Real space renormalization group and the emergence of topological order

Michael Levin
Harvard University

In my talk I will describe a simple real space renormalization group method for general two dimensional lattice models. I will show that the fixed points of this RG flow are in exact correspondence with the different topological phases in (1+1) dimensions. This suggests an appealing physical picture for the emergence of topological order in (1+1) dimensions, as well as an accurate quantitative method for analyzing these phases and phase transitions. I will end with a discussion of the generalization to (2+1) dimensions.

Audio (MP3 File, Podcast Ready) Presentation (PowerPoint File)

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