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arXiv:2601.09909

A note on invariants of mixed-state topological order in 2D

Yoshiko Ogata

math-phcond-mat.stat-mechcond-mat.str-elquant-phSubmitted Jan 14, 2026• Announced Jan 16, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

The classification of mixed-state topological order requires indices that behave monotonically under finite-depth quantum channels. In two dimensions, a braided $C^*$-tensor category, which corresponds to strong symmetry, arises from a state satisfying approximate Haag duality. In this note, we show that the $S$-matrix and topological twists of the braided $C^*$-tensor category are quantities that are monotone under finite-depth quantum channels.

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The classification of mixed-state topological order requires indices that behave monotonically under finite-depth quantum channels. In two dimensions, a braided C∗C^*C∗-tensor category, which corresponds to strong symmetry, arises from a state satisfying approximate Haag duality. In this note, we show that the SSS-matrix and topological twists of the braided C∗C^*C∗-tensor category are quantities that are monotone under finite-depth quantum channels.
We construct large families of mixed-state topological orders in (3+1)D, including intrinsically mixed-state topological orders. We realize these theories by relating the data parameterizing braided fusion 2-categories to the strong higher-form symmetries and their anomalies that characterize mixed-state topological order. We focus here on bosonic theories, which include theories which admit an emergent fermion in the spectrum of line operators. Our general framework is exemplified on the lattice, where we present concrete models and identify how the data of braided fusion 2-categories are physically encoded. We then formalize this data and show that every braided fusion 2-category arises from a general construction (decoherence followed by strong and weak gauging) as the category of topological operators of a (3+1)D mixed state, with intrinsically mixed-state topological orders distinguished by the presence of strong higher-form symmetries whose anomalies cannot be realized in any (3+1)D gapped ground state. Notably, we show that (3+1)D admits a new mechanism with no (2+1)D counterpart: intrinsically mixed-state order whose topological operators braid non-degenerately, but which carries a gravitational anomaly.
The classification and characterization of topological phases of matter is well understood for ground states of gapped Hamiltonians that are well isolated from the environment. However, decoherence due to interactions with the environment is inevitable—thus motivating the investigation of topological orders in the context of mixed states. Here, we take a step toward classifying mixed-state topological orders in two spatial dimensions by considering their (emergent) generalized symmetries. We argue that their 1-form symmetries and the associated anyon theories lead to a partial classification under two-way connectivity by quasilocal quantum channels. This allows us to establish mixed-state topological orders that are intrinsically mixed, i.e., that have no ground-state counterpart. We provide a wide range of examples based on topological subsystem codes, decohering G -graded string-net models, and “classically gauging” symmetry-enriched topological orders. One of our main examples is an Ising string-net model under the influence of dephasing noise. We study the resulting space of locally indistinguishable states and compute the modular transformations within a particular coherent space. Based on our examples, we identify two possible effects of quasilocal quantum channels on anyon theories: (1) anyons can be incoherently proliferated—thus reducing to a commutant of the proliferated anyons, or (2) the system can be “classically gauged,” resulting in the symmetrization of anyons and an extension by transparent bosons. Given these two mechanisms, we conjecture that mixed-state topological orders are classified by premodular anyon theories, i.e., those for which the braiding relations may be degenerate.
The interplay of symmetry and topology in quantum many-body mixed states has recently garnered significant interest. In a phenomenon not seen in pure states, mixed states can exhibit average symmetries—symmetries that act on component states while leaving the ensemble invariant. In this work, we systematically characterize symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases of short-range entangled (SRE) mixed states of spin systems—protected by both average and exact symmetries—by studying their pure Choi states in a doubled Hilbert space, where the familiar notions and tools for SRE and SPT pure states apply. This advantage of the doubled space comes with a price: extra symmetries as well as subtleties around how hermiticity and positivity of the original density matrix constrain the possible SPT invariants. Nevertheless, the doubled-space perspective allows us to obtain a systematic classification of mixed-state SPT (MSPT) phases. We also investigate the robustness of MSPT invariants under symmetric finite-depth quantum channels, the bulk-boundary correspondence for MSPT phases, and the consequences of the MSPT invariants for the separability of mixed states and the symmetry-protected sign problem. In addition to MSPT phases, we study the patterns of spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) of mixed states, including the phenomenon of exact-to-average SSB, and the order parameters that detect them. Mixed-state SSB is related to an ingappability constraint on symmetric Lindbladian dynamics.
The topological order of a (2+1)D(2+1)\mathrm{D}(2+1)D topological phase of matter is characterized by its chiral central charge and a unitary modular tensor category that describes the universal fusion and braiding properties of its anyonic quasiparticles. I discuss the topologically invariant quantities associated with these and identify ones that are useful for determining the topological order. I propose a variety of physical experiments that probe these quantities and detail the relation of the measured data to the topological invariants.
The classification of topological phases of matter is fundamental to understand and characterize the properties of quantum materials. In this paper we study phases of matter in one-dimensional open quantum systems. We define two mixed states to be in the same phase if both states can be transformed into the other by a shallow circuit of local quantum channels. We aim to understand the phase diagram of matrix product density operators that are renormalization fixed points. These states arise, for example, as boundaries of two-dimensional topologically ordered states. We first construct families of such states based on C*-weak Hopf algebras, the algebras whose representations form a fusion category. More concretely, we provide explicit local fine-graining and local coarse-graining quantum channels for the renormalization procedure of these states. Finally, we prove that those arising from C*-Hopf algebras are in the trivial phase.