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Title: Quantum-information approach to the quantum phase transition in the Kitaev honeycomb model

Journal Article · · Physical Review. A
; ;  [1]
  1. Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Beijing 100190 (China)

The Kitaev honeycomb model with a topological phase transition at zero temperature is studied using the quantum-information method. Based on the exact solution of the ground state, the mutual information between two nearest sites and between two bonds with the greatest distance are obtained. It is found that the mutual information shows some singularities at the critical point where the system transits from the gapless phase to the gapped phase. Finite-size effects and scaling behavior are also studied. Our results indicate that the mutual information can serve as a good indicator of the topological phase transition. This is because the mutual information is believed to be able to catch some global correlation properties of the system. Meanwhile, this method has the advantages that the phase transition can be determined easily and the order parameters, which are hard to obtain for some topological phase transitions, are not necessarily known.

OSTI ID:
21448466
Journal Information:
Physical Review. A, Vol. 82, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.82.022319; (c) 2010 The American Physical Society; ISSN 1050-2947
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English