01478nas a2200169 4500008004100000022001400041245008500055210006900140260000800209300001200217490000700229520096100236100002301197700002101220700002101241856004601262 2016 eng d a1424-066100aConstruction of Real-Valued Localized Composite Wannier Functions for Insulators0 aConstruction of RealValued Localized Composite Wannier Functions cJan a63–970 v173 a

We consider a real periodic Schrödinger operator and a physically relevant family of $m \geq 1$ Bloch bands, separated by a gap from the rest of the spectrum, and we investigate the localization properties of the corresponding composite Wannier functions. To this aim, we show that in dimension $d\leq 3$, there exists a global frame consisting of smooth quasi-Bloch functions which are both periodic and time-reversal symmetric. Aiming to applications in computational physics, we provide a constructive algorithm to obtain such a Bloch frame. The construction yields the existence of a basis of composite Wannier functions which are real-valued and almost-exponentially localized. The proof of the main result exploits only the fundamental symmetries of the projector on the relevant bands, allowing applications, beyond the model specified above, to a broad range of gapped periodic quantum systems with a time-reversal symmetry of bosonic type.

1 aFiorenza, Domenico1 aMonaco, Domenico1 aPanati, Gianluca uhttps://doi.org/10.1007/s00023-015-0400-600906nas a2200157 4500008004100000022001400041245004500055210004400100260000800144300001400152490000700166520048600173100002300659700002000682856004600702 2016 eng d a1572-909500at-Structures are Normal Torsion Theories0 atStructures are Normal Torsion Theories cApr a181–2080 v243 a

We characterize $t$-structures in stable ∞-categories as suitable quasicategorical factorization systems. More precisely we show that a $t$-structure $\mathcal{t}$ on a stable $\infty$-category $\mathbb{C}$ is equivalent to a normal torsion theory $\mathbf{F}$ on $\mathbb{C}$, i.e. to a factorization system $\mathbf{F} = (\mathcal{\epsilon}, \mathcal{M})$ where both classes satisfy the 3-for-2 cancellation property, and a certain compatibility with pullbacks/pushouts.

1 aFiorenza, Domenico1 aLoregian, Fosco uhttps://doi.org/10.1007/s10485-015-9393-z01400nas a2200169 4500008004100000022001400041245007000055210006900125260000800194300001600202490000800218520089300226100002301119700002101142700002101163856004601184 2016 eng d a1432-091600aZ2 Invariants of Topological Insulators as Geometric Obstructions0 aZ2 Invariants of Topological Insulators as Geometric Obstruction cMay a1115–11570 v3433 a

We consider a gapped periodic quantum system with time-reversal symmetry of fermionic (or odd) type, i.e. the time-reversal operator squares to $-\mathbb{1}$. We investigate the existence of periodic and time-reversal invariant Bloch frames in dimensions 2 and 3. In 2d, the obstruction to the existence of such a frame is shown to be encoded in a $\mathbb{Z}_2$-valued topological invariant, which can be computed by a simple algorithm. We prove that the latter agrees with the Fu-Kane index. In 3d, instead, four $\mathbb{Z}_2$ invariants emerge from the construction, again related to the Fu-Kane-Mele indices. When no topological obstruction is present, we provide a constructive algorithm yielding explicitly a periodic and time-reversal invariant Bloch frame. The result is formulated in an abstract setting, so that it applies both to discrete models and to continuous ones.

1 aFiorenza, Domenico1 aMonaco, Domenico1 aPanati, Gianluca uhttps://doi.org/10.1007/s00220-015-2552-0