Conditional global entanglement in a Kosterlitz-Thouless quantum phase transition

Abstract

Entanglement is known as an important indicator for characterizing different types of quantum phase transitions (QPTs), however it faces some challenges in the Kosterlitz-Thouless (KT) phase transitions due to an essential singularity which cannot be identified in finite derivatives of the ground state energy. In this paper, we consider global entanglement (GE) in a KT phase transition and show that while it does not indicate any clear signature of the phase transition, the conditional version of GE is a good indicator with strong signatures of the KT transition. In particular, we study a deformed version of the $Z_d$ Kitaev model which has an intermediate KT phase which separates a $Z_d$ topological phase from a magnetized phase at two different KT transition points. Using a mapping to the classical $d$-state clock model, we consider GE and the generalized GE and show that they do not provide a reliable indicator of transition points. However, their difference called conditional global entanglement (Q) shows a peak at the first KT transition point. Additionally, we show that it can characterize various phases of the model as it behaves substantially different in each phase. We therefore conclude that Q is a useful measure that can characterize various phases of KT QPTs as well as their related critical points.