Title: An index for 2d invertible phases of quantum many-body systems
Abstract: I will discuss the classification of phases of quantum many-body systems at zero temperature in two dimensions. Under favorable circumstances, the edge modes of such systems can be described by a 1+1d conformal field theory. It is believed that the chiral central charge c_- of the theory is a robust characteristic of the phase that can be defined even when conformal symmetry is not present on the boundary, and there is no effective field theory description. In the talk, I will discuss a microscopic definition of the invariant c_- mod 24 for invertible phases. This invariant provides a generalization of the Chern number for gapped free fermionic systems to the interacting setting.
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