Caroline S. Gorham and David E. Laughlin
arxiv [hep-th], 2019
Publication year: 2019

Recently, generalizations of quantum Hall effects (QHE) have been made from 2D to 4D and 8D by consider- ing their mathematical frameworks within complex (C), quaternion (H) and octonion (O) compact (gauge) Lie algebra domains. Just as QHE in two-dimensional electron gases can be understood in terms of Chern number topological invariants that belong to the first Chern class, QHE in 4D and 8D can be understood in terms of Chern number topological invariants that belong to the 2nd and 4th Chern classes. It has been shown that 2D QHE phenomena are related to topologically-ordered ground states of Josephson junction arrays (JJAs), which map onto an Abelian gauge theory with a periodic topological term that describes charge-vortex coupling. In these 2D JJAs, magnetic point defects and Cooper pair electric charges are dual to one another via electric-magnetic duality (Montonen-Olive). This leads to a quantum phase transition between phase-coherent superconductor and dual phase-incoherent superinsulator ground states, at a “self-dual” critical point. In this article, a framework for topological-ordering of Bose-Einstein condensates is extended to consider four-dimensional quaternion ordered systems that are related to 4D QHE. This is accomplished with the incorporation of a non-Abelian topological term that describes coupling between third homotopy group point defects (as generalized magnetic vortices) and Cooper pair-like charges. Point defects belonging to the third homotopy group are dual to charge excitations, and this leads to the manifestation of a quantum phase transition between orientationally-ordered and orientationally-disordered ground states at a “self-dual” critical point. The frustrated ground state in the vicinity of this “self-dual” critical point, are characterized by global topological invariants belonging to the 2nd Chern class.

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