Related papers: From 3D topological quantum field theories to 4D m…
Quantum field theories with identical local dynamics can admit different choices of global structure, leading to different partition functions and spectra of extended operators. Such choices can be reformulated in terms of a topological…
Motivated by the question of exploring the "theory space" of quantum field theories, we review the concept of "decomposing" and "gluing" quantum field theories. We explain this in the context of three-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=2$…
We develop the general theory for the construction of Extended Topological Quantum Field Theories (ETQFTs) associated with the Costantino-Geer-Patureau quantum invariants of closed 3-manifolds. In order to do so, we introduce relative…
To formulate the universal constraints of quantum statistics data of generic long-range entangled quantum systems, we introduce the geometric-topology surgery theory on spacetime manifolds where quantum systems reside, cutting and gluing…
Symmetries and anomalies of a $d$-dimensional quantum field theory are often encoded in a $(d+1)$-dimensional topological action, called symmetry topological field theory (TFT). We derive the symmetry TFT for the 2-form and 1-form…
Gluing two manifolds M_1 and M_2 with a common boundary S yields a closed manifold M. Extending to formal linear combinations x=Sum_i(a_i M_i) yields a sesquilinear pairing p=<,> with values in (formal linear combinations of) closed…
We initiate the study of intersecting surface operators/defects in four-dimensional quantum field theories (QFTs). We characterize these defects by coupled 4d/2d/0d theories constructed by coupling the degrees of freedom localized at a…
These notes offer an introduction to the functorial and algebraic description of 2-dimensional topological quantum field theories `with defects', assuming only superficial familiarity with closed TQFTs in terms of commutative Frobenius…
Conformal field theory (CFT) can be placed on disparate space-time manifolds to facilitate investigations of their properties. For (2+1)-dimensional [(2+1)D] theories, one useful choice is the real projective space $\mathbb{RP}^3$ obtained…
Strong, electromagnetic, and weak forces were unified in the Standard Model (SM) with spontaneous gauge symmetry breaking. These forces were further conjectured to be unified in a simple Lie group gauge interaction in the Grand Unification…
((1+1)-dimensional ${\cal N}=1$ super-symmetric field theory and (3+1)-dimensional ${\cal N}=2$ super-symmetric gauge theory are discussed in a, more or less, unified way, designed to identify the quantum BPS states in both systems.…
If $C$ is a spherical fusion category, the string-net construction associates to each closed oriented surface $\Sigma$ the vector space $Z_\text{SN}(\Sigma)$ of linear combinations of $C$-labelled graphs on $\Sigma$ modulo local relations,…
Performing topological manipulations is a fruitful way to understand global aspects of Quantum Field Theory (QFT). Such modifications are typically controlled by the notion of Topological QFT (TQFT) coupling across different codimensions.…
The idea of a sutured topological quantum field theory was introduced by Honda, Kazez and Mati\'c (2008). A sutured TQFT associates a group to each sutured surface and an element of this group to each dividing set on this surface. The…
This is a survey article for the Encyclopedia of Mathematical Physics, 2nd Edition. Topological defects are described in the context of the 2-dimensional Ising model on the lattice, in 2-dimensional quantum field theory, in topological…
We study the path integral quantization of the topological 3BF theory, whose gauge symmetry is described by a 3-group. This theory is relevant for the quantization of general relativity coupled to Standard Model of elementary particles. We…
It has been common wisdom among mathematicians that Extended Topological Field Theory in dimensions higher than two is naturally formulated in terms of n-categories with n> 1. Recently the physical meaning of these higher categorical…
Distinct quantum vacua of topologically ordered states can be tunneled into each other via extended operators. The possible applications include condensed matter and quantum cosmology. We present a straightforward approach to calculate the…
In previous works, we suggested considering a (3+1)D quantum gravitational field as an evolution of a (2+1)D renormalized quantum gravitational field along the direction of the gravitational force. The starting point of the suggestion is a…
The decomposition of an arbitrary axiomatic topological quantum field theory or TQFT into indecomposable theories is given. In particular, unitary TQFT's in arbitrary dimensions are shown to decompose into a sum of theories in which the…