A note on the parity anomaly from the Hamiltonian point of view

The index theorems relate the gauge field and metric on a manifold to the solution of the Dirac equation on it. In the standard approach, the Dirac operator must be massless in order to make the chirality operator well-defined. In physics, however, the index theorem appears as a consequence of chiral anomaly, which is an explicit breaking of the symmetry. It is then natural to ask if we can understand the index theorems in a massive fermion system which does not have chiral s...

The low energy quasiparticle dispersion of various narrow gap and gapless semiconductors are respectively described by three dimensional massive and massless Dirac fermions. The three dimensional Dirac spinor structure admits a time-reversal invariant, odd parity and Lorentz pseudoscalar topological superconducting state. Here we derive the effective field theory of this topological paired state for massless Dirac fermions in the presence of a fluctuating Zeeman term, which a...

The surface states in three-dimensional (3D) topological insulators (TIs) can be described by a two-dimensional (2D) continuous Dirac Hamiltonian. However, there exists the Fermion doubling problem when putting the continuous 2D Dirac equation into a lattice model. In this letter, we introduce a Wilson term with a zero bare mass into the 2D lattice model to overcome the difficulty. By comparing with a 3D Hamiltonian, we show that the modified 2D lattice model can faithfully d...

The non-regularizability of free fermion field theories, which is the root of various quantum anomalies, plays a central role in particle physics and modern condensed matter physics. In this paper, we generalize the Nielsen-Ninomiya theorem to all minimal nodal free fermion field theories protected by the time reversal, charge conservation, and charge conjugation symmetries. We prove that these massless field theories cannot be regularized on a lattice.

In this work we analyze the low energy nonrelativistic limit of Dirac theory in the framework of effective field theory. By integrating out the high energy modes of Dirac field, given in terms of a combination of the two-components Weyl spinors, we obtain a low energy effective action for the remaining components, whose equation of motion can then be compared to the Pauli-Schr\"odinger equation after demanding normalization of the wave function. We then discuss the relevance ...

The half-quantized Hall conductance is characteristic of quantum systems with parity anomaly. Here we investigate topological and transport properties of a class of parity anomalous semimetals, in which massive Dirac fermions coexist with massless Dirac fermions in momentum space or real space, and uncovered a distinct bulk-edge correspondence that the half-quantized Hall effect is realized via the bulk massless Dirac fermions while the nontrivial Berry curvature is provided ...

The surface of a topological insulator is a closed two dimensional manifold. The surface states are described by the Dirac Hamiltonian in curved two dimensional spaces. For a slab-like sample with a magnetic field perpendicular to its top and bottom surfaces, there are chiral states delocalized on the four side faces. These "chiral sheets" carry both charge and spin currents. In strong magnetic fields the quantized charge Hall effect ($\s_{xy}=(2n+1)e^2/h$) will coexist with ...

A new formulation of fermions based on a second order action is proposed. An analysis of the $U(1)$ anomaly allows us to test the validity of the formalism at the quantum level. This formulation gives a new perpective to the introduction of parity non-invariant interactions.

Generalized Dirac monopoles in momentum space are constructed in even d+1 dimensions from the Weyl Hamiltonian in terms of Green's functions. In 3+1 spacetime dimensions, the (unit) charge of the monopole is equal to both the winding number and the Chern number, expressed as the integral of the Berry curvature. Based on the equivalence of the Chern and winding numbers, a chirally coupled field theory action is proposed for the Weyl semimetal phase. At the one loop order, the ...

Unconventional lattice fermions with high degeneracies beyond Weyl and Dirac fermions have attracted intensive attention in recent years. In this paper, attention is drawn to the pseudospin-1 Maxwell fermions and the $(2+1)$ dimensional parity anomaly, which goes beyond the scope of "fermion doubling theorem". We have derived the Hall conductivity of a single Maxwell fermion, and showcased each Maxwell fermion contributes a quantized Hall conductance $e^{2}/h$. We observe tha...