Topological invariant and cotranslational symmetry in strongly interacting multi-magnon systems

Abstract

It is still an outstanding challenge to characterize and understand the topological features of strongly interacting states such as bound-states in interacting quantum systems. Here, by introducing a cotranslational symmetry in an interacting multi-particle quantum system, we systematically develop a method to define a Chern invariant, which is a generalization of the well-known Thouless-Kohmoto-Nightingale-den Nijs invariant, for identifying strongly interacting topological states. As an example, we study the topological multi-magnon states in a generalized Heisenberg XXZ model, which can be realized by the currently available experiment techniques of cold atoms [Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{111}, 185301 (2013); Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{111}, 185302 (2013)]. Through calculating the two-magnon excitation spectrum and the defined Chern number, we explore the emergence of topological edge bound-states and give their topological phase diagram. We also analytically derive an effective single-particle Hofstadter superlattice model for a better understanding of the topological bound-states. Our results not only provide a new approach to defining a topological invariant for interacting multi-particle systems, but also give insights into the characterization and understanding of strongly interacting topological states.

26 papges, 6 figures