Abstract
We discuss the classification of SPT phases in condensed matter systems. We review Kitaev’s argument that SPT phases are classified by a generalized cohomology theory, valued in the spectrum of gapped physical systems [20, 23]. We propose a concrete description of that spectrum and of the corresponding cohomology theory. We compare our proposal to pre-existing constructions in the literature.
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Gaiotto, D., Johnson-Freyd, T. Symmetry protected topological phases and generalized cohomology. J. High Energ. Phys. 2019, 7 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP05(2019)007
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP05(2019)007