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Updated: May 13, 2026

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
Published on: May 15, 2017
Local topological order inhibits thermal stability in 2D
Olivier Landon-Cardinal1, David Poulin
1Département de Physique, Université de Sherbrooke, Québec, J1K 2R1, Canada. olivier.landon-cardinal@usherbrooke.ca
Abstract:
We study the robustness of quantum information stored in the degenerate ground space of a local, frustration-free Hamiltonian with commuting terms on a 2D spin lattice. On one hand, a macroscopic energy barrier separating the distinct ground states under local transformations would protect the information from thermal fluctuations. On the other hand, local topological order would shield the ground space from static perturbations. Here we demonstrate that local topological order implies a constant energy barrier, thus inhibiting thermal stability.
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