Topological phases with long-range interactions

Abstract

Topological phases of matter are primarily studied in systems with short-range interactions. In nature, however, non-relativistic quantum systems often exhibit long-range interactions. Under what conditions topological phases survive such interactions, and how they are modified when they do, is largely unknown. By studying the symmetry-protected topological phase of an antiferromagnetic spin-1 chain with $1/r^{\alpha}$ interactions, we show that two very different outcomes are possible, depending on whether or not the interactions are frustrated. While non-frustrated long-range interactions can destroy the topological phase for $\alpha\lesssim3$, the topological phase survives frustrated interactions for all $\alpha>0$. Our conclusions are based on strikingly consistent results from large-scale matrix-product-state simulations and effective-field-theory calculations, and we expect them to hold for more general interacting spin systems. The models we study can be naturally realized in trapped-ion quantum simulators, opening the prospect for experimental investigation of the issues confronted here.