Symmetric approximant formalism for statistical topological matter

Abstract

The standard approach to characterizing topological matter, computing topological invariants, fails when the symmetry protecting the topological phase is preserved only on average in a disordered system. Because topological invariants rely on enforcing the symmetry exactly, they can overcount phases by incorrectly identifying certain non-robust features as robust. Moreover, in intrinsic statistical topological insulators, enforcing the symmetry exactly is guaranteed to destroy the topological phase. We define a mapping that addresses both issues and provides a unified framework for describing disordered topological matter.