The Arf-Brown-Kervaire invariant on a lattice

Abstract

We propose a lattice formulation of the Arf-Brown-Kervaire (ABK) invariant which takes values in $\mathbb{Z}_8$. Compared to the standard $\mathbb{Z}$-valued index, the ABK invariant is more involved in that it arises in Majorana fermion partition functions with reflection symmetry on two-dimensional non-orientable manifolds, and its definition contains an infinite sum over Dirac eigenvalues that requires proper regularization. We employ the massive Wilson Dirac operator, with and without domain-walls, on standard two-dimensional square lattices, and use its Pfaffian for the definition. Twisted boundary conditions and cross-caps, which reverse the orientation, are introduced to realize nontrivial topologies equipped with nontrivial $\mathrm{Pin}^{-}$ structures of Majorana fermions. We verify numerically (and partly analytically) that our formulation on a torus, Klein bottle, real projective plane (as well as its triple connected sum), and two types of M\"obius strip reproduces the known values in continuum theory.