Related papers: Higher-form symmetries as higher automorphism bund…
In this paper, we explore the algebraic and geometric structures that arise from a procedure we dub "gauging the gauge", which involves the promotion of a certain global, coordinate independent symmetry to a local one. By gauging the global…
The correlation functions of supersymmetric gauge theories on a four-manifold X can sometimes be expressed in terms of topological invariants of X. We show how the existence of superconformal fixed points in the gauge theory can provide…
We analyze in detail the global symmetries of various (2+1)d quantum field theories and couple them to classical background gauge fields. A proper identification of the global symmetries allows us to consider all non-trivial bundles of…
It might be expected that only global symmetries are fundamental symmetries of Nature, whereas local symmetries and associated massless gauge fields could solely emerge due to spontaneous breaking of underlying spacetime symmetries…
We consider generalisations of the recently proposed supersymmetry breaking deformation of the 5d rank-1 $E_1$ superconformal field theory to higher rank. We generalise the arguments to theories which admit a mass deformation leading to…
We begin an investigation of supersymmetric theories based on exceptional groups. The flat directions are most easily parameterized using their correspondence with gauge invariant polynomials. Symmetries and holomorphy tightly constrain the…
We argue that the relevant higher gauge group for the non-abelian generalization of the self-dual string equation is the string 2-group. We then derive the corresponding equations of motion and discuss their properties. The underlying…
We introduce the notion of algebraic higher symmetry, which generalizes higher symmetry and is beyond higher group. We show that an algebraic higher symmetry in a bosonic system in $n$-dimensional space is characterized and classified by a…
Recently introduced generalized global symmetries have been useful in order to understand non-perturbative aspects of quantum field theories in four and lower dimensions. In this paper we focus on 1-form symmetries of weakly coupled 6d…
One of the general strategies for realizing a wide class of interacting QFTs is via junctions and intersections of higher-dimensional bulk theories. In the context of string/M-theory, this includes many $D > 4$ superconformal field theories…
The gauge symmetries that underlie string theory arise from inner automorphisms of the algebra of observables of the associated conformal field theory. In this way it is possible to study broken and unbroken symmetries on the same footing,…
The underlying mathematical structures of gauge theories are known to be geometrical in nature and the local and global features of this geometry have been studied for a long time in mathematics under the name of fibre bundles. It is now…
The study of discrete gauge symmetries in field theory and string theory is often carried out by embedding them into continuous symmetries. Many symmetries however do not seem to admit such embedding, for instance discrete isometries given…
Motivated by the simplicity and direct phenomenological applicability of field-theoretic orbifold constructions in the context of grand unification, we set out to survey the immensely rich group-theoretical possibilities open to this type…
A general algebraic approach, incorporating both invariance groups and dynamic symmetry algebras, is developed to reveal hidden coherent structures (closed complexes and configurations) in quantum many-body physics models due to symmetries…
M2-branes couple to a 3-form potential, which suggests that their description involves a non-abelian 2-gerbe or, equivalently, a principal 3-bundle. We show that current M2-brane models fit this expectation: they can be reformulated as…
Nonlinear field equations for the supersymmetric higher-spin gauge theory describing totally symmetric bosonic and fermionic massless fields along with hook-type bosonic fields of all spins in any space-time dimension are presented. One of…
We study grand unified models in the five-dimensional space-time where the extra dimension is compactified on $S^1/Z_2$. The spontaneous breaking of unified gauge symmetries is achieved via vacuum expectation values of the extra-dimensional…
Generalized global symmetries are a common feature of many quantum field theories decoupled from gravity. By contrast, in quantum gravity / the Swampland program, it is widely expected that all global symmetries are either gauged or broken,…
We present a complete solution to the problem of Formal Higher Spin Gravities --- formally consistent field equations that gauge a given higher spin algebra and describe free higher spin fields upon linearization. The problem is shown to be…