Many-body generalization of the Z2 topological invariant for the quantum spin Hall effect
Abstract
We propose a many-body generalization of the Z2 topological invariant for the
quantum spin Hall insulator, which does not rely on single-particle band
structures. The invariant is derived as a topological obstruction that
distinguishes topologically distinct many-body ground states on a torus. It is
also expressed as a Wilson-loop of the SU(2) Berry gauge field, which is
quantized due to the time-reversal symmetry.