We introduce a many-body topological invariant, called the topological disorder parameter (TDP), to characterize gapped quantum phases with global internal symmetry in
2+1 dimensions. TDP is defined as the constant correction that appears in the ground-state expectation value of a partial symmetry transformation applied to a connected spatial region
M, the absolute value of which scales generically as $exp(\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\alpha}l+\ensuremath{\gamma})$ where
l is the perimeter of
M and $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ is the TDP. Motivated by a topological quantum field theory interpretation of the operator, we show that ${e}^{\ensuremath{\gamma}}$ can be related to the quantum dimension of the symmetry defect, and provide a general formula for $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ when the entanglement Hamiltonian of the topological phase can be described by a (
1+1)-dimensional conformal field theory (CFT). A special case of TDP is equivalent to the topological R\'enyi entanglement entropy when the symmetry is the cyclic permutation of the replica of the gapped phase. We then investigate several examples of lattice models of topological phases, both analytically and numerically, in particular when the assumption of having a CFT edge theory is not satisfied. We also consider an example of partial translation symmetry in Wen's plaquette model and show that the result can be understood using the edge CFT. Our results establish an alternative tool to detect quantum topological order.
We discuss entanglement entropy of gapped ground states in different dimensions, obtained on partitioning space into two regions. For trivial phases without topological order, we argue that the entanglement entropy may be obtained by integrating an ``entropy density'' over the partition boundary that admits a gradient expansion in the curvature of the boundary. This constrains the expansion of entanglement entropy as a function of system size and points to an even-odd dependence on dimensionality. For example, in contrast to the familiar result in two dimensions, a size-independent constant contribution to the entanglement entropy can appear for trivial phases in any odd spatial dimension. We then discuss phases with topological entanglement entropy (TEE) that cannot be obtained by adding local contributions. We find that in three dimensions there is just one type of TEE, as in two dimensions, that depends linearly on the number of connected components of the boundary (the ``zeroth Betti number''). In
D>3 dimensions, new types of TEE appear which depend on the higher Betti numbers of the boundary manifold. We construct generalized toric code models that exhibit these TEEs and discuss ways to extract TEE in $D\ensuremath{\ge}3$.
Entanglement entropy (EE) provides a powerful probe of quantum phases, yet its role in identifying topological phase transitions in disordered systems remains underexplored. We introduce an exact EE-based framework that captures topological phase transitions even in the presence of disorder. Specifically, for a class of Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model variants, we show that the difference in EE between half-filled and near-half-filled ground states,ΔSA, vanishes in the topological phase but remains finite in the trivial phase, a direct consequence of edge-state localization. This behavior persists even in the presence of quasiperiodic or binary disorder. By analyzing domain-wall configurations in the SSH chain, we further show how subsystem tuning allows one to distinguish genuine topological zero-energy eigenstates from trivial localized states. Exact phase boundaries, derived from Lyapunov exponents via transfer matrices, agree closely with numerical results fromΔSAand the topological invariant𝓠, with instances whereΔSAoutperforms𝓠. Our results highlight EE as a robust diagnostic tool and a potential bridge between quantum information and condensed matter approaches to topological matter.
We discuss the entanglement spectrum of the ground state of a (1+1)-dimensional system in a gapped phase near a quantum phase transition. In particular, in proximity to a quantum phase transition described by a conformal field theory (CFT), the system is represented by a gapped Lorentz invariant field theory in the ``scaling limit'' (correlation length $\ensuremath{\xi}$ much larger than microscopic ``lattice'' scale ``
a''), and can be thought of as a CFT perturbed by a relevant perturbation. We show that for such (1+1) gapped Lorentz invariant field theories in infinite space, the low-lying entanglement spectrum obtained by tracing out, say, left half-infinite space, is precisely equal to the physical spectrum of the unperturbed gapless, i.e., conformal field theory defined on a finite interval of length ${L}_{\ensuremath{\xi}}=\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}ln(\ensuremath{\xi}/a)$ with certain boundary conditions. In particular, the low-lying entanglement spectrum of the gapped theory is the finite-size spectrum of a boundary conformal field theory, and is always discrete and universal. Each relevant perturbation, and thus each gapped phase in proximity to the quantum phase transition, maps into a particular boundary condition. A similar property has been known to hold for Baxter's corner transfer matrices in a very special class of fine-tuned, namely, integrable off-critical lattice models, for the entire entanglement spectrum and independent of the scaling limit. In contrast, our result applies to completely general gapped Lorentz invariant theories in the scaling limit, without the requirement of integrability, for the low-lying entanglement spectrum. While the entanglement spectrum of the ground state of a gapped theory on a finite interval of length
2R with suitable boundary conditions, bipartitioned into two equal pieces, turns out to exhibit a crossover between the finite-size spectra of the same CFT with in general different boundary conditions as the system size
R crosses the correlation length from the ``critical regime'' $R\ensuremath{\ll}\ensuremath{\xi}$ to the ``gapped regime'' $R\ensuremath{\gg}\ensuremath{\xi}$, the physical spectrum on a finite interval of length
R with the same boundary conditions, on the other hand, is known to undergo a dramatic reorganization during the same crossover from being discrete to being continuous.
We study one-component fermions in chain lattices with proximity-induced superconducting gap and interparticle short-range interaction, capable of hosting Majorana fermions. By systematically tracking various physical quantities, we show that topological states and topological phase transitions in the system can be identified by multiple signatures in thermodynamic quantities and pair-condensate properties, in good agreement with the known signatures in the ground-state energy and entanglement spectrum. We find the disappearance of the topological phase in a largely attractive regime, in which the system undergoes a first-order transition between two topologically trivial states. In addition, the stability of the signatures against finite size, disorder, and inhomogeneity is analyzed. Our results provide additional degrees of freedom for the characterization of topological states with interaction and for the experimental detection of emergent Majorana fermions.