Noninvertible duality defects in <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:mn>3</mml:mn><mml:mo>+</mml:mo><mml:mn>1</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:math> dimensions
Yichul Choi, Clay Córdova, Po-Shen Hsin, Ho Tat Lam, Shu-Heng Shao
Abstract
A novel kind of generalized global symmetries is uncovered in a large class of familiar 3+1-dimensional gauge theories, including the free Maxwell theory and Yang-Mills gauge theories. These new symmetries, known as the non-invertible global symmetries, do not have inverses and thus go beyond the traditional paradigm of (anti-)unitary transformations. They are implemented by topological duality defects, generalizing the Kramers-Wannier duality defects in 1+1 dimensions. Remarkably, the existence of certain kinds of duality defects is intrinsically incompatible with a trivially gapped phase and hence gives new constraints on renormalization group flows.
Topics & Concepts
Computer scienceAlgorithmAlgebraic structures and combinatorial modelsQuantum Chromodynamics and Particle InteractionsAdvanced Algebra and Geometry