Interaction-induced topological phase transition at finite temperature

Abstract

We demonstrate the existence of topological phase transitions in interacting, symmetry-protected quantum matter at finite temperatures. Using a combined numerical and analytical approach, we study a one-dimensional Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model with added Hubbard interactions, where no thermodynamic phase transition occurs at finite temperatures. The transition is signalled by a quantized, non-local bulk topological order parameter. It is driven by defects, which are enabled by the combination of interaction and thermal activation, with no counterpart in the non-interacting limit. The defects localize topological zero modes, which, when sufficiently abundant, cause the order parameter to vanish. This phenomenon, interpreted via bulk-boundary correspondence, reflects the loss of a topological edge mode at a well-defined critical temperature in the thermodynamic limit. Unlike zero-temperature topological transitions, these finite-temperature transitions lack thermodynamic signatures but remain observable in controlled quantum systems, such as ultracold fermionic atoms in optical lattices.

6+5 pages, 7 figures

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• Dissipation-driven topological phase transitions in open quantum systems independent of system Hamiltonian
• Phase transitions and remnants of fractionalization at finite temperature in the triangular lattice quantum loop model
• Symmetry classification correspondence between quadratic Lindbladians and their steady states
• Topological crystals and soliton lattices in a Gross-Neveu model with Hilbert-space fragmentation
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