von Neumann Subfactors and Non-invertible Symmetries
Abstract
We use the language of von Neumann subfactors to investigate non-invertible symmetries in two dimensions. A fusion categorical symmetry , its module category , and a gauging labeled by an algebra object are encoded in the bipartite principal graph of a subfactor. The dual principal graph captures the quantum symmetry obtained by gauging in , as well as a reverse gauging back to . From a given subfactor , we derive a quiver diagram that encodes the representations of the associated non-invertible symmetry. We show how this framework provides necessary conditions for admissible gaugings, enabling the construction of generalized orbifold groupoids. To illustrate this strategy, we present three examples: Rep as a warm-up, the higher-multiplicity case Rep with its associated generalized orbifold groupoid and triality symmetry, and Rep, where is the smallest non-solvable finite group. For applications to gapless systems, we embed these generalized gaugings as global manipulations on the conformal manifolds of CFTs and uncover new self-dualities in the exceptional theory. For -symmetric TQFTs, we use the subfactor-derived quiver diagrams to characterize gapped phases, describe their vacuum structure, and classify the recently proposed particle-soliton degeneracies.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2504.05374,
title = {von Neumann Subfactors and Non-invertible Symmetries},
author = {Xingyang Yu and Hao Y. Zhang},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2504.05374},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
47 pages + an appendix, 13 tables, 27 figures; v2: minor changes and added references; v3: 3 figures and explanations added in section 2, minor clarifications added