Twisted boundary condition and Lieb-Schultz-Mattis ingappability for discrete symmetries

Abstract

We discuss quantum many-body systems with lattice translation and discrete onsite symmetries. We point out that, under a boundary condition twisted by a symmetry operation, there is an exact degeneracy of ground states if the unit cell forms a projective representation of the onsite discrete symmetry. Based on the quantum transfer matrix formalism, we show that, if the system is gapped, the ground-state degeneracy under the twisted boundary condition also implies a ground-state (quasi-)degeneracy under the periodic boundary conditions. This gives a compelling evidence for the recently proposed Lieb-Schultz-Mattis type ingappability due to the onsite discrete symmetry in two and higher dimensions.