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arXiv:2512.18642

A Hidden Quantum Markov model framework for Entanglement and Topological Order in the AKLT Chain

Abdessatar Souissi, Amenallah Andolsi

quant-phmath-phSubmitted Dec 21, 2025• Announced Dec 23, 2025• 0 citations
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Abstract

This paper introduces a hidden quantum Markov models (HQMMs) framework to the Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki (AKLT) state-a cornerstone example of a symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phase. The model's observation system is the physical spin-1 chain, which emerges from a hidden spin-1/2 layer through well-defined quantum emission operation. We show that the underlying Markov dynamics caputure maximal entanglement through the use of significant channels relevant to the AKLT state. We also show that SPT order induces a covariance on the observation decoding channels. This establishes an additional bridge between the quantum Machine learning and many-body physics, with promising implication in topological order and quantum information.

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This paper introduces a hidden quantum Markov models (HQMMs) framework to the Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki (AKLT) state-a cornerstone example of a symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phase. The model's observation system is the physical spin-1 chain, which emerges from a hidden spin-1/2 layer through well-defined quantum emission operation. We show that the underlying Markov dynamics caputure maximal entanglement through the use of significant channels relevant to the AKLT state. We also show that SPT order induces a covariance on the observation decoding channels. This establishes an additional bridge between the quantum Machine learning and many-body physics, with promising implication in topological order and quantum information.
Abstract We develop a symmetry action framework for hidden quantum Markov models (HQMMs) tailored to one-dimensional quantum spin systems and symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases. In our setting, a symmetry group G acts projectively on the hidden (virtual) degrees of freedom and linearly on the physical observation space, yielding a global HQMM state that is invariant under the combined action of G for both conventional and causal (input–output) structures. We show that such symmetry actions are naturally classified by a group-cohomology 2 -cocycle [ ω ] ∈ H 2 ( G , U ( 1 ) ) , in direct analogy with the standard cohomological classification of one-dimensional bosonic SPT phases via projective edge representations. As an explicit example, we apply this construction to the Affleck–Kennedy–Lieb–Tasaki (AKLT) chain, where the hidden layer carries a nontrivial class [ ω ] ∈ H 2 ( SO ( 3 ) , U ( 1 ) ) encoding its SPT order. In this case the HQMM formalism reproduces the known SPT properties of the AKLT state while providing a stochastic, Markovian description of the underlying virtual dynamics. Our results establish HQMMs as a natural bridge between quantum stochastic processes, tensor-network descriptions of many-body systems, and SPT order.
We study S=1 quantum spin systems on the infinite chain with short ranged Hamiltonians that have a certain rotational and discrete symmetry. We define a Z_{2} index for any gapped unique ground state, and prove that it is invariant under a smooth deformation. By using the index, we provide the first rigorous proof of the existence of a "topological" phase transition, which cannot be characterized by any conventional order parameters, between the Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki (AKLT) model and trivial models. This rigorously establishes that the AKLT model is in a nontrivial symmetry protected topological phase.
Two-dimensional (spin-2) Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki (AKLT) type valence bond solids on a square lattice are known to be symmetry-protected topological (SPT) gapped spin liquids [S. Takayoshi, P. Pujol, and A. Tanaka Phys. Rev. B 94, 235159 (2016)]. Using the projected entangled pair state framework, we extend the construction of the AKLT state to the case of SU(3)\text{SU}(3)SU(3), relevant for cold atom systems. The entanglement spectrum is shown to be described by an alternating SU(3)\text{SU}(3)SU(3) chain of ``quarks'' and ``antiquarks'', subject to exponentially decaying (with distance) Heisenberg interactions, in close similarity with its SU(2)\text{SU}(2)SU(2) analog. We discuss the SPT feature of the state.
Symmetry-protected topological phases have fundamentally changed our understanding of quantum matter. An archetypal example of such a quantum phase of matter is the Haldane phase, containing the spin-1 Heisenberg chain. The intrinsic quantum nature of such phases, however, often makes it challenging to study them using classical means. Here, we use trapped-ion qutrits to natively engineer spin-1 chains within the Haldane phase. Using a scalable deterministic procedure to prepare the Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki (AKLT) state within the Haldane phase, we study the topological features of this system on a qudit quantum processor. Notably, we verify the long-range string order of the state, despite its short-range correlations, and observe spin fractionalization of the physical spin-1 particles into effective qubits at the chain edges, a defining feature of this system. The native realization of Haldane physics on a qudit quantum processor and the scalable preparation procedures open the door to the efficient exploration of a wide range of systems beyond spin-1/2.
The two-dimensional Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki (AKLT) model on a honeycomb lattice has been shown to be a universal resource for quantum computation. In this valence bond solid, however, the spin interactions involve higher powers of the Heisenberg coupling (S[over →](I)·S[over →](j))(n), making these states seemingly unrealistic on bipartite lattices, where one expects a simple antiferromagnetic order. We show that those interactions can be generated by orbital physics in multiorbital Mott insulators. We focus on t(2g) electrons on the honeycomb lattice and propose a physical realization of the spin-3/2 AKLT state. We find a phase transition from the AKLT to the Néel state on increasing Hund's rule coupling, which is confirmed by density matrix renormalization group simulations. An experimental signature of the AKLT state consists of protected, free S=1/2 spins on lattice vacancies, which may be detected in the spin susceptibility.
The strange correlator [Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 247202 (2014)] has been proposed as a measure of symmetry protected topological order in one- and two-dimensional systems. It takes the form of a spin-spin correlation function, computed as a mixed overlap between the state of interest and a trivial local product state. We demonstrate that it can be computed exactly (asymptotically, in the Monte Carlo sense) for various Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki states by direct evaluation of the wave function within the valence bond loop gas framework. We present results for lattices with chain, square, honeycomb, cube, diamond, and hyperhoneycomb geometries. In each case, the spin quantum number SSS is varied such that 2S2S2S (the number of valence bonds emerging from each site) achieves various integer multiples of the lattice coordination number. We introduce the concept of strange correlator loop winding number and point to its utility in testing for the presence of symmetry protected topological order.