Interplay between excitons and topology

Detecting topological phase transitions in materials can be a challenge, typically requiring a detailed picture of the microscopic band structure, knowledge of wave function entanglement, as well as ground state degeneracy. However, it has been previously shown that examining the bulk exciton spectrum can be a means to read out a material's underlying topology. In this talk I will cover some main concepts of topology as they apply to condensed matter systems, and how we propose to measure changes to the topology by probing the exciton spectrum. This project so far has considered a toy model of bilayer MBT, an antiferromagnetic topological insulator; however, the hope is to discuss other material platforms where this interplay between excitons and topology may be realized.