Signature of topological quantum phase transitions via Wigner-Yanase skew information

Abstract

We apply the Wigner-Yanase skew information approach to analyze two typical models that exhibit a topological quantum phase transition. Based on the exact solutions of the ground states, the Wigner-Yanase skew information between two nearest sites for each of the two models is obtained. For the one-dimensional Kitaev chain model, the first-order derivative of the Wigner-Yanase skew information is non-analytical around the critical point. The scaling behavior and the universality are verified numerically. In particular, the skew information can also detect the factorization transition in such a model. For the two-dimensional Kitaev honeycomb model, the first-order derivative of the Wigner-Yanase skew information shows some singularities at the critical points where the system transits from the gapless phase to the gapped one. Our results suggest that the Wigner-Yanase skew information can serve as a good indicator of the topological phase transitions in these models and shed considerable light on the relationships between topological quantum phase transition and information theory.