This paper investigates the unconventional topological mixed-state transition and critical phase induced by self-dual coherent errors in the toric code. The study explores how errors that promote non-trivial anyon mutual statistics can lead to a phase transition out of the topological phase, which cannot be described by standard anyon condensation rules. The key findings include the demonstration that when electromagnetic duality and partial-transpose symmetry are present, the phase transition must be unconventional. This is shown using the triangle inequality and the properties of the double Hilbert space formalism.
The toric code is subjected to a self-dual quantum channel with Kraus operators proportional to $ X + Z $. The results show that the topological phase remains stable up to the maximal error rate when viewed as a pure state in the double Hilbert space. However, beyond a critical error rate, the topological phase is destroyed, leading to a critical phase where anyons are algebraically condensed.
The study also maps the mixed-state transition to a statistical mechanical model, revealing that the critical phase corresponds to a central charge $ c = 2 $ conformal field theory. The self-dual line in the phase diagram is analyzed, showing that the critical phase is stable over a range of parameters when the EMD symmetry is preserved. The results highlight the importance of symmetry constraints in determining the nature of phase transitions in topological systems. The paper concludes that the transition out of the topological phase must lie beyond the standard anyon condensation scheme due to the combined effects of EMD and partial-transpose symmetries.This paper investigates the unconventional topological mixed-state transition and critical phase induced by self-dual coherent errors in the toric code. The study explores how errors that promote non-trivial anyon mutual statistics can lead to a phase transition out of the topological phase, which cannot be described by standard anyon condensation rules. The key findings include the demonstration that when electromagnetic duality and partial-transpose symmetry are present, the phase transition must be unconventional. This is shown using the triangle inequality and the properties of the double Hilbert space formalism.
The toric code is subjected to a self-dual quantum channel with Kraus operators proportional to $ X + Z $. The results show that the topological phase remains stable up to the maximal error rate when viewed as a pure state in the double Hilbert space. However, beyond a critical error rate, the topological phase is destroyed, leading to a critical phase where anyons are algebraically condensed.
The study also maps the mixed-state transition to a statistical mechanical model, revealing that the critical phase corresponds to a central charge $ c = 2 $ conformal field theory. The self-dual line in the phase diagram is analyzed, showing that the critical phase is stable over a range of parameters when the EMD symmetry is preserved. The results highlight the importance of symmetry constraints in determining the nature of phase transitions in topological systems. The paper concludes that the transition out of the topological phase must lie beyond the standard anyon condensation scheme due to the combined effects of EMD and partial-transpose symmetries.