Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1907.06216 · Physical review. B./Physical review. B

Classical criticality establishes quantum topological order

Mohammad Hossein Zarei, Afshin Montakhab

Published May 13, 2020• 8 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We establish an important duality correspondence between topological order in quantum many-body systems and criticality in ferromagnetic classical spin systems. We show how such a correspondence leads to a classical and simple procedure for characterization of topological order in an important set of quantum entangled states, namely the Calderbank-Shor-Steane (CSS) states. To this end, we introduce a particular quantum Hamiltonian which allows us to consider the existence of a topological phase transition from quantum CSS states to a magnetized state. We study the ground state fidelity in order to find nonanalyticity in the wave function as a signature of a topological phase transition. Since hypergraphs can be used to map any arbitrary CSS state to a classical spin model, we show that fidelity of the quantum model defined on a hypergraph $H$ is mapped to the heat capacity of the classical spin model defined on dual hypergraph $\stackrel{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}{H}$. Consequently, we show that a ferromagnetic-paramagnetic phase transition in a classical model is mapped to a topological phase transition in the corresponding quantum model. We also show that magnetization does not behave as a local order parameter at the transition point while the classical order parameter is mapped to a nonlocal measure on the quantum side, further indicating the nonlocal nature of the transition. Our procedure not only opens the door for identification of topological phases via the existence of a local and classical quantity, i.e., critical point, but also offers the potential to classify various topological phases through the concept of universality in phase transitions.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.101.205118

Related papers

Dual correspondence between classical spin models and quantum Calderbank-Shor-Steane states

Mohammad Hossein Zarei, Afshin Montakhab

The correspondence between classical spin models and quantum states has attracted much attention in recent years. However, it remains an open problem as to which specific spin model a given (well-known) quantum state maps. Here, we provide such an explicit correspondence for an important class of quantum states where a duality relation is proved between classical spin models and quantum Calderbank-Shor-Steane (CSS) states. In particular, we employ graph-theoretic methods to prove that the partition function of a classical spin model on a hypergraph $H$ is equal to the inner product of a product state with a quantum CSS state on a dual hypergraph $\stackrel{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}{H}$. We next use this dual correspondence to prove that the critical behavior of the classical system corresponds to a relative stability of the corresponding CSS state to bit-flip (or phase-flip) noise, thus called critical stability. We finally conjecture that such critical stability is related to the topological order in quantum CSS states, thus providing a possible practical characterization of such states.

arXiv:1710.01902•Physical Review A•Jul 31, 2018•15 citations

Ising order parameter and topological phase transitions: Toric code in a uniform magnetic field

Mohammad Hossein Zarei

A quantum Ising model in a transverse field is of the simplest quantum many-body systems used for studying universal properties of quantum phase transitions. Interestingly, it is well known that such phase transitions can be mapped to topological phase transitions in toric code models. Therefore, one can expect that well-known properties of the transverse Ising model are used for characterizing topological phase transitions in toric code models. In this paper, we consider the magnetization of the Ising model and show, while it is a local order parameter, it is mapped to a nonlocal order parameter on the topological side. Consequently, we introduce a string order parameter for topological phase transitions in toric code models defined on different lattices with different dimensions in the presence of a uniform magnetic field. Since such a string order parameter is dual of the Ising order parameter with well-known properties, it leads to a topological (nonlocal) characterization of phase transition in the toric code model in uniform field. Our results show that although topological phase transitions do not follow a symmetry-breaking mechanism, it might still be possible to use concepts of symmetry-breaking phase transitions for topological ones by finding suitable mappings.

arXiv:1907.06219•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Sep 25, 2019•18 citations

Noisy Toric code and random-bond Ising model: The error threshold in a dual picture

Mohammad Hossein Zarei, Abolfazl Ramezanpour

It is known that noisy topological quantum codes are related to random-bond Ising models where the order-disorder phase transition in the classical model is mapped to the error threshold of the corresponding topological code. On the other hand, there is a dual mapping between classical spin models and quantum Calderbank-Shor-Steane (CSS) states where the partition function of a classical model defined on a hypergraph $H$ is written as an inner product of a product state and a CSS state on dual hypergraph $\stackrel{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}{H}$. It is then interesting to see what the interpretation is of the classical phase transition in the random-bond Ising model within the framework of the above duality, and whether such an interpretation has any connection to the error threshold of the corresponding topological CSS code. In this paper, we consider the above duality relation specifically for a two-dimensional random-bond Ising model. We show that the order parameter of this classical system is mapped to a coherence order parameter in a noisy Toric code model. In particular, a quantum phase transition from a coherent phase to a noncoherent phase occurs when the initial coherent state is affected by two sequences of bit-flip quantum channels where a quenched disorder is induced by measurement of the errors after the first channel. On the other hand, the above transition is directly related to the error threshold of the Toric code model. Accordingly, and since the noisy process can be applied to other topological CSS states, we conclude that the dual correspondence can also provide a useful tool for the study of error thresholds in different topological CSS codes.

arXiv:1911.10494•Physical Review A•Dec 10, 2019•4 citations

Non-local order parameter for topological phase transition in the quantum toric code

Mohammad Hossein Zarei

It has been known that by encoding the Boltzmann weights of a classical Ising model in the amplitudes of the wave function of the ground state of the toric code model, the classical phase transition in Ising model is mapped to a topological phase transition in a perturbed toric code model. Since such topological phase transitions cannot be characterized by any local order parameter, it will be an important challenge to find an order parameter which describes the above topological phase transition. In this paper, using a simple technic based on mapping between classical Ising model and the ground state of the toric code model, we find a non-local order parameter which well reveals the topological nature of the above phase transition. We show that such an order parameter is, in fact, a kind of string order parameter which has been recently introduced for some topological phase transitions.

Iranian Journal of Physics Research•Jul 1, 2020•0 citations

Tensor network state approach to quantum topological phase transitions and their criticalities of Z2 topologically ordered states

Wen-Tao Xu, Guang-Ming Zhang

Due to the absence of local order parameters, it is a challenging task to characterize the quantum topological phase transitions between topologically ordered phases in two dimensions. In this paper, we construct a topologically ordered tensor network wave function with one parameter $\ensuremath{\lambda}$, describing both the toric code state $(\ensuremath{\lambda}=1)$ and double semion state $(\ensuremath{\lambda}=\ensuremath{-}1)$. Via calculating the correlation length defined from the one-dimensional quantum transfer operator of the wave function norm, we can map out the complete phase diagram in terms of the parameter $\ensuremath{\lambda}$, and three different quantum critical points (QCPs) at $\ensuremath{\lambda}=0,\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1.73$ are identified. The first one separates the toric code phase and double semion phase, while latter two describe the topological phase transitions from the toric code phase or double semion phase to the symmetry-breaking phase, respectively. When mapping the quantum tensor network wave function to the exactly solved statistical model, the norm of the wave function is identified as the partition function of the classical eight-vertex model, and both QCPs at $\ensuremath{\lambda}=\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1.73$ correspond to the eight-vertex model at the critical point $\ensuremath{\lambda}=\sqrt{3}$, while the QCP at $\ensuremath{\lambda}=0$ corresponds to the critical six-vertex model. Actually such a quantum-classical mapping cannot yield the complete low-energy excitations at these three QCPs. We further demonstrate that the full eigenvalue spectra of the transfer operators without/with the flux insertions can give rise to the complete quantum criticalities, which are described by the (2+0)-dimensional free boson conformal field theories (CFTs) compactified on a circle with the radius $R=\sqrt{6}$ at $\ensuremath{\lambda}=\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}\sqrt{3}$ and $R=\sqrt{8/3}$ at $\ensuremath{\lambda}=0$. From the complete transfer operator spectra, the finite-size spectra of the CFTs for the critical eight-vertex model are obtained, and the topological sectors of anyonic excitations are yielded as well. Furthermore, for the QCP at $\ensuremath{\lambda}=0$, no anyon condensation occurs, but the emerged symmetries of the matrix product operators significantly enrich the topological sectors of the CFT spectra. Finally, we provide our understanding of the (2+0)-dimensional conformal quantum criticalities and their possible connection with the generic (2+1)-dimensional CFTs for quantum topological phase transitions.

arXiv:1807.08490•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Oct 10, 2018•21 citations

Strong-weak coupling duality between two perturbed quantum many-body systems: Calderbank-Shor-Steane codes and Ising-like systems

Mohammad Hossein Zarei

Graphs and recently hypergraphs have been known as an important tool for considering different properties of quantum many-body systems. In this paper, we study a mapping between an important class of quantum systems, namely quantum Calderbank-Shor-Steane (CSS) codes, and Ising-like systems by using hypergraphs. We show that the Hamiltonian corresponding to a CSS code on a hypergraph $H$ which is perturbed by a uniform magnetic field is mapped to Hamiltonian of a Ising-like system on dual hypergraph $\stackrel{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}{H}$ in a transverse field. Interestingly, we show that a strong regime of couplings in one of the systems is mapped to a weak regime of couplings in another one. We also give some applications for such a mapping where we study robustness of different topological CSS codes against a uniform magnetic field including Kitaev's toric codes defined on graphs and color codes in different dimensions. We show that a perturbed Kitaev's toric code on an arbitrary graph is mapped to an Ising model in a transverse field on the same graph and a perturbed color code on a $D$ colex is mapped to a Ising-like model on a $D$-simplicial lattice in a transverse field. In particular, we use these results to explicitly compare the robustness of toric codes to uniform magnetic-field perturbations on different graphs. Interestingly, our results show that the robustness of such topological codes defined on graphs decreases with increasing dimension. Furthermore, we also use the duality mapping for some self-dual models where we exactly derive the point of phase transition.

arXiv:1710.02646•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Oct 26, 2017•11 citations
We establish an important duality correspondence between topological order in quantum many-body systems and criticality in ferromagnetic classical spin systems. We show how such a correspondence leads to a classical and simple procedure for characterization of topological order in an important set of quantum entangled states, namely the Calderbank-Shor-Steane (CSS) states. To this end, we introduce a particular quantum Hamiltonian which allows us to consider the existence of a topological phase transition from quantum CSS states to a magnetized state. We study the ground state fidelity in order to find nonanalyticity in the wave function as a signature of a topological phase transition. Since hypergraphs can be used to map any arbitrary CSS state to a classical spin model, we show that fidelity of the quantum model defined on a hypergraph HHH is mapped to the heat capacity of the classical spin model defined on dual hypergraph H\ifmmode~\else˜\fi\stackrel{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}{H}H\ifmmode~\else˜\fi​. Consequently, we show that a ferromagnetic-paramagnetic phase transition in a classical model is mapped to a topological phase transition in the corresponding quantum model. We also show that magnetization does not behave as a local order parameter at the transition point while the classical order parameter is mapped to a nonlocal measure on the quantum side, further indicating the nonlocal nature of the transition. Our procedure not only opens the door for identification of topological phases via the existence of a local and classical quantity, i.e., critical point, but also offers the potential to classify various topological phases through the concept of universality in phase transitions.
The correspondence between classical spin models and quantum states has attracted much attention in recent years. However, it remains an open problem as to which specific spin model a given (well-known) quantum state maps. Here, we provide such an explicit correspondence for an important class of quantum states where a duality relation is proved between classical spin models and quantum Calderbank-Shor-Steane (CSS) states. In particular, we employ graph-theoretic methods to prove that the partition function of a classical spin model on a hypergraph HHH is equal to the inner product of a product state with a quantum CSS state on a dual hypergraph $\stackrel{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}{H}$. We next use this dual correspondence to prove that the critical behavior of the classical system corresponds to a relative stability of the corresponding CSS state to bit-flip (or phase-flip) noise, thus called critical stability. We finally conjecture that such critical stability is related to the topological order in quantum CSS states, thus providing a possible practical characterization of such states.
A quantum Ising model in a transverse field is of the simplest quantum many-body systems used for studying universal properties of quantum phase transitions. Interestingly, it is well known that such phase transitions can be mapped to topological phase transitions in toric code models. Therefore, one can expect that well-known properties of the transverse Ising model are used for characterizing topological phase transitions in toric code models. In this paper, we consider the magnetization of the Ising model and show, while it is a local order parameter, it is mapped to a nonlocal order parameter on the topological side. Consequently, we introduce a string order parameter for topological phase transitions in toric code models defined on different lattices with different dimensions in the presence of a uniform magnetic field. Since such a string order parameter is dual of the Ising order parameter with well-known properties, it leads to a topological (nonlocal) characterization of phase transition in the toric code model in uniform field. Our results show that although topological phase transitions do not follow a symmetry-breaking mechanism, it might still be possible to use concepts of symmetry-breaking phase transitions for topological ones by finding suitable mappings.
It is known that noisy topological quantum codes are related to random-bond Ising models where the order-disorder phase transition in the classical model is mapped to the error threshold of the corresponding topological code. On the other hand, there is a dual mapping between classical spin models and quantum Calderbank-Shor-Steane (CSS) states where the partition function of a classical model defined on a hypergraph HHH is written as an inner product of a product state and a CSS state on dual hypergraph $\stackrel{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}{H}$. It is then interesting to see what the interpretation is of the classical phase transition in the random-bond Ising model within the framework of the above duality, and whether such an interpretation has any connection to the error threshold of the corresponding topological CSS code. In this paper, we consider the above duality relation specifically for a two-dimensional random-bond Ising model. We show that the order parameter of this classical system is mapped to a coherence order parameter in a noisy Toric code model. In particular, a quantum phase transition from a coherent phase to a noncoherent phase occurs when the initial coherent state is affected by two sequences of bit-flip quantum channels where a quenched disorder is induced by measurement of the errors after the first channel. On the other hand, the above transition is directly related to the error threshold of the Toric code model. Accordingly, and since the noisy process can be applied to other topological CSS states, we conclude that the dual correspondence can also provide a useful tool for the study of error thresholds in different topological CSS codes.
It has been known that by encoding the Boltzmann weights of a classical Ising model in the amplitudes of the wave function of the ground state of the toric code model, the classical phase transition in Ising model is mapped to a topological phase transition in a perturbed toric code model. Since such topological phase transitions cannot be characterized by any local order parameter, it will be an important challenge to find an order parameter which describes the above topological phase transition. In this paper, using a simple technic based on mapping between classical Ising model and the ground state of the toric code model, we find a non-local order parameter which well reveals the topological nature of the above phase transition. We show that such an order parameter is, in fact, a kind of string order parameter which has been recently introduced for some topological phase transitions.
Due to the absence of local order parameters, it is a challenging task to characterize the quantum topological phase transitions between topologically ordered phases in two dimensions. In this paper, we construct a topologically ordered tensor network wave function with one parameter $\ensuremath{\lambda}$, describing both the toric code state $(\ensuremath{\lambda}=1)$ and double semion state $(\ensuremath{\lambda}=\ensuremath{-}1)$. Via calculating the correlation length defined from the one-dimensional quantum transfer operator of the wave function norm, we can map out the complete phase diagram in terms of the parameter $\ensuremath{\lambda}$, and three different quantum critical points (QCPs) at $\ensuremath{\lambda}=0,\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1.73$ are identified. The first one separates the toric code phase and double semion phase, while latter two describe the topological phase transitions from the toric code phase or double semion phase to the symmetry-breaking phase, respectively. When mapping the quantum tensor network wave function to the exactly solved statistical model, the norm of the wave function is identified as the partition function of the classical eight-vertex model, and both QCPs at $\ensuremath{\lambda}=\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1.73$ correspond to the eight-vertex model at the critical point $\ensuremath{\lambda}=\sqrt{3}$, while the QCP at $\ensuremath{\lambda}=0$ corresponds to the critical six-vertex model. Actually such a quantum-classical mapping cannot yield the complete low-energy excitations at these three QCPs. We further demonstrate that the full eigenvalue spectra of the transfer operators without/with the flux insertions can give rise to the complete quantum criticalities, which are described by the (2+0)-dimensional free boson conformal field theories (CFTs) compactified on a circle with the radius R=6R=\sqrt{6}R=6​ at $\ensuremath{\lambda}=\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}\sqrt{3}$ and R=8/3R=\sqrt{8/3}R=8/3​ at $\ensuremath{\lambda}=0$. From the complete transfer operator spectra, the finite-size spectra of the CFTs for the critical eight-vertex model are obtained, and the topological sectors of anyonic excitations are yielded as well. Furthermore, for the QCP at $\ensuremath{\lambda}=0$, no anyon condensation occurs, but the emerged symmetries of the matrix product operators significantly enrich the topological sectors of the CFT spectra. Finally, we provide our understanding of the (2+0)-dimensional conformal quantum criticalities and their possible connection with the generic (2+1)-dimensional CFTs for quantum topological phase transitions.
Graphs and recently hypergraphs have been known as an important tool for considering different properties of quantum many-body systems. In this paper, we study a mapping between an important class of quantum systems, namely quantum Calderbank-Shor-Steane (CSS) codes, and Ising-like systems by using hypergraphs. We show that the Hamiltonian corresponding to a CSS code on a hypergraph HHH which is perturbed by a uniform magnetic field is mapped to Hamiltonian of a Ising-like system on dual hypergraph $\stackrel{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}{H}$ in a transverse field. Interestingly, we show that a strong regime of couplings in one of the systems is mapped to a weak regime of couplings in another one. We also give some applications for such a mapping where we study robustness of different topological CSS codes against a uniform magnetic field including Kitaev's toric codes defined on graphs and color codes in different dimensions. We show that a perturbed Kitaev's toric code on an arbitrary graph is mapped to an Ising model in a transverse field on the same graph and a perturbed color code on a DDD colex is mapped to a Ising-like model on a DDD-simplicial lattice in a transverse field. In particular, we use these results to explicitly compare the robustness of toric codes to uniform magnetic-field perturbations on different graphs. Interestingly, our results show that the robustness of such topological codes defined on graphs decreases with increasing dimension. Furthermore, we also use the duality mapping for some self-dual models where we exactly derive the point of phase transition.