Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
Science. 2014 Apr 18;344(6181):280-3. doi: 10.1126/science.1248253. Epub 2014 Apr 3.
In contrast to ordinary symmetries, supersymmetry (SUSY) interchanges bosons and fermions. Originally proposed as a symmetry of our universe, it still awaits experimental verification. Here, we theoretically show that SUSY emerges naturally in condensed matter systems known as topological superconductors. We argue that the quantum phase transitions at the boundary of topological superconductors in both two and three dimensions display SUSY when probed at long distances and times. Experimental consequences include exact relations between quantities measured in disparate experiments and, in some cases, exact knowledge of the universal critical exponents. The topological surface states themselves may be interpreted as arising from spontaneously broken SUSY, indicating a deep relation between topological phases and SUSY.
与普通对称性不同，超对称性（SUSY）交换玻色子和费米子。最初被提议作为我们宇宙的对称性，它仍在等待实验验证。在这里，我们从理论上表明，SUSY 在被称为拓扑超导体的凝聚态系统中自然出现。我们认为，在二维和三维拓扑超导体的边界处的量子相变，在远距离和长时间探测时显示 SUSY。实验结果包括在不同实验中测量的量之间的精确关系，在某些情况下，对普遍临界指数的精确了解。拓扑表面态本身可以解释为自发破缺的 SUSY 产生的，表明拓扑相和 SUSY 之间存在深刻的关系。
