Topological quantum order remains stable under sufficiently weak local perturbations

What changed

Scientific scope

Bravyi, Hastings and Michalakis established a conditional stability result for certain topologically ordered quantum spin systems under sufficiently weak local perturbations. For their class of commuting-projector Hamiltonians, the low-energy spectral band remains separated from higher excitations under the stated conditions. The result assumes the paper’s topological-order conditions, local interactions and a sufficiently small perturbation. It is a zero-temperature mathematical statement; it does not itself establish an experimental quantum memory or a finite-temperature error-correction lifetime. Scientific correctness has not been independently certified here.

Evidence

The linked original works support the scoped statement and contribution attribution. WRS has not independently replayed experiments or reconstructed a full mathematical proof. The result assumes the paper’s topological-order conditions, local interactions and a sufficiently small perturbation. It is a zero-temperature mathematical statement; it does not itself establish an experimental quantum memory or a finite-temperature error-correction lifetime. Scientific correctness has not been independently certified here.

Contributors

The named authors in the research record · SCIENCE: These are the listed authors of the cited contribution sources. Paper authorship does not quantify individual effort. An incomplete list is explicitly marked; same names are not automatically merged.

Provisional WRS assessment, edition 2026-10-28.1. Independent expert calibration is pending. This grade does not certify correctness or assign ownership.

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