Higher Forms and Dimensional Hierarchy in Topological Condensed Matter

Sammanfattning: This report discusses higher differential forms with applications in the study of topological phenomena. The integer quantum Hall effect is first discussed, demonstrating a connection between models on a lattice and quantum field theories bridged by a topological invariant, namely the Chern number. Next, for parametrized models on a lattice, the higher Berry curvature is described. This is a rank-(d + 2) differential form on a (d + 2)-dimensional parameter manifold which provides a relation between models in a bulk and on a lower-dimensional interface. Finally, a family of quantum field theories connected to a (d + 1)-dimensional manifold, termed a target space, is constructed. This connection is realized through the incorporation of a set of classical fields, and the effective action of the full field theories all contain a Wess-Zumino-Witten term given by the pullback of a rank-(d + 1) differential form from the target space to spacetime. By performing an extension of spacetime, a (d + 2)-form on a (d + 2)-dimensional target space is constructed in a similar way. Extending a theory in d dimensions thus yields a form on a target space of the same dimension as that of a (d + 1)-dimensional theory without extension, defining a dimensional hierarchy. The dimensional relations inherent in the two higher forms studied indicate the possibility of a relation between them.