Related papers: Twisted Partition Functions as Order Parameters
In this paper, using 1+1D models as examples, we study symmetries and anomalous symmetries via multi-component partition functions obtained through symmetry twists, and their transformations under the mapping class group of spacetime. This…
Depending on the coupling to the environment, symmetries of open quantum systems manifest in two distinct forms, the strong and the weak. We study the spontaneous symmetry breaking among phases with strong symmetry, weak symmetry, and no…
We study ordinary, zero-form symmetry $G$ and its anomalies in a system with a one-form symmetry $\Gamma$. In a theory with one-form symmetry, the action of $G$ on charged line operators is not completely determined, and additional data, a…
We compute the partition function on S^3 of 3d N=4 theories which arise as the low-energy limit of 4d N=4 super Yang-Mills theory on a segment or on a junction, and propose its 1d interpretation. We show that the partition function can be…
We further explore the correspondence between N=2 supersymmetric SU(2) gauge theory with four flavors on epsilon-deformed backgrounds and conformal field theory, with an emphasis on the epsilon-expansion of the partition function natural…
Symmetry fractionalization describes the fascinating phenomena that excitations in a 2D topological system can transform under symmetry in a fractional way. For example in fractional quantum Hall systems, excitations can carry fractional…
We consider the possibility for phases of matter in which a continuous symmetry is spontaneously broken in a \emph{topologically non-trivial} way, which, roughly, means that the action for the Goldstone modes contains a quantized…
Symmetries are important guiding principle for phase transitions. We systematically construct field theory models with local quantum fields that exhibit the following phase transitions: (1) different symmetry protected topological (SPT)…
"Twisted particles" refer to non-plane-wave states of photons, electrons, hadrons, or any other particle which carry non-zero, adjustable orbital angular momentum with respect to their average propagation direction. Twisted photons and…
The dual role played by symmetry in many-body physics manifests itself through two fundamental mechanisms: spontaneous symmetry breaking and topological symmetry protection. These two concepts, ubiquitous in both condensed matter and high…
We summarize basic features of quantum field theories with discrete symmetry $\mathbb{Q}/\mathbb{Z}$ (possibly higher form, global or gauged). The classification of representations and anomalies is quite rich and involves the ring of…
The global symmetry data of a $D$-dimensional absolute quantum field theory can sometimes be packaged in terms of a $(D+1)$-dimensional bulk system obtained by extending along an interval, with a relative QFT$_D$ at one end and suitable…
The order parameters which are thought to detect U(1) gauge symmetry breaking in a superconductor are both non-local and gauge dependent. For that reason they are also ambiguous as a guide to phase structure. We point out that a global…
We study generalized discrete symmetries of quantum field theories in 1+1D generated by topological defect lines with no inverse. In particular, we describe 't Hooft anomalies and classify gapped phases stabilized by these symmetries,…
We analyse the nature of spontaneous symmetry breaking in complex quantum systems by investigating the long-standing conjecture that the maximally symmetry-breaking quantum ground states are the most classical ones corresponding to a…
Spontaneous symmetry breaking is well understood under equilibrium conditions as a consequence of the singularity of the thermodynamic limit. How a single global orientation of the order parameter dynamically emerges from an initially…
Spontaneous symmetry breaking occurs when the underlying laws of a physical system are symmetric, but the vacuum state chosen by the system is not. The (3+1)d $\phi^4$ theory is relatively simple compared to other more complex theories,…
The partition function of a quantum field theory with an exact symmetry can be decomposed into a sum of functional integrals each giving the contribution from states with definite symmetry properties. The composition rules of the…
Spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) occurs when a many-body system governed by a symmetric Hamiltonian, and prepared in a symmetry-broken state by the application of a field coupling to its order parameter $O$, retains a finite $O$ value…
We investigate the low temperature behavior of a system in a spontaneously broken symmetry phase described by an Euclidean quantum $\lambda\varphi^{4}_{d+1}$ model with quenched disorder. Using a series representation for the averaged…