Quantum phase transition and critical behavior between the gapless topological phases

The phase transition between gapped topological phases represents a class of unconventional criticality beyond the Landau paradigm. However, recent research has shifted attention to topological phases without a bulk gap, where the phase transitions between them are still elusive. In this work, based on large-scale density-matrix renormalization-group techniques, we investigate the critical behaviors of the extended quantum $XXZ$ model obtained by the Kennedy-Tasaki transformation. Using fidelity susceptibility as a diagnostic, we obtain a complete phase diagram, which includes both topological nontrivial and trivial gapless phases. Furthermore, as the $XXZ$-type anisotropy parameter Δ varies, both the critical points hc and correlation length exponent ν remain the same as in the Δ=0 case, characterized by $c=3/2$ (Ising plus free boson) conformal field theory. Our results indicate that fidelity susceptibility can effectively detect and reveal a stable unconventional critical line between the topologically distinct gapless phases for general Δ. This work serves as a valuable reference for further research on phase transitions within the gapless topological phase of matter.