arXiv subjects

Zhengdi Sun

Publications and source records attributed to Zhengdi Sun.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Tilts from 2-Groups

2-group global symmetries intertwine 0-form and 1-form symmetries in an interesting way. We analyze universal constraints on lines which are charged under the 1-form subgroup of a 2-group, and show that they generically break the 0-form symmetry explicitly. This gives rise to a family of line defects parameterized by the broken symmetry generators, whose existence is invariant under the renormalization group flow of the bulk-defect system. The symmetry breaking is enforced by a `family anomaly,' which is a topological obstruction to a symmetric defect. Our main tools are the Wess-Zumino consistency condition and a generalized anomaly inflow formalism for defects and boundaries. For nonabelian continuous 2-groups the family anomaly stems from a higher Berry connection on the moduli space of defects, and constrains response functions that probe the local action of the broken symmetry. In the continuous abelian case we apply differential cohomology to the 2-group background fields to uncover a subtle generalization of the Wess-Zumino condition, while in the discrete case we recast it in terms of the associativity of symmetry defects. We give numerous illustrative examples, computing when possible explicit forms of the tilt operator (which probes the linear response of the defect to the broken symmetry) and its higher analogs, which are crucial for matching the family anomaly. We also discuss universal features such as how symmetry violation by charged line defects is related to symmetry breaking hierarchies in the bulk, and highlight a number of subtle points including the distinction between simple and non-simple lines, and Postnikov class resolution.

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arXiv2025

Intrinsic NISPT Phases, igNISPT Phases, and Mixed Anomalies of Non-Invertible Symmetries

A bosonic non-invertible Symmetry Protected Topological (NISPT) phase in (1+1)-dim is referred to as $\textit{intrinsic}$ if it cannot be mapped, under discrete gauging, to a gapped phase with any invertible symmetry, that is, if it is protected by a non-group-theoretical fusion category symmetry. We construct the intrinsic NISPT phases by performing discrete gauging in a partial SSB phase with a fusion category symmetry that has a certain mixed anomaly. Sometimes, the anomaly of that symmetry category can be alternatively understood as a self-anomaly of a proper categorical sub-symmetry; when this is the case, the same gauging provides an anomaly resolution of this anomalous categorical sub-symmetry. This allows us to construct intrinsic gapless SPT (igSPT) phases, where the anomalous faithfully acting symmetry is non-invertible; and we refer to such igSPT phases as igNISPT phases. We provide two concrete lattice models realizing an intrinsic NISPT phase and an igNISPT phase, respectively. We also generalize the construction of intrinsic NISPT phases to (3+1)-dim.

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arXiv2025

Higher structure of non-invertible symmetries from Lagrangian descriptions

The symmetry structure of a quantum field theory is determined not only by the topological defects that implement the symmetry and their fusion rules, but also by the topological networks they can form, which is referred to as the higher structure of the symmetry. In this paper, we consider theories with non-invertible symmetries that have an explicit Lagrangian description, and use it to study their higher structure. Starting with the 2d free compact boson theory and its non-invertible duality defects, we will find Lagrangian descriptions of networks of defects and use them to recover all the $F$-symbols of the familiar Tambara-Yamagami fusion category $\operatorname{TY}(\mathbb{Z}_N,+1)$. We will then use the same approach in 4d Maxwell theory to compute $F$-symbols associated with its non-invertible duality and triality defects, which are 2d topological field theories. In addition, we will also compute some of the $F$-symbols using a different (group theoretical) approach that is not based on the Lagrangian description, and find that they take the expected form.

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arXiv2025

The SymTFT for $N$-ality defects: Part I

In order to obtain the SymTFT for a theory with an $N$-ality extension of a discrete, Abelian group $G$, one begins by considering a bulk $G$-gauge theory, and then gauges an appropriate $\mathbb{Z}_N$ symmetry. This procedure involves three choices: the choice of a suitable bulk $\mathbb{Z}_N$ symmetry, of a fractionalization class, and of a discrete torsion. The first choice is, somewhat surprisingly, the most involved, and in this paper we discuss it in detail. In particular, we show that the choice of bulk $\mathbb{Z}_N$ symmetry determines all boundary $F$-symbols with a single incoming $N$-ality defect, and that any theory with an $N$-ality symmetry is invariant under a certain twisted gauging given in terms of these $F$-symbols. These $F$-symbols can furthermore be input into the pentagon identities to obtain the other $F$-symbols, up to freedoms related to the choices appearing in the second and third steps of bulk gauging. Although many of our results hold for general $N$, we restrict ourselves in some places to the case of $N=p$ prime. In particular, for generic triality defects, we acquire explicit $F$-symbols which are reminiscent of those in Tambara-Yamagami fusion categories.

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arXiv2025

Codimension one defects in free scalar field theory

We study various aspects of codimension one defects in free scalar field theory, with particular emphasis on line defects in two-dimensions. These defects are generically non-conformal, but include conformal and topological defects as special cases. Our analysis is based on the interplay between two complementary descriptions, the first involving matching conditions imposed on fields and their derivatives across the defect, and the second on the resummation of perturbation theory in terms of renormalized defect couplings. Using either description as appropriate we compute a variety of observables: correlators of fields in the presence of such defects; the defect anomalous dimension; multiple defects and their fusion; canonical quantization and instabilities; ring shaped defects with application to the g-theorem and the entanglement entropy of accelerating defects; defects on the torus and Cardy formulas for the asymptotic density of states of the defect Hilbert space; and quenches produced by spacelike defects. The simplicity of the model allows for explicit computation of all these quantities, and provides a starting point for more complicated theories involving interactions.

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arXiv2025

SymSETs and self-dualities under gauging non-invertible symmetries

The self-duality defects under discrete gauging in a categorical symmetry $\mathcal{C}$ can be classified by inequivalent ways of enriching the bulk SymTFT of $\mathcal{C}$ with $\mathbb{Z}_2$ 0-form symmetry. The resulting Symmetry Enriched Topological (SET) orders will be referred to as $\textit{SymSETs}$ and are parameterized by choices of $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetries, as well as symmetry fractionalization classes and discrete torsions. In this work, we consider self-dualities under gauging $\textit{non-invertible}$ $0$-form symmetries in $2$-dim QFTs and explore their SymSETs. Unlike the simpler case of self-dualities under gauging finite Abelian groups, the SymSETs here generally admit multiple choices of fractionalization classes. We provide a direct construction of the SymSET from a given duality defect using its $\textit{relative center}$. Using the SymSET, we show explicitly that changing fractionalization classes can change fusion rules of the duality defect besides its $F$-symbols. We consider three concrete examples: the maximal gauging of $\operatorname{Rep} H_8$, the non-maximal gauging of the duality defect $\mathcal{N}$ in $\operatorname{Rep} H_8$ and $\operatorname{Rep} D_8$ respectively. The latter two cases each result in 6 fusion categories with two types of fusion rules related by changing fractionalization class. In particular, two self-dualities of $\operatorname{Rep} D_8$ related by changing the fractionalization class lead to $\operatorname{Rep} D_{16}$ and $\operatorname{Rep} SD_{16}$ respectively. Finally, we study the physical implications such as the spin selection rules and the SPT phases for the aforementioned categories.

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arXiv2024

Exploring $G$-ality defects in 2-dim QFTs

The Tambara-Yamagami (TY) fusion category symmetry $\text{TY}(\mathbb{A},\chi,\epsilon)$ describes the enhanced non-invertible self-duality symmetry of a $2$-dim QFT under gauging a finite Abelian group $\mathbb{A}$. We generalize the enhanced non-invertible symmetries by considering twisted gauging which allows stacking $\mathbb{A}$-SPTs before and after the gauging. Such non-invertible symmetries can be obtained from invertible anyon permutation symmetries of the $3$-dim SymTFT. Consider a finite group $G$ formed by (un)twisted gaugings of $\mathbb{A}$, a $2$-dim QFT invariant under topological manipulations in $G$ admits non-invertible \textit{$G$-ality defects}. We study the classification and the physical implication of the $G$-ality defects using the SymTFT and the group-theoretical fusion categories, with three concrete examples. 1) Triality with $\mathbb{A} = \mathbb{Z}_N \times \mathbb{Z}_N$ where $N$ is coprime with $3$. The classification was previously determined by Jordan and Larson where the data is similar to the $\text{TY}$ fusion categories, and we determine the anomaly of these fusion categories. 2) $p$-ality with $\mathbb{A} = \mathbb{Z}_p \times \mathbb{Z}_p$ where $p$ is an odd prime. We consider two such categories $\mathcal{P}_{\pm,m}$ which are distinguished by different choices of the symmetry fractionalization, a new data that does not appear in the TY classification, and show that they have distinct anomaly structures and spin selection rules. 3) $S_3$-ality with $\mathbb{A} = \mathbb{Z}_N \times \mathbb{Z}_N$. We study their classification explicitly for $N < 20$ via SymTFT, and provide a group-theoretical construction for certain $N$. We find $N=5$ is the minimal $N$ to admit an $S_3$-ality and $N=11$ is the minimal $N$ to admit a group-theoretical $S_3$-ality.

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arXiv2024

Realizing triality and $p$-ality by lattice twisted gauging in (1+1)d quantum spin systems

In this paper, we study the twisted gauging on the (1+1)d lattice and construct various non-local mappings on the lattice operators. To be specific, we define the twisted Gauss law operator and implement the twisted gauging of the finite group on the lattice motivated by the orbifolding procedure in the conformal field theory, which involves the data of non-trivial element in the second cohomology group of the gauge group. We show the twisted gauging is equivalent to the two-step procedure of first applying the SPT entangler and then untwisted gauging. We use the twisted gauging to construct the triality (order 3) and $p$-ality (order $p$) mapping on the $\mathbb{Z}_p\times \mathbb{Z}_p$ symmetric Hamiltonians, where $p$ is a prime. Such novel non-local mappings generalize Kramers-Wannier duality and they preserve the locality of symmetric operators but map charged operators to non-local ones. We further construct quantum process to realize these non-local mappings and analyze the induced mappings on the phase diagrams. For theories that are invariant under these non-local mappings, they admit the corresponding non-invertible symmetries. The non-invertible symmetry will constrain the theory at the multicritical point between the gapped phases. We further give the condition when the non-invertible symmetry can have symmetric gapped phase with a unique ground state.

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arXiv2024

A SymTFT for Continuous Symmetries

Symmetry is a powerful tool for studying dynamics in QFT: it provides selection rules, constrains RG flows, and often simplifies analysis. Currently, our understanding is that the most general form of symmetry is described by categorical symmetries which can be realized via Symmetry TQFTs or ``SymTFTs." In this paper, we show how the framework of the SymTFT, which is understood for discrete symmetries (i.e. finite categorical symmetries), can be generalized to continuous symmetries. In addition to demonstrating how $U(1)$ global symmetries can be incorporated into the paradigm of the SymTFT, we apply our formalism to study cubic $U(1)$ anomalies in $4d$ QFTs, describe the $\mathbb{Q}/\mathbb{Z}$ non-invertible chiral symmetry in $4d$ theories, and conjecture the SymTFT for general continuous $G^{(0)}$ global symmetries.

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arXiv2023

Self-duality under gauging a non-invertible symmetry

We discuss two-dimensional conformal field theories (CFTs) which are invariant under gauging a non-invertible global symmetry. At every point on the orbifold branch of $c=1$ CFTs, it is known that the theory is self-dual under gauging a $\mathbb{Z}_2\times \mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry, and has $\mathsf{Rep}(H_8)$ and $\mathsf{Rep}(D_8)$ fusion category symmetries as a result. We find that gauging the entire $\mathsf{Rep}(H_8)$ fusion category symmetry maps the orbifold theory at radius $R$ to that at radius $2/R$. At $R=\sqrt{2}$, which corresponds to two decoupled Ising CFTs (Ising$^2$ in short), the theory is self-dual under gauging the $\mathsf{Rep}(H_8)$ symmetry. This implies the existence of a topological defect line in the Ising$^2$ CFT obtained from half-space gauging of the $\mathsf{Rep}(H_8)$ symmetry, which commutes with the $c=1$ Virasoro algebra but does not preserve the fully extended chiral algebra. We bootstrap its action on the $c=1$ Virasoro primary operators, and find that there are no relevant or marginal operators preserving it. Mathematically, the new topological line combines with the $\mathsf{Rep}(H_8)$ symmetry to form a bigger fusion category which is a $\mathbb{Z}_2$-extension of $\mathsf{Rep}(H_8)$. We solve the pentagon equations including the additional topological line and find 8 solutions, where two of them are realized in the Ising$^2$ CFT. Finally, we show that the torus partition functions of the Monster$^2$ CFT and Ising$\times$Monster CFT are also invariant under gauging the $\mathsf{Rep}(H_8)$ symmetry.

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arXiv2023

When are Duality Defects Group-Theoretical?

A quantum field theory with a finite abelian symmetry $G$ may be equipped with a non-invertible duality defect associated with gauging $G$. For certain $G$, duality defects admit an alternative construction where one starts with invertible symmetries with certain 't Hooft anomaly, and gauging a non-anomalous subgroup. This special type of duality defects are termed group theoretical. In this work, we determine when duality defects are group theoretical, among $G=\mathbb{Z}_N^{(0)}$ and $\mathbb{Z}_N^{(1)}$ in $2$d and 4d quantum field theories, respectively. A duality defect is group theoretical if and only if its Symmetry TFT is a Dijkgraaf-Witten theory, and we argue that this is equivalent to a certain stability condition of the topological boundary conditions of the $G$ gauge theory. By solving the stability condition, we find that a $\mathbb{Z}_N^{(0)}$ duality defect in 2d is group theoretical if and only if $N$ is a perfect square, and under certain assumptions a $\mathbb{Z}_N^{(1)}$ duality defect in 4d is group theoretical if and only if $N=L^2 M$ where $-1$ is a quadratic residue of $M$. For these subset of $N$, we construct explicit topological manipulations that map the non-invertible duality defects to invertible defects. We also comment on the connection between our results and the recent discussion of obstruction to duality-preserving gapped phases.

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arXiv2023

Root-$T \overline{T}$ Deformed Boundary Conditions in Holography

We develop the holographic dictionary for pure $\mathrm{AdS}_3$ gravity where the Lagrangian of the dual $2d$ conformal field theory has been deformed by an arbitrary function of the energy-momentum tensor. In addition to the $T \overline{T}$ deformation, examples of such functions include a class of marginal stress tensor deformations which are special because they leave the generating functional of connected correlators unchanged up to a redefinition of the source and expectation value. Within this marginal class, we identify the unique deformation that commutes with the $T \overline{T}$ flow, which is the root-$T \overline{T}$ operator, and write down the modified boundary conditions corresponding to this root-$T \overline{T}$ deformation. We also identify the unique marginal stress tensor flow for the cylinder spectrum of the dual CFT which commutes with the inviscid Burgers' flow driven by $T \overline{T}$, and we propose this unique flow as a candidate root-$T \overline{T}$ deformation of the energy levels. We study BTZ black holes in $\mathrm{AdS}_3$ subject to root-$T \overline{T}$ deformed boundary conditions, and find that their masses flow in a way which is identical to that of our candidate root-$T \overline{T}$ energy flow equation, which offers evidence that this flow is the correct one. Finally, we also obtain the root-$T \overline{T}$ deformed boundary conditions for the gauge field in the Chern-Simons formulation of $\mathrm{AdS}_3$ gravity.

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arXiv2023

On Triality Defects in 2d CFT

We consider the triality fusion category discovered in the $c = 1$ KT theory \cite{Thorngren:2021yso}. We analyze this fusion category using the tools from the group theoretical fusion category and describe how to compute the simple lines, fusion rules and $F$-symbols. We then study the physical implication of this fusion category including deriving the spin selection rule, computing the asymptotic density of states of irreps of the fusion category symmetries, and analyzing its anomaly and constraints on the renormalization group flow. There is another set of $F$-symbols for the fusion categories with the same fusion rule known in the literature \cite{teo2015theory} which we compare with, and find the two are different as they lead to different spin selection rules. This gives a complete list of the fusion categories with the same fusion rule by the classification result in \cite{jordan2009classification}.

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arXiv2022

$T\overline{T}$ deformation in SCFTs and integrable supersymmetric theories

We calculate the $\mathcal{S}$-multiplets for two-dimensional Euclidean $\mathcal{N}=(0,2)$ and $\mathcal{N} = (2,2)$ superconformal field theories under the $T\overline{T}$ deformation at leading order of perturbation theory in the deformation coupling. Then, from these $\mathcal{N} = (0, 2)$ deformed multiplets, we calculate two- and three-point correlators. We show the $\mathcal{N} = (0,2)$ chiral ring's elements do not flow under the $T\overline{T}$ deformation. Specializing to integrable supersymmetric seed theories, such as $\mathcal{N} = (2,2)$ Landau-Ginzburg models, we use the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz to study the S-matrices and ground state energies. From both an S-matrix perspective and Melzer's folding prescription, we show that the deformed ground state energy obeys the inviscid Burgers' equation. Finally, we show that several indices independent of $D$-term perturbations including the Witten index, Cecotti-Fendley-Intriligator-Vafa index and elliptic genus do not flow under the $T\overline{T}$ deformation.

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arXiv2022

$T\bar{T}$ in JT Gravity and BF Gauge Theory

JT gravity has a first-order formulation as a two-dimensional BF theory, which can be viewed as the dimensional reduction of the Chern-Simons description of $3d$ gravity. We consider $T\bar{T}$-type deformations of the $(0+1)$-dimensional dual to this $2d$ BF theory and interpret the deformation as a modification of the BF theory boundary conditions. The fundamental observables in this deformed BF theory, and in its $3d$ Chern-Simons lift, are Wilson lines and loops. In the $3d$ Chern-Simons setting, we study modifications to correlators involving boundary-anchored Wilson lines which are induced by a $T\bar{T}$ deformation on the $2d$ boundary; results are presented at both the classical level (using modified boundary conditions) and the quantum-mechanical level (using conformal perturbation theory). Finally, we calculate the analogous deformed Wilson line correlators in $2d$ BF theory below the Hagedorn temperature where the principal series dominates over the discrete series.

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arXiv2022

The Hitchhiker's Guide to 4d $\mathcal{N}=2$ Superconformal Field Theories

Superconformal field theory with $\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetry in four dimensional spacetime provides a prime playground to study strongly coupled phenomena in quantum field theory. Its rigid structure ensures valuable analytic control over non-perturbative effects, yet the theory is still flexible enough to incorporate a large landscape of quantum systems. Here we aim to offer a guidebook to fundamental features of the 4d $\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal field theories and basic tools to construct them in string/M-/F-theory. The content is based on a series of lectures at the Quantum Field Theories and Geometry School (https://sites.google.com/view/qftandgeometrysummerschool/home) in July 2020.

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arXiv2022

$T\overline{T}$-deformed free energy of the Airy model

Sharpening the holographic correspondence of Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity and its dual matrix model description at a finite radial cutoff $λ$ through the $T\overline{T}$ deformation is of interest. To proceed, we simplify the problem by considering the Airy model and deform Airy correlators in the same way as in $T\overline{T}$-deformed JT gravity. We use those correlators to compute the annealed and quenched free energies for both $λ> 0$ and $λ< 0$ from an integral representation of the replica trick. At the leading order in $λ$ and low temperatures, we confirm that the genus-zero quenched free energy monotonically decreases as a function of temperature when perturbation theory is valid. We then study the all-genus quenched free energy at low temperatures, where we discover and discuss subtleties due to non-perturbative effects in the Airy model, as well as the contributions from the non-perturbative branch under the $T\overline{T}$ deformation.

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arXiv2022

$T \overline{T}$ Deformations of Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics

We define a manifestly supersymmetric version of the $T \overline{T}$ deformation appropriate for a class of $(0+1)$-dimensional theories with $\mathcal{N} = 1$ or $\mathcal{N} = 2$ supersymmetry, including one presentation of the super-Schwarzian theory which is dual to JT supergravity. These deformations are written in terms of Noether currents associated with translations in superspace, so we refer to them collectively as $f(\mathcal{Q})$ deformations. We provide evidence that the $f(\mathcal{Q})$ deformations of $\mathcal{N} = 1$ and $\mathcal{N} = 2$ theories are on-shell equivalent to the dimensionally reduced supercurrent-squared deformations of $2d$ theories with $\mathcal{N} = (0,1)$ and $\mathcal{N} = (1,1)$ supersymmetry, respectively. In the $\mathcal{N} = 1$ case, we present two forms of the $f(\mathcal{Q})$ deformation which drive the same flow, and clarify their equivalence by studying the analogous equivalent deformations in the non-supersymmetric setting.

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