced Wannier representation for topological bands

TL;DR

This paper introduces a method to construct localized Wannier functions for topologically non-trivial bands by creating a reduced representation that captures essential topological features while breaking certain symmetries.

Contribution

The authors propose a novel procedure to generate reduced Wannier functions that span a subspace of topologically obstructed bands, enabling better understanding of topological properties in condensed matter systems.

Findings

Constructed reduced Wannier functions for topological bands.

Decomposed topological manifold into itinerant and trivial subspaces.

Applied method to Haldane and Kane-Mele models.

Abstract

Bands with non-trivial topological indices have a topological obstruction preventing them from being represented by exponentially localized Wannier states. Here, we propose a procedure to construct exponentially localized Wannier functions that span a subspace of topologically obstructed bands through the use of the projection method. These Wannier functions form what we refer to as a "reduced Wannier representation," indicating that the Wannier functions necessarily do not span the full topological manifold. By constructing supercells, we obtain reduced Wannier functions that break the primitive translational symmetry while capturing a substantial portion of the topologically obstructed manifold. This approach effectively decomposes the topological manifold into two subspaces: an itinerant subspace inheriting the topology and a localized trivial subspace represented by reduced Wannier functions. We consider the Haldane and Kane-Mele tight-binding models as the platforms for our investigation.