Work

Noninvertible axial symmetry in QED comes full circle

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: We revisit the possibility of constructing noninvertible topological defects for the axial symmetry of massless quantum electrodynamics (QED), despite its Adler-Bell-Jackiw anomaly. Dressing the defects with a topological quantum field theory with mixed U ( 1 ) and R -valued gauge fields, we are able to describe axial rotations of any rational or irrational angle. We confront our results with the existing proposals, in particular those that concern rational angles. We also provide the symmetry topological field theory that reproduces the action of all such symmetry defects of QED. Finally, we discuss how similar techniques allow the study of condensation defects for a R global symmetry. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Source: Physical review. D/Physical review. D.

DOI: 10.1103/physrevd.110.105012

Authors: Adrien Arbalestrier, Riccardo Argurio, Luigi Tizzano

Institution: Université Libre de Bruxelles

Language: English

Topic: Topological Materials and Phenomena

Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique - FNRS, Australian Research Council

Awards: G7316740004, G7904157711