Related papers: String probes, simple currents, and the no global …
We revisit general arguments for the absence of exact continuous global symmetries in string compactifications and extend them to D-brane models. We elucidate the various ways approximate continuous global symmetries arise in the…
The influence of world-sheet boundary condensates on the toroidal compactification of bosonic string theories is considered. At the special points in the moduli space at which the closed-string theory possesses an enhanced unbroken $G\times…
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…
We consider discrete gauge symmetries in D dimensions arising as remnants of broken continuous gauge symmetries carried by general antisymmetric tensor fields, rather than by standard 1-forms. The lagrangian for such a general ${\bf Z}_p$…
Unification ideas suggest an integral treatment of fermion and boson spin and gauge-group degrees of freedom. Hence, a generalized quantum field equation, based on Dirac's, is proposed and investigated which contains gauge and flavor…
The notion of global higher-form symmetries has received much attention, but leaves room for a more systematic mathematical formulation. In this article, we highlight the concept of higher automorphism bundles from the field of higher…
We prove that there are only finitely many distinct semi-simple gauge groups and matter representations possible in consistent 6D chiral (1,0) supergravity theories with one tensor multiplet. The proof relies only on features of the…
In this work we employ a field theoretical approach to explain the nature of the non-conserved spin current in spintronics. In particular, we consider the usual U(1) gauge theory for the electromagnetism at classical level in order to…
Cosmic strings are predicted by many Standard Model extensions involving the cosmological breaking of a symmetry with nontrivial first homotopy group and represent a potential source of primordial gravitational waves (GWs). Present efforts…
We determine the structure of 1-form symmetries for all 4d $\mathcal{N} = 2$ theories that have a geometric engineering in terms of type IIB string theory on isolated hypersurface singularities. This is a large class of models, that…
We investigate the string solutions and cosmological implications of the gauge ${\rm U(1)_Z}\,\times$ global ${\rm U(1)_{PQ}}$ model. With two hierarchical symmetry-breaking scales, the model exhibits three distinct string solutions: a…
We develop a current-based construction of generalized symmetries in $(3+1)$D twisted $BF$ topological quantum field theories (TQFTs), focusing on intrinsically non-invertible higher-form symmetries and their mixed anomalies. Starting from…
We show that the ${\cal N}=1$ supergravity theories in ten dimensions with gauge groups $U(1)^{496}$ and $E_8 \times U(1)^{248}$ are not consistent quantum theories. Cancellation of anomalies cannot be made compatible with supersymmetry and…
Supergravity theories in more than four dimensions with grand unified gauge symmetries are an important intermediate step towards the ultraviolet completion of the Standard Model in string theory. Using toric geometry, we classify and…
We classify all the first-order vertices of gravity consistently coupled to a system of 2-form gauge fields by computing the local BRST cohomology H(s|d) in ghost number 0 and form degree n. The consistent deformations are at most linear in…
Old folklore says that there is no non-trivial renormalization group fixed point with $U(1)$ gauge symmetry in four dimensions, but it can be circumvented by the existence of magnetic monopoles. We propose to construct (potentially…
I discuss gauge and global symmetries in particle physics, condensed matter physics, and quantum gravity. In a modern understanding, global symmetries are approximate and gauge symmetries may be emergent. (Based on a lecture at the April,…
We initiate a search for non-perturbative consistency conditions in M theory. Some non-perturbative conditions are already known in Type I theories; we review these and search for others. We focus principally on possible anomalies in…
In this paper we continue our investigation of the global categorical symmetries that arise when gauging finite higher groups and their higher subgroups with discrete torsion. The motivation is to provide a common perspective on the…
It is well-known that principal chiral models and symmetric space models in two-dimensional Minkowski space have an infinite-dimensional algebra of hidden symmetries. Because of the relevance of symmetric space models to duality symmetries…