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Ryan Thorngren

Publications and source records attributed to Ryan Thorngren.

49 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Topological Terms and Phases of Sigma Models

We study boundary conditions of topological sigma models with the goal of generalizing the concepts of anomalous symmetry and symmetry protected topological order. We find a version of 't Hooft's anomaly matching conditions on the renormalization group flow of boundaries of invertible topological sigma models and discuss several examples of anomalous boundary theories. We also comment on bulk topological transitions in dynamical sigma models and argue that one can, with care, use topological data to draw sigma model phase diagrams.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Gauging spatial symmetries and the classification of topological crystalline phases

We put the theory of interacting topological crystalline phases on a systematic footing. These are topological phases protected by space-group symmetries. Our central tool is an elucidation of what it means to "gauge" such symmetries. We introduce the notion of a "crystalline topological liquid", and argue that most (and perhaps all) phases of interest are likely to satisfy this criterion. We prove a Crystalline Equivalence Principle, which states that in Euclidean space, crystalline topological liquids with symmetry group $G$ are in one-to-one correspondence with topological phases protected by the same symmetry $G$, but acting *internally*, where if an element of $G$ is orientation-reversing, it is realized as an anti-unitary symmetry in the internal symmetry group. As an example, we explicitly compute, using group cohomology, a partial classification of bosonic symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases protected by crystalline symmetries in (3+1)-D for 227 of the 230 space groups. For the 65 space groups not containing orientation-reversing elements (Sohncke groups), there are no cobordism invariants which may contribute phases beyond group cohomology, and so we conjecture our classification is complete.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Intrinsic and emergent anomalies at deconfined critical points

It is well known that theorems of Lieb-Schultz-Mattis type prohibit the existence of a trivial symmetric gapped ground state in certain systems possessing a combination of internal and lattice symmetries. In the continuum description of such systems the Lieb-Schultz-Mattis theorem is manifested in the form of a quantum anomaly afflicting the symmetry. We demonstrate this phenomenon in the context of the deconfined critical point between a Neel state and a valence bond solid in an $S =1/2$ square lattice antiferromagnet, and compare it to the case of $S=1/2$ honeycomb lattice where no anomaly is present. We also point out that new anomalies, unrelated to the microscopic Lieb-Schultz-Mattis theorem, can emerge prohibiting the existence of a trivial gapped state in the immediate vicinity of critical points or phases. For instance, no translationally invariant weak perturbation of the $S = 1/2$ gapless spin chain can open up a trivial gap even if the spin-rotation symmetry is explicitly broken. The same result holds for the $S =1/2$ deconfined critical point on a square lattice.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Fermionic SPT phases in higher dimensions and bosonization

We discuss bosonization and Fermionic Short-Range-Entangled (FSRE) phases of matter in one, two, and three spatial dimensions, emphasizing the physical meaning of the cohomological parameters which label such phases and the connection with higher-form symmetries. We propose a classification scheme for fermionic SPT phases in three spatial dimensions with an arbitrary finite point symmetry G. It generalizes the supercohomology of Gu and Wen. We argue that the most general such phase can be obtained from a bosonic "shadow" by condensing both fermionic particles and strings.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Higher SPT's and a generalization of anomaly in-flow

Symmetry protected topological (SPT) phases of bosons in $d$ spatial dimensions have been characterized by the action of the protecting global symmetry $G$ on their boundary. The symmetry acts on the boundary in a way that would be impossible to realize in a purely $d-1$ dimensional system i.e., without the bulk. This is often formalized by saying the $G$ symmetry is anomalous when the boundary theory is gauged. Simultaneously gauging the symmetry on the boundary and in the bulk yields a gauge-invariant composite system. One says there is an anomaly in-flow from the boundary to the bulk. Recently it has been appreciated that some anomalies are too severe to be regulated by an SPT bulk. These do not satisfy anomaly in-flow in the traditional sense. However, we show that these anomalous systems can be regulated as the symmetric boundaries of the newly discovered higher SPT phases. These higher SPT's are protected by a symmetry $d$-group, a higher categorical version of a group which can charge not just particles but also strings, volumes, etc. This structure emerges naturally from computation of the anomaly. One can interpret these severe anomalies as producing an emergent higher-form gauge field when $G$ is gauged, and this gauge field participates in the bulk topological action.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Fermionic Symmetry Protected Topological Phases and Cobordisms

It has been proposed recently that interacting Symmetry Protected Topological (SPT) phases can be classified using cobordism theory. We test this proposal in the case of fermionic SPT phases with Z/2 symmetry, where Z/2 is either time-reversal or an internal symmetry. We find that cobordism classification correctly describes all known fermionic SPT phases in space dimension less than or equal to 3 and also predicts that all such phases can be realized by free fermions. In higher dimensions we predict the existence of inherently interacting fermionic SPT phases.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Higher symmetry and gapped phases of gauge theories

We study topological field theory describing gapped phases of gauge theories where the gauge symmetry is partially Higgsed and partially confined. The TQFT can be formulated both in the continuum and on the lattice and generalizes Dijkgraaf-Witten theory by replacing a finite group by a finite 2-group. The basic field in this TQFT is a 2-connection on a principal 2-bundle. We classify topological actions for such theories as well as loop and surface observables. When the topological action is trivial, the TQFT is related to a Dijkgraaf-Witten theory by electric-magnetic duality, but in general it is distinct. We propose the existence of new phases of matter protected by higher symmetry.

hep-th↗

Framed Wilson Operators, Fermionic Strings, and Gravitational Anomaly in 4d

We study gapped systems with anomalous time-reversal symmetry and global gravitational anomaly in three and four spacetime dimensions. These systems describe topological order on the boundary of bosonic Symmetry Protected Topological (SPT) Phases. Our description of these phases is via the recent cobordism proposal for their classification. In particular, the behavior of these systems is determined by the geometry of Stiefel-Whitney classes. We discuss electric and magnetic operators defined by these classes, and new types of Wilson lines and surfaces that sit on their boundary. The lines describe fermionic particles, while the surfaces describe a sort of fermionic string. We show that QED with a fermionic monopole exhibits the 4d global gravitational anomaly and has a fermionic $π$-flux.

hep-th↗

Anomalies of discrete symmetries in various dimensions and group cohomology

We study 't Hooft anomalies for discrete global symmetries in bosonic theories in 2, 3 and 4 dimensions. We show that such anomalies may arise in gauge theories with topological terms in the action, if the total symmetry group is a nontrivial extension of the global symmetry by the gauge symmetry. Sometimes the 't Hooft anomaly for a d-dimensional theory with a global symmetry G can be canceled by anomaly inflow from a (d+1)-dimensional topological gauge theory with gauge group G. Such d-dimensional theories can live on the surfaces of Symmetry Protected Topological Phases. We also give examples of theories with more severe 't Hooft anomalies which cannot be canceled in this way.

hep-th↗

Anomalies of discrete symmetries in three dimensions and group cohomology

We study 't Hooft anomalies for a global discrete internal symmetry G. We construct examples of bosonic field theories in three dimensions with a non-vanishing 't Hooft anomaly for a discrete global symmetry. We also construct field theories in three dimensions with a global discrete internal symmetry G_1 x G_2 such that gauging G_1 necessarily breaks G_2 and vice versa. This is analogous to the Adler-Bell-Jackiw axial anomaly in four dimensions and parity anomaly in three dimensions.

hep-th↗

Topological Field Theory on a Lattice, Discrete Theta-Angles and Confinement

We study a topological field theory describing confining phases of gauge theories in four dimensions. It can be formulated on a lattice using a discrete 2-form field talking values in a finite abelian group (the magnetic gauge group). We show that possible theta-angles in such a theory are quantized and labeled by quadratic functions on the magnetic gauge group. When the theta-angles vanish, the theory is dual to an ordinary topological gauge theory, but in general it is not isomorphic to it. We also explain how to couple a lattice Yang-Mills theory to a TQFT of this kind so that the 't Hooft flux is well-defined, and quantized values of the theta-angles are allowed. The quantized theta-angles include the discrete theta-angles recently identified by Aharony, Seiberg and Tachikawa.

hep-th↗

Electric-Magnetic Duality of Topological Gauge Theories from Compactification

In this note, we discuss electric-magnetic duality between a pair of 4d topological field theories (TQFTs) by considering their compactifications to 2 dimensions. These TQFTs control the long-distance behavior of loop and surface operators in 4d gauge theories with gapped phases. These were recently used in work by S. Gukov and A. Kapustin in detecting phases not distinguishable by the Wilson-'t Hooft criterion and by A. Kapustin and the author to construct discrete theta-angles for lattice Yang-Mills theories. The strong-weak duality is manifested in an exchange of dynamical and background degrees of freedom in the compactified TQFTs.

hep-th↗

Thermodynamic Semirings

The Witt construction describes a functor from the category of Rings to the category of characteristic 0 rings. It is uniquely determined by a few associativity constraints which do not depend on the types of the variables considered, in other words, by integer polynomials. This universality allowed Alain Connes and Caterina Consani to devise an analogue of the Witt ring for characteristic one, an attractive endeavour since we know very little about the arithmetic in this exotic characteristic and its corresponding field with one element. Interestingly, they found that in characteristic one, the Witt construction depends critically on the Shannon entropy. In the current work, we examine this surprising occurrence, defining a Witt operad for an arbitrary information measure and a corresponding algebra we call a thermodynamic semiring. This object exhibits algebraically many of the familiar properties of information measures, and we examine in particular the Tsallis and Renyi entropy functions and applications to nonextensive thermodynamics and multifractals. We find that the arithmetic of the thermodynamic semiring is exactly that of a certain guessing game played using the given information measure.

math.QA↗