We study disordered topological insulators with time reversal symmetry. Relying on the noncommutative index theorem which relates the Chern number to the projection onto the Fermi sea and the magnetic flux operator, we give a precise definition of the $Z_2$ index which is a noncommutative analogue of the Atiyah-Singer $Z_2$ index. We prove that the noncommutative $Z_2$ index is robust against any time-reversal symmetric perturbation including disorder potentials as long as the spectral gap at the Fermi level does not close.
Categories: math-ph cond-mat.dis-nn cond-mat.mes-hall hep-lat hep-th math.MP