arXiv subjects

Nandagopal Manoj

Publications and source records attributed to Nandagopal Manoj.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Gapped Parent Hamiltonians for the Strongly Deformed Toric Code

Local non-unitary deformations of topologically ordered wavefunctions can drive transitions into peculiar states that challenge modern perspectives on gapped quantum matter. The strongly deformed toric code offers a curious case, hosting $m$ anyon condensation alongside perimeter-law scaling of Wilson loops charged under an exact 1-form symmetry---properties that typically do not coexist in gapped ground states. Nevertheless, we rigorously construct local gapped parent Hamiltonians for these strongly deformed toric code states. The Hamiltonians we construct are not strictly finite-range, but contain sums of Wilson loop operators whose coefficients decay exponentially in their diameter. If one adopts standard locality bounds used to define gapped phases---which allow for such exponentially decaying terms---our construction shows that these states realize a trivial gapped phase. Within this locality class, we demonstrate that perimeter-law scaling of Wilson loops does not imply a spontaneously broken 1-form symmetry, and from a dual perspective, that long-range ferromagnetic order and perimeter-law disorder parameter correlations can coexist in a 2D gapped ground state. We evade a recent no-go theorem [Sahay et al., arXiv:2503.01977] by relaxing its assumptions in a manner that we quantify as benign in the thermodynamic limit. More broadly, our results highlight that stronger notions of locality are necessary for prohibiting these counterintuitive properties within a gapped phase.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2026

Long-range deformations in Gaussian States

Imaginary-time evolution by a local Hamiltonian cannot induce a phase transition in one dimension, but longer-range interactions may subvert such constraints. Starting from the ground state of the Kitaev Majorana chain, we modify the wave function by an imaginary-time evolution generated by a quadratic Hamiltonian with power-law couplings that enhance pairing correlations, typically of the form $1/r^{\alpha}$, where $r$ is the distance between two sites. As the state remains Gaussian, entanglement and correlation functions can be computed analytically. We find that the decay exponent $\alpha$ controls three distinct infrared regimes: for $\alpha>1$, the deformation produces only smooth crossovers at finite deformation strength, while the topological regime is reached only asymptotically as the deformation strength tends to infinity. At $\alpha=1$, the deformation induces an immediate flow to the topological phase: an infinitesimal deformation strength drives the system to a topological regime, and in a particular case, an emergent Kramers-Wannier symmetry enforces Ising-like scaling at long distances. For $\alpha<1$, the deformed state shows the same critical-like behavior for all non-zero deformation strength. We observe that even with arbitrarily long-range interactions, these models do not display a sharp phase transition at non-zero deformation strength.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2026

Non-Fermi liquid and Weyl superconductivity from the weakly interacting 3D electron gas at high magnetic fields

Three-dimensional electron gases in strong magnetic fields host partially flat bands that disperse along the field direction yet exhibit Landau-level quantization in the transverse dimensions. Early work established that for spin-polarized electrons confined to the lowest Landau level band, repulsion triggers a charge density wave (CDW) in which electrons 'self-layer' into integer quantum Hall states, while attraction generates a non-Fermi liquid (rather than a superconductor). We revisit this problem with physically motivated deformations -- including generalized local interactions, higher Landau level bands, restoration of spin, and explicit breaking of spatial symmetries -- paying particular attention to the competition between CDWs and superconductivity. Our main findings are: (1) Generic local interactions can stabilize a nematic CDW in which integer quantum Hall layers spontaneously 'tilt', yielding unconventional Hall response. (2) We numerically establish that the non-Fermi liquid appears stable to perturbations that preserve effective dipole conservation symmetries that emerge within a Landau level band. (3) Upon explicitly breaking translation symmetry, attraction catalyzes a novel layered superconductor that hosts Weyl nodes, superconducts within each layer, and insulates transverse to the layers. These results expand the rich phenomenology of interacting bulk electrons in the high-field regime and potentially inform the design of field-resistant superconductivity in low-carrier-density materials.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Probing Defects with Quantum Simulator Snapshots

Snapshots, i.e. projective measurements of local degrees of freedom, are the most standard data taken in experiments on quantum simulators. Snapshots are usually used to probe local physics. In this work we propose a simple protocol to experimentally probe physics of defects with these snapshots. Our protocol relies only on snapshots from the bulk system, without introducing the defect explicitly; as such, the physics of different kinds of defects can be probed using the same dataset. In particular, we demonstrate that with snapshots of local spin configurations of, for example, the $1d$ Rydberg atom realization of the quantum Ising criticality, we can (1) extract the ``defect entropy", and (2) access the continuous line of fixed points of effective defect conformal field theory, which was recently discussed in the context of the ``weak-measurement altered criticality".

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Non-commutative effective field theory of the lowest Landau level superfluid

A 2+1D superfluid in a rapidly rotating trap forms an array of vortices, with collective excitations called Tkachenko modes. Du et al. (2024) argued from an effective field theory viewpoint that these excitations are described by a field theory living on a non-commutative space. We elucidate the microscopic origin of these non-commutative fields, and present a novel derivation of the effective field theory for this superfluid using a lowest Landau level projected coherent state path integral approach. Besides conceptual clarity, this approach makes quantitative predictions about the long-wavelength, low-energy behavior in terms of the microscopic parameters of the short-range interacting lowest Landau level superfluid -- relevant to trapped Bose-Einstein condensate experiments.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Three-dimensional quantum Hall states as a chiral electromagnetic filter

Extensive research has explored the optical properties of topological insulating materials, driven by their inherent stability and potential applications. In this study, we unveil a novel functionality of three-dimensional integer quantum Hall (3D IQH) states as broad-band filters for circularly polarized light, particularly effective in the terahertz (THz) frequency range under realistic system parameters. We also investigate the impact of practical imperfections, demonstrating the resilience of this filtering effect. Our findings reveal that this phenomenon is independent of the microscopic origin of the 3D IQH state, prompting discussions on its feasibility across diverse candidate materials. These results contribute to our understanding of fundamental optical properties and hold promise for practical applications in optical technologies.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Arboreal Topological and Fracton Phases

We describe topologically ordered and fracton ordered states on novel geometries which do not have an underlying manifold structure. Using tree graphs such as the $k$-coordinated Bethe lattice ${\cal B}(k)$ and a hypertree called the $(k,n)$-hyper-Bethe lattice ${\cal HB}(k,n)$ consisting of $k$-coordinated hyperlinks (defined by $n$ sites), we construct multidimensional arboreal arenas such as ${\cal B}(k_1) \square {\cal B}(k_2)$ by the notion of a graph Cartesian product $\square$. We study various quantum systems such as the ${\mathbb Z}_2$ gauge theory, generalized quantum Ising models (GQIM), the fractonic X-cube model, and related X-cube gauge theory defined on these arenas. Even the simplest ${\mathbb Z}_2$ gauge theory on a 2d arboreal arena is fractonic -- the monopole excitation is immobile. The X-cube model on a 3d arboreal arena is fully fractonic, all multipoles are rendered immobile. We obtain variational ground state phase diagrams of these gauge theories. Further, we find an intriguing class of dualities in arboreal arenas as illustrated by the ${\mathbb Z}_2$ gauge theory defined on ${\cal B}(k_1) \square {\cal B}(k_2)$ being dual to a GQIM defined on ${\cal HB}(2,k_1) \square {\cal HB}(2,k_2)$. Finally, we discuss different classes of topological and fracton orders on arboreal arenas. We find three distinct classes of arboreal toric code orders on 2d arboreal arenas, those that occur on ${\cal B}(2) \square {\cal B}(2)$, ${\cal B}(k) \square {\cal B}(2), k >2$, and ${\cal B}(k_1) \square {\cal B}(k_2)$, $k_1,k_2>2$. Likewise, four classes of X-cube fracton orders are found in 3d arboreal arenas -- those on ${\cal B}(2)\square{\cal B}(2)\square {\cal B}(2)$, ${\cal B}(k) \square {\cal B}(2)\square {\cal B}(2), k>2$, ${\cal B}(k_1) \square {\cal B}(k_2) \square {\cal B}(2), k_1,k_2 >2$, and ${\cal B}(k_1) \square {\cal B}(k_2) \square {\cal B}(k_3), k_1,k_2,k_3 >2$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Screw dislocations in the X-cube fracton model

The X-cube model, a prototypical gapped fracton model, has been shown to have a foliation structure. That is, inside the 3+1D model, there are hidden layers of 2+1D gapped topological states. A screw dislocation in a 3+1D lattice can often reveal nontrivial features associated with a layered structure. In this paper, we study the X-cube model on lattices with screw dislocations. In particular, we find that a screw dislocation results in a finite change in the logarithm of the ground state degeneracy of the model. Part of the change can be traced back to the effect of screw dislocations in a simple stack of 2+1D topological states, hence corroborating the foliation structure in the model. The other part of the change comes from the induced motion of fractons or sub-dimensional excitations along the dislocation, a feature absent in the stack of 2+1D layers.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Tearing Fractons

We offer a fractonic perspective on a familiar observation -- a flat sheet of paper can be folded only along a straight line if one wants to avoid the creation of additional creases or tears. Our core underlying technical result is the establishment of a duality between the theory of elastic plates and a fractonic gauge theory with a second rank symmetric electric field tensor, a scalar magnetic field, a vector charge, and a symmetric tensor current. Bending moment and momentum of the plate are dual to the electric and magnetic fields, respectively. While the flexural waves correspond to the quadratically dispersing photon of the gauge theory, a fold defect is dual to its vector charge. Crucially, the fractonic condition constrains the latter to move only along its direction, i.e., the fold's growth direction. By contrast, fracton motion in the perpendicular direction amounts to tearing the paper.

cond-mat.str-el↗