Deconfined Quantum Phase Transition of a Higher-Order Symmetry-Protected Topological State
Abstract
A higher-order (HO) symmetry-protected topological (SPT) state can be realized in a plaquette-modulated square lattice antiferromagnet, which hosts a spin- degenerate mode on each corner of the lattice with open boundaries. In this work, we show with the field-theoretic analysis and quantum Monte Carlo simulations that the plaquette modulation can drive a direct topological quantum phase transition from the HOSPT to a trivial disordered phase across the deconfined quantum critical point (DQCP) between the antiferromagnetic (AF) order and the valence bond solid (VBS) order, thus the DQCP is a multicritical point bridging both the AF-VBS transition and the topological transition of the HOSPT phase. Our work thus reveals the ubiquitous duality between topological transitions of SPT phases and DQCPs.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2010.11129,
title = {Deconfined Quantum Phase Transition of a Higher-Order Symmetry-Protected Topological State},
author = {Chen Peng and Long Zhang and Zhong-Yi Lu},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2010.11129},
year = {2021}
}
Comments
5 pages, 5 figures