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"Zoo of quantum-topological phases of matter", Xiao-Gang Wen, 2017

Reviewed April 16, 2025

Citation: Wen, Xiao-Gang. "Colloquium: Zoo of quantum-topological phases of matter." Reviews of Modern Physics 89.4 (2017): 041004.

Web: https://arxiv.org/abs/1610.03911

Tags: Physical, Expository, Pedagogical, SPT/SETs, Higher-dimensional


In this lovely review article, Xiao-Gang Wen gives a tour of topological quantum order. He talks about bosonic topological order, fermionic topological order, and SPT order in dimensions 1, 2, and 3. He gives a lot of nice tables with lists of known topological states with references, giving an overview of their most essential properties. It's a great place to go for people who want to appreciate the diversity of topological phases and their overall physical picture, without having to dive into any mathematics or formalism specific to some specific type of topological phase.

If you're confused about how all the different notions of topological order fit together, this is definitely the right place for you.