A topological phase is a phase of matter which cannot be characterized by a local order parameter. It has been shown that gapped symmetric phases in one-dimensional (1D) systems can be completely characterized using tools related to projective representations of the symmetry groups. We explain two ways to detect these symmetry protected topological phases in 1D. First, we give a numerical approach for directly extracting the projective representations from a matrix-product state representation. Second, we derive nonlocal order parameters for time-reversal and inversion symmetry, and discuss a generalized string order for local symmetries for which the regular string-order parameter cannot be applied. We furthermore point out that the nonlocal order parameter for these topological phases is actually related to topological surfaces.
Topological phases of matter are distinct from conventional ones by their lack of a local order parameter. Still in the quantum Hall effect, hidden order parameters exist and constitute the basis for the celebrated composite-particle approach. Whether similar hidden orders exist in 2D and 3D symmetry protected topological phases (SPTs) is a largely open question. Here we introduce a new approach for generating SPT groundstates, based on a generalization of the Laughlin wavefunction. This approach gives a simple and unifying picture of some classes of SPTs in 1D and 2D, and reveals their hidden order and flux attachment structures. For the 1D case, we derive exact relations between the wavefunctions obtained in this manner and group cohomology wavefunctions, as well as matrix product state classification. For the 2D Ising SPT, strong analytical and numerical evidence is given to show that the wavefunction obtained indeed describes the desired SPT. The Ising SPT then appears as a state with quasi-long-range order in composite degrees of freedom consisting of Ising-symmetry charges attached to Ising-symmetry fluxes.
1+1D symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases with invertible symmetry can be characterized by the symmetric entanglers: globally symmetric finite-depth local unitary circuits that generate representative ground states from a product state. For non-invertible symmetries, however, distinct SPT phases, such as the three
Rep(D8) SPT phases, may not be connected by any symmetric entangler. We show that the three
Rep(D8) SPT phases can nevertheless be connected by \emph{symmetry-permuting} finite-depth local unitary circuits, realizing dualities predicted by topological quantum field theory (TQFT). We construct an explicit matrix product unitary connecting two of the
Rep(D8) SPT phases, and show that its action on string order parameters reproduces the anyon permutation predicted by the TQFT duality.