Reduced density matrix and order parameters of a topological insulator

Abstract

It has been recently proposed that the reduced density matrix may be used to derive the order parameter of a condensed matter system. Here we propose order parameters for the phases of a topological insulator, specifically a spinless Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model, and consider the effect of short-range interactions. All the derived order parameters and their possible corresponding quantum phases are verified by the entanglement entropy and electronic configuration analysis results. The order parameter appropriate to the topological regions is further proved by calculating the Berry phase under twisted boundary conditions. It is found that the topological non-trivial phase is robust to the introduction of repulsive inter-site interactions, and can appear in the topological trivial parameter region when appropriate interactions are added.