We present an analytical study on the resilience of topological order after a quantum quench. The system is initially prepared in the ground state of the toric-code model, and then quenched by switching on an external magnetic field. During the subsequent time evolution, the variation in topological order is detected via the topological Rényi entropy of order 2. We consider two different quenches: the first one has an exact solution, while the second one requires perturbation theory. In both cases, we find that the long-term time average of the topological Rényi entropy in the thermodynamic limit is the same as its initial value. Based on our results, we argue that topological order is resilient against a wide range of quenches.

• Received 22 November 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.170605