Equilibrium Surface Current and Role of U(1) Symmetry: sum rule and surface perturbations

Abstract

We discuss effects of surface perturbations on equilibrium surface currents which contribute to orbital magnetization and orbital angular momentum in systems without time reversal symmetry. We show that, in a U(1) particle number conserving system, disorder and other perturbations at a surface do not affect the equilibrium surface current and corresponding orbital magnetization due to a sum rule which is analogous to Luttinger's theorem. On the other hand, for a superfluid, the sum rule is no longer applicable and hence the surface mass current and corresponding orbital angular momentum can depend on details of a surface.