Unsupervised learning of non-Abelian multi-gap topological phases

Abstract Recent experiments have successfully realized multi-band non-Abelian topological insulators with parity-time symmetry. Their topological classification transcends the conventional ten-fold classification, necessitating the use of non-Abelian groups, manifesting novel properties that cannot be described using integer topological invariants. The unique non-commutative multiplication of non-Abelian groups, along with the distinct topological classifications in the context of homotopy with or without a fixed base point, makes the identification of different non-Abelian topological phases more nuanced and challenging than in the Abelian case. In this work, we present an unsupervised learning method based on diffusion maps to classify non-Abelian multi-gap topological phases. The automatically adiabatic pathfinding process in our method can correctly sort the samples in the same phase even though they are not connected by adiabatic paths in the sample set. Most importantly, our method can deduce the multiplication table of the non-Abelian topological charges in a data-driven manner without requiring a priori knowledge. Additionally, our algorithm can provide the correct classifications for the samples within both the homotopy with and without a fixed base point. Our results provide insights for future studies on non-Abelian phases using machine learning approaches.