Integers in many-body quantum physics

Although integers are ubiquitous in quantum physics, they have different mathematical origins. In this colloquium, I will give a glimpse of how integers arise as either topological invariants or as analytic indices, as is the case in the so-called quantum Hall effect. I will explain the difficulties arising in extending well-known arguments when one relaxes the approximation that the particles effectively do not interact with each other in matter. Recent advances have made such realistic generalizations possible.