Related papers: Spontaneously Broken Boosts in CFTs
We study the properties of 2+1d conformal field theories (CFTs) in a background magnetic field. Using generalized particle-vortex duality, we argue that in many cases of interest the theory becomes gapped, which allows us to make a number…
We propose a diagnostic tool for detecting non-trivial symmetry protected topological (SPT) phases protected by a symmetry group $G$ in 2+1 dimensions. Our method is based on directly studying the 1+1-dimensional anomalous edge conformal…
We derive an explicit bound on the dimension of the lightest charged state in two dimensional conformal field theories with a global abelian symmetry. We find that the bound scales with $c$ and provide examples that parametrically saturate…
The possibility of spontaneous breaking of CP symmetry by the expectation values of orbifold moduli is investigated with particular reference to $CP$ violating phases in soft supersymmetry breaking terms. The effect of different mechanisms…
Perhaps the most important aspect of symmetry in physics is the idea that a state does not need to have the same symmetries as the theory that describes it. This phenomenon is known as spontaneous symmetry breaking. In these lecture notes,…
We derive consistency conditions for the CFT data, which systems with exact but spontaneously broken conformal invariance must satisfy.
The presence of nearby conformal field theories (CFTs) hidden in the complex plane of the tuning parameter was recently proposed as an elegant explanation for the ubiquity of "weakly first-order" transitions in condensed matter and…
We investigate spontaneous symmetry breaking within the linear sigma model with the SU(2)xU(1) internal symmetry at finite chemical potential, which was suggested as a model for kaon condensation in the CFL phase of dense quark matter.…
Quantum field theories with quenched disorder are so hard to study that even exactly solvable free theories present puzzling aspects. We consider a free scalar field $\phi$ in $d$ dimensions coupled to a random source $h$ with quenched…
In this paper, we use crossing symmetry and unitarity constraints to put a lower bound on the central charge of conformal field theories in large space-time dimensions $D$. Specifically, we work with the four-point function of identical…
Field theories compactified on non-simply connected spaces, which in general allow to impose twisted boundary conditions, are found to unexpectedly have a rich phase structure. One of characteristic features of such theories is the…
We consider the CFT of a free boson compactified on a circle, such that the compactification radius $R$ is an irrational multiple of $R_{selfdual}$. Apart from the standard Dirichlet and Neumann boundary states, Friedan suggested [1] that…
Spontaneous symmetry breaking is a fundamental notion in modern physics, ranging from high energy to condensed matter. However, the usual spontaneous symmetry breaking only considers the equal probability to select the vacua. In this work,…
Coleman's theorem states that continuous internal symmetries cannot be spontaneously broken in two-dimensional quantum field theories (QFTs). In this work we consider surface (i.e. two-dimensional) defects in $d$-dimensional conformal field…
We examine the hydrodynamics of systems with spontaneously broken multipolar symmetries using a systematic effective field theory. We focus on the simplest non-trivial setting: a system with charge and dipole symmetry, but without momentum…
In accordance with recent progress of fracton topological phases, unusual topological phases of matter hosting fractionalized quasiparticle excitations with mobility constraints, new type of symmetry is studied -- multipole symmetry,…
Conformal symmetry can be spontaneously broken due to the presence of a defect or other background, which gives a symmetry-breaking vacuum expectation value (VEV) to some scalar operators. We study the effective field theory of fluctuations…
Lattice gauge theories are considered with a partial axial gauge fixing along one direction only. This leaves a residual gauge symmetry that is still local in three directions but now global in one. It is found that this $N^{d-1}$ fold…
In this work we explore the possibility of spontaneous breaking of global symmetries at all nonzero temperatures for conformal field theories (CFTs) in $D = 4$ space-time dimensions. We show that such a symmetry-breaking indeed occurs in…
Symmetry breaking induced by untwisted fermions in QED in a nonsimply connected spacetime with topology $S^{1}\times R^{3}$ is investigated. It is found that the discrete CPT symmetry of the theory is spontaneously broken by the appearance…