arXiv subjects

Juven Wang

Publications and source records attributed to Juven Wang.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Fermion Families and Pontryagin Class: Topological Field Theory via Colour Symmetry Extension

Family puzzle asks why the Standard Model (SM) features exactly 3 families of quarks and leptons. Motivated by topological constraints, we study 4d fermionic anomalies with discrete $Z_n$ symmetry, classified by the 5d spin bordism group. We show that only the group-cohomology subclass H$^5(Z_n,U(1))\cong Z_n$ can be canceled by an anomalous $Z_n$-symmetric 4d $Z_n$-gauge topological quantum field theory (TQFT), while beyond-group-cohomology $A_{Z_n}p_1$ involving the Pontryagin class $p_1$ cannot (except $n=2,3$). More generally, we prove that any cocycle $\alpha_d\in$H$^d(Z_n,U(1))$ in odd spacetime dimension $d\ge3$ is trivialised by the symmetry extension $1\to Z_n\to Z_{n^2}\to Z_n\to 1,$ and we construct the corresponding symmetric anomalous boundary TQFT. For $d=5$ and $n=3$, this yields a Spin$\times Z_3$-symmetric 4d $Z_3$-gauge TQFT that cancels the mixed discrete $(\bf B+L)$-gauge-gravitational anomaly of the SM in the absence of 3 "sterile" right-handed neutrinos $\nu_R$. We analyze a generalized SM with $N_c$ colors and $N_f$ families and argue that missing $N_f$ copies of the $\nu_R$ can be naturally replaced by a 4d anomalous $Spin\times_{Z_2^F}Z_{2 N_f,{\bf B + L}}$ symmetric $Z_N$-gauge TQFT under the anomaly cancellation, via a $Z_N$ symmetry extension construction $1\to Z_N\to Spin\times Z_{NN_f}\to Spin\times_{Z_2^F}Z_{2N_f}\to1$ of anomalous topological order. For minimal nonzero $(N,N_f)$, the allowed minimal extensions are $N=1,3,4,12$, depending on divisibility of $N_f$ by 2 and 3. Combining Witten anomaly and other constraints, we prove that $N=N_c=N_f=3$, with 3 families and 3 colors, is the unique minimal solution to match with the color-center baryon-to-quark symmetry extension $1\to Z_{N_c}\to Spin\times_{Z_2^F}Z_{2N_cN_f,{\bf Q}+N_c{\bf L}}\to Spin\times_{Z_2^F}Z_{2 N_f,{\bf B+L}}^F\to1$. We also prove that $A_{Z_3}p_1=0\mod3$ for the mod 3 cohomology class.

hep-th↗

arXiv2025

Anomalous (3+1)d Fermionic Topological Quantum Field Theories via Symmetry Extension

Discrete finite-group global symmetries may suffer from nonperturbative 't-Hooft anomalies. Such global anomalies can be canceled by anomalous symmetry-preserving topological quantum field theories (TQFTs), which contain no local point operators but only extended excitations such as line and surface operators. In this work, we study mixed gauge-gravitational nonperturbative global anomalies of Weyl fermions (or Weyl semimetals in condensed matter) charged under discrete Abelian internal symmetries in four-dimensional spacetime, with spacetime-internal fermionic symmetry $G=$Spin$\times_{\mathbb{Z}_2^{\rm F}}\mathbb{Z}_{2m}^{\rm F}$ or Spin$\times\mathbb{Z}_n$ that contains fermion parity $\mathbb{Z}_{2}^{\rm F}$. We determine the minimal finite gauge group $K$ of anomalous $G$-symmetric TQFTs that can match the fermionic anomaly via the symmetry-extension construction $1 \to K \to G_{\rm Tot} \to G \to 1$, where the anomaly in $G$ is trivialized upon pullback to $G_{\rm Tot}$, computed by Atiyah-Patodi-Singer eta invariant. This allows one to replace a $G$-symmetric four-dimensional Weyl fermion by an anomalous $G$-symmetric discrete-$K$-gauge TQFT as an alternative low-energy theory in the same deformation class. As an application, we show that the four-dimensional Standard Model with 15 Weyl fermions per family, in the absence of a sterile right-handed neutrino $\nu_R$, exhibits mixed gauge-gravitational global anomalies between baryon and lepton number symmetries $({\bf B \pm L})$ and spacetime diffeomorphisms. We identify the corresponding minimal $K$-gauge fermionic TQFT that cancels these anomalies and can be interpreted as a gapped, topologically ordered dark sector replacing missing Weyl fermions via symmetry extension, without invoking conventional Anderson-Higgs symmetry breaking.

hep-th↗

arXiv2025

Topological Quantum Dark Matter via Global Anomaly Cancellation

Standard Model (SM) with 15 Weyl fermions per family (lacking the 16th, the sterile right-handed neutrino $\nu_R$) suffers from mixed gauge-gravitational anomalies tied to baryon number plus or minus lepton number ${\bf B} \pm {\bf L}$ symmetry. Including $\nu_R$ per family can cancel these anomalies, but when ${\bf B} \pm {\bf L}$ symmetry is preserved as discrete finite subgroups rather than a continuous U(1), the perturbative local anomalies become nonperturbative global anomalies. In this work, we systematically enumerate these gauge-gravitational global anomalies involving discrete ${\bf B} \pm {\bf L}$ that are enhanced from the fermion parity $\mathbb{Z}_2^{\rm F}$ to $\mathbb{Z}_{2N}^{\rm F}$, with $N=2,3,4,6,9$, etc. The ${\bf B} \pm {\bf L}$ discreteness is constrained by multi-fermion deformations beyond-the-SM and the family number $N_f$. Unlike the free quadratic $\nu_R$ Majorana mass gap preserving the minimal $\mathbb{Z}_2^{\rm F}$, we explore novel scenarios canceling $({\bf B} \pm {\bf L})$-gravitational anomalies while preserving the $\mathbb{Z}_{2N}^{\rm F}$ discrete symmetries, featuring 4d interacting gapped topological orders (potentially with or without low-energy TQFT descriptions) or gapless sectors (e.g., conformal field theories). We propose anomalous sectors as quantum dark matter to cancel SM's global anomalies. We find the $N_f=3$ uniqueness, when the $\mathbb{Z}_{2N}^{\rm F}$ representation from the faithful ${\bf B} + {\bf L}$ for baryons at $N=N_c=3$ is extended to the faithful ${\bf Q} + N_c {\bf L}$ for quarks at $N=N_c N_f=9$, this symmetry extension matches with the topological order dark matter construction. Key implications include: (1) a 5th force mediating between SM and dark matter via discrete gauge fields. (2) dark matter as topological order quantum matter with gapped anyon excitations at ends of extended defects. (3) topological leptogenesis.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

Topological Leptogenesis

In the standard lore, the baryon asymmetry of the present universe is attributed to the leptogenesis from the sterile right-handed neutrino with heavy Majorana mass decaying into the Standard Model's leptons at the very early universe -- called the Majorana fermion's leptogenesis; while the electroweak sphaleron causes baryogenesis at a later time. In this work, we propose a new mechanism, named topological leptogenesis, to explain the lepton asymmetry. Topological leptogenesis replaces some of the sterile neutrinos by introducing a new gapped topological order sector (whose low-energy exhibits topological quantum field theory with long-range entanglement) that can cancel the baryon minus lepton $({\bf B} - {\bf L})$ mixed gauge-gravitational anomaly of the Standard Model. Then the Beyond-the-Standard-Model dark matter consists of topological quantum matter, such that the gapped non-particle excitations of extended line and surface defect with fractionalization and anyon charges can decay into the Standard Model particles. In addition, gravitational leptogenesis can be regarded as an intermediate step (between Majorana particle leptogenesis and topological non-particle leptogenesis) to mediate such decaying processes from the highly entangled gapped topological order excitations.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Topological Responses of the Standard Model Gauge Group

The local Lie algebra of the Standard Model (SM) is $su(3)\times su(2) \times u(1)$, yet its global gauge group, $G_{{\rm SM}_{\rm q}}=$SU(3)$\times$SU(2)$\times$U(1)/$\mathbb{Z}_{\rm q}$, q$=1,2,3,6$ remains undetermined. Building on previous work on 4d anomalies and 5d cobordism invariants, we classify lower-dimensional invertible field theories (iFTs) or symmetry-protected topological states (SPTs) in 4d, 3d, 2d, and 1d. While the integer SPTs are hard to detect, the fractional SPTs produce measurable topological responses. In particular, the symmetry fractionalization labeled by $k\in\mathbb{Z}_{6/{\rm q}}$ in [arXiv:2411.18160] introduces the symmetry-enriched SM variants, denoted as SM$_{({\rm q},k)}$. We further introduce a new integer $n$ series of baryon-minus-lepton $({\bf B}-{\bf L})$-like U(1) symmetries, $X_n \equiv n (\mathbf{B}-\mathbf{L}) + (1-\frac{n}{N_c})\tilde{Y}$ with electroweak hypercharge $\tilde{Y}$, $n\ge1$, $N_c=3$, where the charge $q_{X_n} = q_{\tilde{Y}} \mod n$. Analyzing the symmetry-enriched SM with 0-form and 1-form symmetries $(G_{[0]}, G_{[1]})$, symmetry-twist group homomorphism $\rho$, and symmetry frationalization obstruction $[\beta]$, their spacetime-internal gauge bundle constraints, and their mixed anomalies, we derive the fractional topological response $\sigma_n({\rm q},k)=\frac{{\rm q}(1-n)\gcd(2,n)}{2n}+\frac{k{\rm q}}{6}\mod1.$ Our $\sigma_n$ response requires more general Spin$^c$ manifolds for odd $n$ and Spin manifolds for even $n$. For a given $n$ (with $n\ge 7$ and $n\ne 10,12,15,30$), $\sigma_n$ uniquely fixes the gauge group parameter q and fractionalization label $k$. Moreover, using pairs such as $(n_1,n_2)=(2,3),(2,5),(3,4),(3,5),(4,5)$, etc. uniquely distinguishes SM$_{({\rm q},k)}$. Our results illuminate the global structure of the SM gauge group via measurable topological responses.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

Quantum Many-Body Lattice C-R-T Symmetry: Fractionalization, Anomaly, and Symmetric Mass Generation

Charge conjugation (C), mirror reflection (R), and time reversal (T) symmetries, along with internal symmetries, are essential for massless Majorana and Dirac fermions. These symmetries are sufficient to rule out potential fermion bilinear mass terms, thereby establishing a gapless free fermion fixed point phase, pivotal for symmetric mass generation (SMG) transition. In this work, we systematically study the anomaly of C-R-T-internal symmetry in all spacetime dimensions by analyzing the projective representation (i.e. the fractionalization) of the C-R-T-internal symmetry group in the quantum many-body Hilbert space on the lattice. By discovering the fermion-flavor-number-dependent C-R-T-internal symmetry's anomaly structure, we demonstrate an alternative way to derive the minimal flavor number for SMG, which shows consistency with known results from K\"ahler-Dirac fermion or cobordism classification. Our findings reveal that, in general spatial dimensions, either 8 copies of staggered Majorana fermions or 4 copies of staggered Dirac fermions admit SMG. By directly searching for 4-fermion interactions that form commuting stabilizers respecting all symmetry constraints, we can prove the explicit SMG gapping retained a unique ground state in the codespace. Furthermore, we establish the correspondence between the symmetry operators of staggered fermions and free fermions, which is instrumental in facilitating the analysis of symmetry fractionalization at the field theory level.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

C-R-T Fractionalization in the First Quantized Hamiltonian Theory

Recent research has revealed that the CRT symmetry for fermions exhibits a fractionalization distinct from the $\mathbb{Z}_2^{\mathcal{C}}\times\mathbb{Z}_2^{\mathcal{R}}\times\mathbb{Z}_2^{\mathcal{T}}$ for scalar bosons. In fact, the CRT symmetry for fermions can be extended by internal symmetries such as fermion parity, thereby forming a group extension of the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ direct product. Conventionally, a Majorana fermion is defined by one Dirac fermion with trivial charge conjugation. However, when the spacetime dimension $d+1=5,6,7\bmod8$, the real dimension of Majorana fermion (dim$_{\mathbb{R}}\chi_{\mathcal{C}\ell(d,0)}$) aligns with the real dimension of Dirac fermion (dim$_{\mathbb{R}}\psi_{\mathcal{C}\ell(d)}$), rather than being half, which necessitates the introduction of a symplectic Majorana fermion, defined by two Dirac fermions with trivial charge conjugation. To include these two types of Majorana fermions, we embed the theory in $n_{\mathbb{R}}$ and define the Majorana fermion field as a representation of the real Clifford algebra with 8-fold periodicity. Within the Hamiltonian formalism, we identify the 8-fold CRT-internal symmetry groups across general dimensions. Similarly, Dirac fermion field is defined as a representation of the complex Clifford algebra with 2-fold periodicity. Interestingly, we discover that the CRT-internal symmetry groups exhibit an 8-fold periodicity that is distinct from that of the complex Clifford algebra. In certain dimensions where distinct mass terms can span a mass manifold, the CRT-internal symmetries can act non-trivially upon this mass manifold. Employing domain wall reduction method, we are able to elucidate the relationships between symmetries across different dimensions.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Boundary topological orders of (4+1)d fermionic $\mathbb{Z}_{2N}^{\mathrm{F}}$ SPT states

We investigate (3+1)d topological orders in fermionic systems with an anomalous $\mathbb{Z}_{2N}^{\mathrm{F}}$ symmetry, where its $\mathbb{Z}_2^{\mathrm{F}}$ subgroup is the fermion parity. Such an anomalous symmetry arises as the discrete subgroup of the chiral U(1) symmetry of $\nu$ copies of Weyl fermions of the same chirality. Inspired by the crystalline correspondence principle, we deform the anomalous $\mathbb{Z}_{2N}^\mathrm{F}$ symmetry of (3+1)d Weyl fermion to the anomalous $C_N \times \mathbb{Z}_2^\mathrm{F}$ symmetry. Then we microscopically construct symmetry-preserving gapped boundary states of the closely-related (4+1)d $C_N\times \mathbb{Z}_2^{\mathrm{F}}$ symmetry-protected topological (SPT) state (with $C_N$ being the $N$-fold rotation), whenever it is possible. In particular, for $\nu=N$, we show that the (3+1)d symmetric gapped state admits a topological $\mathbb{Z}_4$ gauge theory description at low energy, and propose that a similar theory saturates the corresponding $\mathbb{Z}_{2N}^\mathrm{F}$ anomaly. For $N \nmid \nu$, our construction admits no topological quantum field theory (TQFT) symmetric gapped state; while for $\nu=N/2$, we find a non-TQFT symmetric gapped state via stacking lower-dimensional (2+1)d non-discrete-gauge-theory topological order inhomogeneously. For other values of $\nu$, no symmetric gapped state is possible within our construction, which is consistent with the no-go theorem by Cordova-Ohmori.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Realizing string-net condensation: Fibonacci anyon braiding for universal gates and sampling chromatic polynomials

The remarkable complexity of the vacuum state of a topologically-ordered many-body quantum system encodes the character and intricate braiding interactions of its emergent particles, the anyons.} Quintessential predictions exploiting this complexity use the Fibonacci string-net condensate (Fib-SNC) and its Fibonacci anyons to go beyond classical computing. Sampling the Fib-SNC wavefunction is expected to yield estimates of the chromatic polynomial of graph objects, a classical task that is provably hard. At the same time, exchanging anyons of Fib-SNC is expected to allow fault-tolerant universal quantum computation. Nevertheless, the physical realization of Fib-SNC and its anyons remains elusive. Here, we introduce a scalable dynamical string-net preparation (DSNP) approach, suitable even for near-term quantum processors, which dynamically prepares Fib-SNC and its anyons through reconfigurable graphs. Using a superconducting quantum processor, we couple the DSNP approach with composite error-mitigation on deep circuits to successfully create, measure, and braid anyons of Fib-SNC in a scalable manner. We certify the creation of anyons by measuring their `anyon charge', finding an average experimental accuracy of $94\%$. Furthermore, we validate that exchanging these anyons yields the { expected} golden ratio~$\phi$ with~$98\%$ average accuracy and~$8\%$ measurement uncertainty. Finally, we sample the Fib-SNC to estimate the chromatic polynomial at~$\phi+2$ for {several} graphs. Our results establish the proof of principle for using Fib-SNC and its anyons for fault-tolerant universal quantum computation and {for aiming at} a classically-hard problem.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

C-R-T Fractionalization, Fermions, and Mod 8 Periodicity

Charge conjugation (C), mirror reflection (R), time reversal (T), and fermion parity $(-1)^{\rm F}$ are basic discrete spacetime and internal symmetries of the Dirac fermions. In this article, we determine the group, called the C-R-T fractionalization, which is a group extension of $\mathbb{Z}_2^{\rm C}\times\mathbb{Z}_2^{\rm R}\times\mathbb{Z}_2^{\rm T}$ by the fermion parity $\mathbb{Z}_2^{\rm F}$, and its extension class in all spacetime dimensions $d$, for a single-particle fermion theory. For Dirac fermions, with the canonical CRT symmetry $\mathbb{Z}_2^{\rm CRT}$, the C-R-T fractionalization has two possibilities that only depend on spacetime dimensions $d$ modulo 8, which are order-16 nonabelian groups, including the famous Pauli group. For Majorana fermions, we determine the R-T fractionalization in all spacetime dimensions $d=0,1,2,3,4\mod8$, an order-8 abelian or nonabelian group. For Weyl fermions, we determine the C or T fractionalization in all even spacetime dimensions $d$, which is an order-4 abelian group. We only have an order-2 $\mathbb{Z}_2^{\rm F}$ group for Majorana-Weyl fermions. We determine the maximal number of linearly independent Dirac and Majorana mass terms and construct them explicitly. We also discuss how the conventional Dirac and Majorana mass terms break the symmetries C, R, or T. We study the domain wall dimensional reduction of the fermions and their C-R-T fractionalization: from $d$-dim Dirac to $(d-1)$-dim Dirac or Weyl and from $d$-dim Majorana to $(d-1)$-dim Majorana or Majorana-Weyl.

hep-th↗

arXiv2023

Family Puzzle, Framing Topology, $c_-=24$ and 3(E8)$_1$ Conformal Field Theories: 48/16 = 45/15 = 24/8 =3

Family Puzzle or Generation Problem demands an explanation of why there are 3 families or generations of quarks and leptons in the Standard Model of particle physics. Here we propose a novel solution -- the multiple of 3 families of 16 Weyl fermions (namely $(N_f=3) \times 16$) in the 3+1d spacetime dimensions are topologically robust due to constraints rooted in profound mathematics (such as Hirzebruch signature and Rokhlin theorems, and cobordism) and derivable in physics (such as chiral edge states, quantized thermal Hall conductance, and gravitational Chern-Simons theory), which holds true even forgetting or getting rid of any global symmetry or gauge structure of the Standard Model. By the dimensional reduction through a sequence of sign-reversing mass domain wall of domain wall and so on, we reduce the Standard Model fermions to obtain the $(N_f=3) \times 16$ multiple of 1+1d Majorana-Weyl fermion with a total chiral central charge $c_-=24$. Effectively via the fermionization-bosonization, the 1+1d theory becomes 3 copies of $c_-=8$ of (E$_8)_1$ conformal field theory, living on the boundary of 3 copies of 2+1d E$_8$ quantum Hall states. Based on the framing anomaly-free $c_- = 0 \mod 24$ modular invariance, the framed bordism and string bordism $\mathbb{Z}_{24}$ class, the 2-framing and $p_1$-structure, the $w_1$-$p_1$ bordism $\mathbb{Z}_3$ class constraints, we derive the family number constraint $N_f \in (\frac{48}{16} =\frac{24}{8}=3) \mathbb{Z}$. The dimensional reduction process, although not necessary, is sufficiently supported by the $\mathbb{Z}_{16}$ class Smith homomorphism. We also comment on the $\frac{45}{15}=3$ relation: the 3 families of 15 Weyl-fermion Standard Model vacuum where the absence of some sterile right-handed neutrinos is fulfilled by additional topological field theories or conformal field theories in Ultra Unification.

hep-th↗

arXiv2023

Superconductivity from Doping Symmetric Mass Generation Insulators: Application to La$_3$Ni$_2$O$_7$ under Pressure

We investigate the bilayer nickelates as a platform to realize the symmetric mass generation (SMG) insulator, a featureless Mott insulator that arises due to the Lieb-Schultz-Mattis (LSM) anomaly cancellation in bilayer spin-1/2 lattice systems. Through a single-orbital bilayer square lattice model involving intralayer hopping $t$ and interlayer superexchange interaction $J$, we demonstrate the emergence of high-temperature superconductivity (SC) upon doping the SMG insulator. The SC phase features $s$-wave interlayer spin-singlet pairing and exhibits a crossover between the BCS and BEC limits by tuning the $J/t$ ratio. We estimate the SC transition temperature $T_c$ from both the weak and strong coupling limits at the mean-field level. Our findings offer insights into the experimentally observed decrease in $T_c$ with pressure and the strange metal behavior above $T_c$. Additionally, we propose that both Ni $3d_{z^2}$ and $3d_{x^2-y^2}$ orbitals can exhibit superconductivity in La$_3$Ni$_2$O$_7$ under pressure, but their $T_c$ should vary in opposite ways under doping. This characteristic difference suggests a potential experimental pathway to identify which electronic orbital plays the principal role in the formation of superconductivity in this system.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Flavor Hierarchy from Smooth Confinement

We present a model to explain the Standard Model flavor hierarchy. Our model is based on explicit smooth confinement (namely confinement without chiral symmetry breaking in a supersymmetric gauge theory) at an intermediate energy scale, before the electroweak symmetry breaking by the Higgs condensation at lower energy. In our context, the smooth confinement preserves the SU(3) and the chiral SU(2)$_L\times$ U(1)$_Y$ symmetry in a supersymmetric Standard Model, while this internal symmetry becomes dynamically gauged in the end. In contrast to Razamat-Tong's symmetric mass generation model also preserving the $G_{\rm SM} \equiv$ SU(3)$_C\times$ SU(2)$_L\times$ U(1)$_Y$ internal symmetry, our model introduces different matter contents with a different kind of superpotential deformation irrelevant at UV, which further induces Yukawa-Higgs terms marginal at IR, breaking the $G_{\rm SM}$ down to SU(3)$_C$ and the electromagnetic U(1)$_{\rm EM}$ only when Higgs condenses. In our model, the IR fermions in the first and second families are composite of UV fields, while the third family elementary fermions match between UV and IR. The smallness of the first and second family fermion masses is explained by the exponential hierarchy between the cutoff scale and the smooth confinement scale via dimensional transmutation. As a result, our UV Lagrangian only contains the natural parameters close to the order one.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Definition and Classification of Fermi Surface Anomalies

We propose that the Fermi surface anomaly of symmetry group $G$ in any dimension is universally classified by $G$-symmetric interacting fermionic symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases in $(0+1)$-dimensional spacetime. The argument is based on the perspective that the gapless fermions on the Fermi surface can be viewed as the topological boundary modes of Chern insulators in the phase space (position-momentum space). Given the non-commutative nature of the phase space coordinates, we show that the momentum space dimensions should be counted as negative dimensions for SPT classification purposes. Therefore, the classification of phase-space Chern insulators (or, more generally fermionic SPT phases) always reduces to a $(0+1)$-dimensional problem, which can then be answered by the cobordism approach. In addition to the codimension-1 Fermi surface case, we also discuss the codimension-$p$ Fermi surface case briefly. We provide concrete examples to demonstrate the validity of our classification scheme, and make connections to the recent development of Fermi surface symmetric mass generation.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Categorical Symmetry of the Standard Model from Gravitational Anomaly

In the Standard Model, some combination of the baryon $\bf B$ and lepton $\bf L$ number symmetry is free of mixed anomalies with strong and electroweak $su(3) \times su(2) \times u(1)_{\tilde Y}$ gauge forces. However, it can still suffer from a mixed gravitational anomaly, hypothetically pertinent to leptogenesis in the very early universe. This happens when the total "sterile right-handed" neutrino number $n_{\nu_R}$ is not equal to the family number $N_f$. Thus the invertible $\bf B - L$ symmetry current conservation can be violated quantum mechanically by gravitational backgrounds such as gravitational instantons. In specific, we show that a noninvertible categorical $\bf B - L$ generalized symmetry still survives in gravitational backgrounds. In general, we propose a construction of noninvertible symmetry charge operators as topological defects derived from invertible anomalous symmetries that suffer from mixed gravitational anomalies. Examples include the perturbative local and nonperturbative global anomalies classified by $\mathbb{Z}$ and $\mathbb{Z}_{16}$ respectively. For this construction, we utilize the anomaly inflow bulk-boundary correspondence, the 4d Pontryagin class and the gravitational Chern-Simons 3-form, the 3d Witten-Reshetikhin-Turaev-type topological quantum field theory corresponding to a 2d rational conformal field theory with an appropriate rational chiral central charge, and the 4d $\mathbb{Z}_4^{\rm TF}$-time-reversal symmetric topological superconductor with 3d boundary topological order.

hep-th↗

arXiv2023

Non-Perturbative Regularization of 1+1D Anomaly-Free Chiral Fermions and Bosons: On the equivalence of anomaly matching conditions and boundary gapping rules

A non-perturbative lattice regularization of chiral fermions and bosons with anomaly-free symmetry $G$ in 1+1D spacetime is proposed. More precisely, we ask "whether there is a local short-range quantum Hamiltonian with a finite Hilbert space for a finite system realizing onsite symmetry $G$ defined on a 1D spatial lattice, such that its low energy physics produces a 1+1D anomaly-free chiral matter theory of symmetry $G$?" In particular, we propose that the 3$_L$-5$_R$-4$_L$-0$_R$ U(1) chiral fermion theory, with two left-moving fermions of charge-3 and 4, and two right-moving fermions of charge-5 and 0 at low energy, can be put on a 1D spatial lattice where the U(1) symmetry is realized as an onsite symmetry, if we include properly designed multi-fermion interactions with intermediate strength. In general, we propose that any 1+1D U(1)-anomaly-free chiral matter theory can be defined as a finite system on a 1D lattice with onsite symmetry by using a quantum Hamiltonian with continuous time, but without suffering from Nielsen-Ninomiya theorem's fermion-doubling, if we include properly-designed interactions between matter fields. We propose how to design such interactions by looking for extra symmetries via bosonization/fermionization. We comment on the new ingredients and the differences of ours compared to Ginsparg-Wilson fermion, Eichten-Preskill, and Chen-Giedt-Poppitz (CGP) models, and suggest modifying CGP model to have successful mirror-decoupling. We show a topological non-perturbative proof of the equivalence between $G$-symmetric 't Hooft anomaly cancellation conditions and $G$-symmetric gapping rules (e.g. Haldane's stability conditions for Luttinger liquid) for multi-U(1) symmetry. We expect our result holds universally regardless of spatial Hamiltonian or Lagrangian/spacetime path integral formulation. Numerical tests are demanding tasks but highly desirable for future work.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2023

CT or P Problem and Symmetric Gapped Fermion Solution

An analogous "Strong CP problem" is identified in a toy model in 2-dimensional spacetime: a general 1+1d abelian U(1) anomaly-free chiral fermion and chiral gauge theory with a generic theta instanton term $\fracθ{2 π} \int F$. The theta term alone violates the charge-conjugation-time-reversal CT and the parity P discrete symmetries. The analogous puzzle here is the CT or P problem in 1+1d: Why can the $\barθ$ angle (including the effect of $θ$ and the complex phase of a mass matrix) be zero or small for a natural reason? We show that this CT or P problem can be solved by a Symmetric Mass Generation mechanism (SMG, namely generating a mass or energy gap while preserving an anomaly-free symmetry). This 1+1d toy model mimics several features of the 3+1d Standard Model: chiral matter content, confinement, and Anderson-Higgs-induced mass by Yukawa-Higgs term. One solution replaces some chiral fermion's Higgs-induced mean-field mass with SMG-induced non-mean-field mass. Another solution enriches this toy model by introducing several new physics beyond the Standard Model: a parity-reflection PR discrete symmetry maps between the chiral and mirror fermions as fermion doubling localized on two domain walls at high energy, and SMG dynamically generates mass to the mirror fermion while still preserving the anomaly-free chiral symmetry at an intermediate energy scale, much before the Higgs mechanism generates mass to the chiral fermion at lower energy. Without loss of generality, an arguably simplest 1+1d U(1) symmetric anomaly-free chiral fermion/gauge theory (e.g., Weyl fermions with $3_L$-$4_L$-$5_R$-$0_R$ U(1) charges) is demonstrated. As an analogy to the superfluid-insulator or order-disorder quantum phase transition, in contrast to the Peccei-Quinn solution sitting in the (quasi-long-range-order) superfluid phase, our solution is in the SMG insulator disordered phase.

hep-th↗

arXiv2022

Strong CP Problem and Symmetric Mass Solution

We propose a novel solution to the Strong CP problem -- to explain why SU(3) strong force has a nearly zero theta angle $\barθ_3 \simeq 0$ for the 4d Standard Model (SM). The new ingredient is Symmetric Mass Generation (SMG): symmetry-preserving mass or energy gap can be generated without breaking any symmetry $G$ and without any quadratic mean-field mass deformation as long as $G$ is all perturbative local and nonperturbative global anomaly-free. In our first model, we propose a disordered non-mean-field SMG gap (instead of the ordered Anderson-Higgs induced mass gap) for the $u$ quark (or generally a set of quarks and leptons totally anomaly-free in $G$) generated by multi-fermion interactions or by dynamical disordered mass fields, absorbing $\barθ_3$. Another variant of this first model is the SMG gapping a hypothetical hidden full fourth family of SM fermions. In our second model, we have a chiral SM and mirror SM together to respect the Nielsen-Ninomiya fermion-doubling and a parity-reflection $\mathbb{Z}_2^{\rm PR}$ symmetry at high energy, so the $\barθ_3 = 0$. Then the SMG lifts only the mirror SM with a large energy gap but leaves the chiral SM at lower energy, which not only "spontaneously" breaks the parity-reflection symmetry maximally but also relates our solution to solve another nonperturbative chiral fermion regularization problem by removing the fermion doubling. The predictive signature of both SMG-based models is that some SM fermions or mirror fermions are highly interacting (beyond the conventional SM Higgs or SM gauge interactions) mediated through hypothetical direct multi-fermion or disordered mass-field interactions.

hep-ph↗