Topological Description of (Spin) Hall Conductances on Brillouin Zone Lattices : Quantum Phase Transitions and Topological Changes

Abstract

It is widely accepted that topological quantities are useful to describe quantum liquids in low dimensions. The (spin) Hall conductances are typical examples. They are expressed by the Chern numbers, which are topological invariants given by the Berry connections of the ground states. We present a topological description for the (spin) Hall conductances on a discretized Brillouin Zone. At the same time, it is quite efficient in practical numerical calculations for concrete models. We demonstrate its validity in a model with quantum phase transitions. Topological changes supplemented with the transition is also described in the present lattice formulation.