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Related papers: Fractons: gauging spin models and tensor gauge the…

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We broaden the scope of quantum field theory by introducing a general class of discrete gauge theories that realize either topological order or fracton behavior across dimensions. We start from translation-invariant systems endowed with…

Strongly Correlated Electrons · Physics 2026-01-21 Guilherme Delfino , Claudio Chamon , Yizhi You

We study field theories with global dipole symmetries and gauge dipole symmetries. The famous Lifshitz theory is an example of a theory with a global dipole symmetry. We study in detail its 1+1d version with a compact field. When this…

Strongly Correlated Electrons · Physics 2022-07-20 Pranay Gorantla , Ho Tat Lam , Nathan Seiberg , Shu-Heng Shao

We revisit the first principles gauge theoretical construction of relativistic gapless fracton theory developed by A.~Blasi and N.~Maggiore. The difference is that, instead of considering a symmetric tensor field, we consider a vector field…

High Energy Physics - Theory · Physics 2025-04-03 Rodrigo F. Sobreiro

Fractons are particles with restricted mobility. We give a symmetry-based derivation of effective field theories of gapless phases with fractonic topological defects, such as solids and supersolids, using a coset construction. The resulting…

Strongly Correlated Electrons · Physics 2022-05-12 Yuji Hirono , Yong-Hui Qi

We present a covariant field-theoretical framework for a rank-4 tensor gauge field theory describing fractonic string-like objects. We show that the most general quadratic, parity-preserving action naturally leads to a Maxwell-like sector,…

High Energy Physics - Theory · Physics 2026-05-21 Erica Bertolini , Hyungrok Kim , Giandomenico Palumbo

Fracton order is an intriguing new type of order which shares many common features with topological order, such as topology-dependent ground state degeneracies, and excitations with mutual statistics. However, it also has several…

Strongly Correlated Electrons · Physics 2020-07-01 Yizhi You , Trithep Devakul , S. L. Sondhi , F. J. Burnell

We study novel three-dimensional gapped quantum phases of matter which support quasiparticles with restricted mobility, including immobile "fracton" excitations. So far, most existing fracton models may be instructively viewed as…

Strongly Correlated Electrons · Physics 2019-04-10 Hao Song , Abhinav Prem , Sheng-Jie Huang , M. A. Martin-Delgado

We construct a covariant and gauge-invariant theory describing massive fractons in three spacetime dimensions, based on a symmetric rank-2 tensor field. The model includes a Chern-Simons-like term that plays a dual role: it generates a…

High Energy Physics - Theory · Physics 2025-10-28 Erica Bertolini , Matteo Carrega , Nicola Maggiore , Daniel Sacco Shaikh

We consider the theory of a symmetric tensor field in 4D, invariant under a subclass of infinitesimal diffeomorphism transformations, where the vector diff parameter is the 4-divergence of a scalar parameter. The resulting gauge symmetry…

High Energy Physics - Theory · Physics 2022-07-20 Alberto Blasi , Nicola Maggiore

We demonstrate several explicit duality mappings between elasticity of two-dimensional crystals and fracton tensor gauge theories, expanding on recent works by two of the present authors. We begin by dualizing the quantum elasticity theory…

Strongly Correlated Electrons · Physics 2019-11-01 Michael Pretko , Zhengzheng Zhai , Leo Radzihovsky

Lattice gauge theories are a powerful language to theoretically describe a variety of strongly correlated systems, including frustrated magnets, high-$T_c$ superconductors, and topological phases. However, in many cases gauge fields couple…

Strongly Correlated Electrons · Physics 2017-11-07 Christian Prosko , Shu-Ping Lee , Joseph Maciejko

Gapped fracton phases of matter generalize the concept of topological order and broaden our fundamental understanding of entanglement in quantum many-body systems. However, their analytical or numerical description beyond exactly solvable…

Strongly Correlated Electrons · Physics 2023-05-30 Guo-Yi Zhu , Ji-Yao Chen , Peng Ye , Simon Trebst

Recent work has shown that two seemingly different physical mechanisms, namely fracton behavior and confinement, can give rise to non-ergodicity in one-dimensional quantum many-body systems. In this work, we demonstrate an intrinsic link…

Strongly Correlated Electrons · Physics 2020-02-05 Shriya Pai , Michael Pretko

Gauge-field configurations with nontrivial topology have profound consequences for the physics of Abelian and non-Abelian gauge theories. Over time, arguments have been gathering for the existence of gauge-field configurations with…

High Energy Physics - Lattice · Physics 2026-01-19 Pavel P. Popov , Valentin Kasper , Maciej Lewenstein , Erez Zohar , Paolo Stornati , Philipp Hauke

Dipole charge conservation forces isolated charges to be immobile fractons. These couple naturally to spatial two-index symmetric tensor gauge fields that resemble a spatial metric. We propose a spacetime Lorentz covariant version of dipole…

High Energy Physics - Theory · Physics 2024-03-12 Evangelos Afxonidis , Alessio Caddeo , Carlos Hoyos , Daniele Musso

We consistently couple simple continuum field theories with fracton excitations to curved spacetime backgrounds. We consider homogeneous and isotropic fracton field theories, with a conserved $U(1)$ charge and dipole moment. Coupling to…

High Energy Physics - Theory · Physics 2022-05-04 Akash Jain , Kristan Jensen

Classical U(1) fracton spin liquids feature an extensive ground state degeneracy and follow an effective description in terms of a tensor Gauss' law where charges, so-called fractons, have restricted mobility. Here we introduce a simple…

Strongly Correlated Electrons · Physics 2026-04-14 Nils Niggemann , Meghadeepa Adhikary , Yannik Schaden-Thillmann , Johannes Reuther

We show that the fractonic dipole-conserving algebra can be obtained as an Aristotelian (and pseudo-Carrollian) contraction of the Poincar\'e algebra in one dimension higher. Such contraction allows to obtain fracton electrodynamics from a…

High Energy Physics - Theory · Physics 2024-04-23 Francisco Peña-Benítez , Patricio Salgado-Rebolledo

We study models with fracton-like order based on $\mathbb{Z}_2$ lattice gauge theories with subsystem symmetries in $d=2$ and $d=3$ spatial dimensions. The $3d$ model reduces to the $3$-dimensional Toric Code when subsystem symmetry is…

Strongly Correlated Electrons · Physics 2020-07-08 J. P. Ibieta-Jimenez , L. N. Queiroz Xavier , M. Petrucci , P. Teotonio-Sobrinho

Fractons, excitations with restricted mobility, have emerged as a novel paradigm in high-energy and condensed matter physics, revealing deep connections to gauge theories and gravity. Here, we propose a tensorial generalization of…

High Energy Physics - Theory · Physics 2025-07-08 Erica Bertolini , Giandomenico Palumbo