Topological Superconductors and Category Theory

Abstract

We give a pedagogical introduction to topologically ordered states of matter, with the aim of familiarizing the reader with their axiomatic topological quantum field theory description. We introduce basic noninteracting topological phases of matter protected by symmetries, including the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model and the one-dimensional p-wave superconductor. The defining properties of topologically ordered states are illustrated explicitly using the toric code and - on a more abstract level - Kitaev's 16-fold classification of two-dimensional topological superconductors. Subsequently, we present a short review of category theory as an axiomatic description of topological order in two-dimensions. Equipped with this structure, we revisit Kitaev's 16-fold way.