Topology of the planar phase of superfluid $^3$He and bulk-boundary correspondence for three dimensional topological superconductors

Abstract

We provide topological classification of possible phases with the symmetry of the planar phase of superfluid $^3$He. Compared to the B-phase (class DIII in classification of Altland and Zirnbauer), it has an additional symmetry, which modifies the topology. We analyze the topology in terms of explicit mappings from the momentum space and also discuss explicitly topological invariants for the B-phase. We further show, how the bulk-boundary correspondence for the 3D B-phase can be inferred from that for the 2D planar phase. A general condition is derived for the existence of topologically stable zero modes at the surfaces of 3D superconductors with class DIII symmetries.