论文标题
时间逆转对称性受保护拓扑阶段的脆弱性
Fragility of Time-Reversal Symmetry Protected Topological Phases
论文作者
论文摘要
热力学的第二定律指出了“时间箭头”的存在，熵只会增加。尽管自然微观定律的时间反转对称性（TR），但仍会出现。在量子理论中，TRS为许多有趣的现象，最著名的拓扑绝缘子和量子磁体的Haldane阶段。在这里，我们证明了这种受TRS保护的效应从根本上是不稳定的，而不是与环境耦合。不论微观对称性如何，量子系统及其周围环境之间的相互作用有助于隔离系统中TRS禁止的过程。这不仅导致纠缠熵产生和宏观不可逆性的出现，还导致了受TRS保护现象的灭亡，包括与某些与某些对称性保护的拓扑相关的现象。我们的结果突出了量子力学中TRS的神秘性质，并阐明了利用拓扑系统用于量子技术的潜在挑战。
The second law of thermodynamics points to the existence of an `arrow of time', along which entropy only increases. This arises despite the time-reversal symmetry (TRS) of the microscopic laws of nature. Within quantum theory, TRS underpins many interesting phenomena, most notably topological insulators and the Haldane phase of quantum magnets. Here, we demonstrate that such TRS-protected effects are fundamentally unstable against coupling to an environment. Irrespective of the microscopic symmetries, interactions between a quantum system and its surroundings facilitate processes which would be forbidden by TRS in an isolated system. This leads not only to entanglement entropy production and the emergence of macroscopic irreversibility, but also to the demise of TRS-protected phenomena, including those associated with certain symmetry-protected topological phases. Our results highlight the enigmatic nature of TRS in quantum mechanics, and elucidate potential challenges in utilising topological systems for quantum technologies.
