Separability transitions in topological states induced by local decoherence

Abstract

We study states with intrinsic topological order subjected to local decoherence from the perspective of separability, i.e., whether a decohered mixed state can be expressed as an ensemble of short-range entangled (SRE) pure states. We focus on toric codes and the X-cube fracton state and provide evidence for the existence of decoherence-induced separability transitions that precisely coincide with the threshold for the feasibility of active error correction. A key insight is that local decoherence acting on the 'parent' cluster states of these models results in a Gibbs state. As an example, for the 2d (3d) toric code subjected to bit-flip errors, we show that the decohered density matrix can be written as a convex sum of SRE states for $p > p_c$, where $p_c$ is related to the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic transition in the 2d (3d) random-field bond Ising model along the Nishimori line.