# Gravitational anomaly and topological phases

Since the quantum Hall effect, the notion of topological
phases of matter has been extended to those that are well-defined (or:

protected'') in the presence of a certain set of
symmetries, and that exist in dimensions higher than two. In the (fractional)
quantum Hall effects (and in chiral'' topological phases in general),
Laughlin's thought experiment provides a key insight into their topological
characterization; it shows a close connection between topological phases and
quantum anomalies.

By taking various examples, I will demonstrate that
quantum anomalies serve as a useful tool to diagnose (and even define)
topological properties of the systems.

For chiral topological phases in (2+1) dimensions and
(3+1) dimensional topological superconductors, I will discuss topological
responses of the system which involve a cross correlation between thermal
transport, angular momentum, and entropy. We also argue that gravitational
anomaly is useful to study symmetry protected topological phases in (2+1)
dimensions.

Collection/Series:
Event Type:
Seminar
Scientific Area(s):
Speaker(s):
Event Date:
Thursday, February 28, 2013 - 13:00 to 14:30
Location:
Bob Room