We show that the ground-state expectation value of twisting operator is a topological order parameter for U(1)- and Z_{N}-symmetric symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases in one-dimensional "spin" systems-it is quantized in the thermodynamic limit and can be used to identify different SPT phases and to diagnose phase transitions among them. We prove that this (nonlocal) order parameter must take values in Nth roots of unity, and its value can be changed by a generalized lattice translation acting as an N-ality transformation connecting distinct phases. This result also implies the Lieb-Schultz-Mattis (LSM) ingappability for SU(N) spins if we further impose a general translation symmetry. Furthermore, our exact result for the order parameter of SPT phases can predict a large number of LSM ingappabilities by the general lattice translation. We also apply the N-ality property to provide an efficient way to construct possible multicritical phase transitions starting from a single Hamiltonian with a unique gapped ground state.
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