Symmetry and microscopic constraints on Hall conductances and a Wiedemann-Franz law: a view from the interface

Abstract

We introduce an unconventional regularization of condensed matter effective field theory by a non-local bulk topological regulator in one higher dimension, which is equivalent to a bulk-interface-bulk formulation. We show its necessity motivated by a (0+1)-dimensional system. Although the system can be strictly defined on the lattice in its own dimensions, the bulk regulator is important to derive its correct physical observables, which cannot be captured by any local regulator. We explicitly obtain a constraint on the thermal and electric integer Hall conductances of half-filled translation invariant $N$-flavor gapped fermionic system on a square lattice possessing a unique ground state with uniform rational magnetic fluxes per unit cell in the presence of the onsite $U(N)$ symmetry. The Wiedemann-Franz law is shown to be obeyed by the Hall conductances regardless of arbitrarily strong interactions. We further obtain no-go theorems on the possible symmetric gapped phases.