Non-invertible SPTs: an on-site realization of (1+1)d anomaly-free fusion category symmetry

Abstract

We investigate (1+1)d symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases with fusion category symmetries. We emphasize that the UV description of an anomaly-free fusion category symmetry must include the fiber functor, giving rise to a local symmetry action, a charge category and a trivial phase. We construct an ``onsite'' matrix-product-operator (MPO) version of the Hopf algebra symmetry operators in a lattice model with tensor-product Hilbert space. In particular, we propose a systematic framework for classifying and constructing SPTs with non-invertible symmetries. An SPT phase corresponds to a Q-system in the charge category, such that the Q-system becomes a matrix algebra when the symmetry is forgotten. As an example, we provide an explicit microscopic realization of all three $\mathsf{Rep}^\dagger(D_8)$ SPT phases, including a trivial phase, and further demonstrate the $S_3$-duality among these three SPT phases.