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arXiv:2512.07974

Entanglement Through Topological Defects: Reconciling Theory with Numerics

Christian Northe, Paolo Rossi

hep-thcond-mat.stat-mechcond-mat.str-elquant-phSubmitted Dec 8, 2025• Announced Dec 10, 2025• 0 citations
v1 · Dec 8, 2025v2 · Jan 6, 2026
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Abstract

Present theoretical predictions for the entanglement entropy through topological defects are violated by numerical simulations. In order to resolve this, we introduce a paradigm shift in the preparation of reduced density matrices in the presence of topological defects, and emphasize the role of defect networks with which they can be dressed. We consider the cases of grouplike and duality defects in detail for the Ising model, and match all numerically found entanglement entropies. Since our construction functions at the level of reduced density matrices, it accounts for topological defects beyond the entanglement entropy to other entanglement measures.

Comments
5 pages plus appendix, 10 figures

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Present theoretical predictions for the entanglement entropy through topological defects are violated by numerical simulations. In order to resolve this, we introduce a paradigm shift in the preparation of reduced density matrices in the presence of topological defects, and emphasize the role of defect networks with which they can be dressed. We consider the cases of grouplike and duality defects in detail for the Ising model, and match all numerically found entanglement entropies. Since our construction functions at the level of reduced density matrices, it accounts for topological defects beyond the entanglement entropy to other entanglement measures.
Entanglement entropy (EE) contains signatures of many universal properties of conformal field theories (CFTs), especially in the presence of boundaries or defects. In particular, topological defects are interesting since they reflect internal symmetries of the CFT and have been extensively analyzed with field-theoretic techniques with striking predictions. So far, however, no lattice computation of EE has been available. Here, we present an ab initio analysis of EE for the Ising model in the presence of a topological defect. While the behavior of the EE depends, as expected, on the geometric arrangement of the subsystem with respect to the defect, we find that zero-energy modes give rise to crucial finite-size corrections. Importantly, contrary to the field-theory predictions, the universal subleading term in the EE when the defect lies at the edge of the subsystem arises entirely due to these zero-energy modes and is not directly related to the modular S matrix of the Ising CFT.
Entanglement through interfaces has attracted considerable attention in 2d conformal field theory (CFT). However, it is known that field-theoretic predictions based on the existing framework are in general incompatible with numerical results [1-4]. A new framework for entanglement through topological defects was recently proposed in [5]. It provides a general description of entanglement through topological defects and successfully reproduces the numerical results for the Ising model in all tested cases and regimes. The key insight is that the relevant quantum correlations are encoded in twisted states, allowing for the construction of the full reduced density matrix (RDM). In this work we pursue two objectives. First, we provide new examples by studying defects in the free boson CFT. Second, we extend the framework to topological interfaces connecting two, possibly distinct, CFTs. Of particular interest are interfaces relating dual theories. We show that the reduced density matrix for a duality interface is the projection of the vacuum reduced density matrix onto a single symmetry sector, closely paralleling the framework of symmetry resolution. Unlike symmetry resolution, however, the projection is imposed by the physical interface itself, demonstrating that duality interfaces reflect quantum correlations back into the entangling interval. We establish this mechanism for diagonal and non-diagonal rational CFTs as well as the free boson CFT. Relative entropy allows us to quantify the distinguishability of the duality interface RDM from the vacuum RDM.
This is the second part of two papers where we study the effect of integrable line defects on bipartite entanglement entropy in integrable field theories. In this paper, we consider non-topological line defects in Ising field theory. We derive an infinite series expression for the entanglement entropy and show that both the UV and IR limits of the bulk entanglement entropy are modified by the line defect. In the UV limit, we give an infinite series expression for the coefficient in front of the logarithmic divergence and the exact defect g-function. By tuning the defect to be purely transmissive and reflective, we recover correctly the entanglement entropy of the bulk and with integrable boundary respectively.
Topological excitations or defects such as solitons are ubiquitous throughout physics, supporting numerous interesting phenomena like zero-energy modes with exotic statistics and fractionalized charges. In this paper, we study such objects through the lens of symmetry-resolved entanglement entropy. Specifically, we compute the charge-resolved entanglement entropy for a single interval in the low-lying states of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model in the presence of topological defects. Using a combination of exact and asymptotic analytical techniques, backed up by numerical analysis, we find that, compared to the unresolved counterpart and to the pure system, a richer structure of entanglement emerges. This includes a redistribution between its configurational and fluctuational parts due to the presence of the defect and an interesting interplay with entanglement equipartition. In particular, in a subsystem that excludes the defect, equipartition is restricted to charge sectors of the same parity, while full equipartition is restored if the subsystem includes the defect, as long as the associated zero mode remains unoccupied. Additionally, by exciting zero modes in the presence of multiple defects, we observe a significant enhancement of entanglement in certain charge sectors, due to charge splitting on the defects. The two different scenarios featuring the breakdown of entanglement equipartition are underlied by a joint mechanism, which we unveil by relating them to degeneracies in the spectrum of the entanglement Hamiltonian. In addition, equipartition is shown to stem from an equidistant entanglement spectrum.
Abstract In this paper and its sequel, we construct topologically invariant defects in two-dimensional classical lattice models and quantum spin chains. We show how defect lines commute with the transfer matrix/Hamiltonian when they obey the defect commutation relations , cousins of the Yang–Baxter equation. These relations and their solutions can be extended to allow defect lines to branch and fuse, again with properties depending only on topology. In this part I, we focus on the simplest example, the Ising model. We define lattice spin-flip and duality defects and their branching, and prove they are topological. One useful consequence is a simple implementation of Kramers–Wannier duality on the torus and higher genus surfaces by using the fusion of duality defects. We use these topological defects to do simple calculations that yield exact properties of the conformal field theory describing the continuum limit. For example, the shift in momentum quantization with duality-twisted boundary conditions yields the conformal spin 1/16 of the chiral spin field. Even more strikingly, we derive the modular transformation matrices explicitly and exactly.