Single Dirac Fermions on a Lattice: A Unified View of Chiral and Parity Anomalies in Condensed Matter

Abstract

Quantum anomalies are usually formulated in continuum field theory, where regularization may violate a classical symmetry. In a crystal, the compact Brillouin zone and the high-energy bands make that ultraviolet completion physical. This Perspective develops a unified lattice view of chiral and parity anomalies through the problem of realizing a single massless Dirac fermion. The central motif is a finite low-energy region in which the relevant symmetry is restored, embedded in a high-energy sector that breaks the symmetry and completes the lattice theory. In $1+1$ and $3+1$ dimensions, the quantized chiral response is protected by local chiral symmetry near the Fermi surface. In $2+1$ dimensions, the half-integer Hall response belongs to a single massless Dirac band with mirror symmetry, not to a generic massive Dirac insulator that breaks the symmetry explicitly. In both cases the lattice perspective reveals how the low-energy symmetry emerges from the high-energy sector and protects the anomalous and quantized response. Recent experimental progress in quantum materials is discussed in light of this unified view.