English

Orbifolds and topological defects

High Energy Physics - Theory 2014-09-16 v2 Mathematical Physics math.MP Quantum Algebra

Abstract

We study orbifolds of two-dimensional topological field theories using defects. If the TFT arises as the twist of a superconformal field theory, we recover results on the Neveu-Schwarz and Ramond sectors of the orbifold theory as well as bulk-boundary correlators from a novel, universal perspective. This entails a structure somewhat weaker than ordinary TFT, which however still describes a sector of the underlying conformal theory. The case of B-twisted Landau-Ginzburg models is discussed in detail, where we compute charge vectors and superpotential terms for B-type branes. Our construction also works in the absence of supersymmetry and for generalised "orbifolds" that need not arise from symmetry groups. In general this involves a natural appearance of Hochschild (co)homology in a 2-categorical setting, in which among other things we provide simple presentations of Serre functors and a further generalisation of the Cardy condition.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1307.3141,
  title  = {Orbifolds and topological defects},
  author = {Ilka Brunner and Nils Carqueville and Daniel Plencner},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1307.3141},
  year   = {2014}
}

Comments

54 pages; v2: minor changes

R2 v1 2026-06-22T00:49:46.740Z