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Updated: Aug 12, 2025
08:55
Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
Published on: June 7, 2018
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Fractionalization and Topology in Amorphous Electronic Solids
Sunghoon Kim1, Adhip Agarwala2,3,4, Debanjan Chowdhury1
1Department of Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
Physical Review Letters
|January 27, 2023
Summary
This study explores topology in amorphous materials with strong interactions. Researchers discovered new topological phases and exotic states of matter in these disordered systems.
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Materials Science
- Quantum Mechanics
Background:
- Band topology is typically studied using crystalline Bloch wave functions.
- Recent research shows topological properties persist in amorphous materials.
- The impact of strong interactions on amorphous topology remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of strong repulsive interactions on topological phases in amorphous materials.
- To explore correlation-induced phenomena in disordered electronic systems.
- To identify novel topological and Mott insulating phases in amorphous networks.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a parton-based mean-field approach.
- Analyzed a two-orbital electronic model with tunable topology.
- Investigated a two-dimensional amorphous network.
Main Results:
- Obtained the interacting phase diagram for the amorphous model.
- Identified amorphous analogs of crystalline Mott insulating phases with chiral neutral edge modes.
- Discovered a fractionalized Anderson insulating phase.
- Found topological phases connected to the free fermion limit.
Conclusions:
- Amorphous networks offer a novel platform for studying exotic states of matter.
- The interplay of topology, disorder, and strong interactions leads to rich physics.
- Glassy dynamics in these systems warrant further investigation.
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