A witness for topological order and stable quantum memories in abelian anyonic systems

Abstract: We propose a novel parameter, the anyonic topological entropy, designed to detect the error correcting phase of a topological memory. Unlike similar quantities such as the topological entropy, the anyonic topological entropy is defined using the states of the anyon occupations. As such, though the parameter deals with phases and phase transitions that are quantum in nature, it can be calculated solely from classical probability distributions. In many cases, these calculations will be tractable using efficient classical algorithms. The parameter therefore provides a new avenue for efficient studies of anyonic systems.