English

(3+1)D topological orders with only a $\mathbb{Z}_2$-charged particle

Quantum Algebra 2020-11-24 v1 Strongly Correlated Electrons High Energy Physics - Theory Category Theory

Abstract

There is exactly one bosonic (3+1)-dimensional topological order whose only nontrivial particle is an emergent boson: pure Z2\mathbb{Z}_2 gauge theory. There are exactly two (3+1)-dimensional topological orders whose only nontrivial particle is an emergent fermion: pure "spin-Z2\mathbb{Z}_2" gauge theory, in which the dynamical field is a spin structure; and an anomalous version thereof. I give three proofs of this classification, varying from hands-on to abstract. Along the way, I provide a detailed study of the braided fusion 22-category Z(1)(ΣSVec)\mathcal{Z}_{(1)}(\Sigma \mathbf{SVec}) of string and particle operators in pure spin-Z2\mathbb{Z}_2 gauge theory.

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Cite

@article{arxiv.2011.11165,
  title  = {(3+1)D topological orders with only a $\mathbb{Z}_2$-charged particle},
  author = {Theo Johnson-Freyd},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2011.11165},
  year   = {2020}
}

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30 pages