English

Anomalies and gauging of U(1) symmetries

High Energy Physics - Theory 2025-03-03 v4

Abstract

We propose the Symmetry TFT for theories with a U(1)U(1) symmetry in arbitrary dimension. The Symmetry TFT describes the structure of the symmetry, its anomalies, and the possible topological manipulations. It is constructed as a BF theory of gauge fields for groups U(1)U(1) and R\mathbb{R}, and contains a continuum of topological operators. We also propose an operation that produces the Symmetry TFT for the theory obtained by dynamically gauging the U(1)U(1) symmetry. We discuss many examples. As an interesting outcome, we obtain the Symmetry TFT for the non-invertible Q/Z\mathbb{Q}/\mathbb{Z} chiral symmetry in four dimensions.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2401.10165,
  title  = {Anomalies and gauging of U(1) symmetries},
  author = {Andrea Antinucci and Francesco Benini},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2401.10165},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

Two columns, 12 pages. v2: refs added, more clear exposition. v3: refs added, typos corrected. v4: discussion added to sec. 3.A, matches published version