Title: Disorder-protected topological entropy after a quantum quench,
Abstract: Topological phases of matter are considered the bedrock of novel quantum
materials as well as ideal candidates for quantum computers that possess
robustness at the physical level. The robustness of the topological phase at
finite temperature or away from equilibrium is therefore a very desirable
feature. Disorder can improve the lifetime of the encoded topological qubits.
Here we tackle the problem of the survival of the topological phase as detected
by topological entropy, after a sudden quantum quench. We introduce a method to
study analytically the time evolution of the system after a quantum quench and
show that disorder in the couplings of the Hamiltonian of the toric code and
the resulting Anderson localization can make the topological entropy resilient.