Network Robustness: Detecting Topological Quantum Phases

Abstract

Can the topology of a network that consists of many particles interacting with each other change in complexity when a phase transition occurs? The answer to this question is particularly interesting to understand the nature of phase transitions if the distinct phases do not break any symmetry, such as topological phase transitions. Here we present a novel theoretical framework established by complex network analysis for demonstrating that across a transition point of the topological superconductors, the network space experiences a homogeneous-heterogeneous transition invisible in real space. This transition is nothing but related to the robustness of a network to random failures. We suggest that the idea of the network robustness can be applied to characterizing various phase transitions whether or not the symmetry is broken.