Topological Order in the (2+1)D Compact Lattice Superconductor

Abstract

We study topological aspects of a compact lattice superconductor, and show that the characteristic energy splitting, $\Delta$, between almost degenerate ground states, is simply related to a novel order parameter $\tilde{W}$, which is closely related to large Wilson loops. Using Monte Carlo methods, we study the scaling properties of $\tilde{W}$ close to the deconfining phase transition, and conclude that $\Delta \sim e^{-L/\xi }$, where $L$ is the size of the system, thus giving quantitative support to the vortex tunneling scenario proposed by Wen.

7 pages, 3 figures

Cited by in corpus (1)

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