Topological Phase Transitions and Mixed State Order in a Hubbard Quantum Simulator

Abstract

Topological phase transitions challenge conventional paradigms in many-body physics by separating phases that are locally indistinguishable yet globally distinct. Using a quantum simulator of interacting erbium atoms in an optical lattice, we observe such a transition between one-dimensional crystalline symmetry-protected topological phases (CSPTs). We detect the critical point through non-local string order parameters and reveal its connection to the transition predicted between the Mott and Haldane insulators. Moreover, we demonstrate a striking property: stacking two identical systems eliminates the transition, confirming the predicted group structure and invertibility of SPTs. Finally, while introducing symmetry-breaking disorder also removes the transition, disorder averaging restores it. Consequently, the adjacent phases realize a form of mixed-state quantum order wherein the criticality between them depends on the observer's information. Our results demonstrate how topology and information influence quantum phase transitions, opening the doors to probing novel critical phenomena in programmable quantum matter.