No Arabic abstract
We study generalized symmetries of quantum field theories in 1+1D generated by topological defect lines with no inverse. This paper follows our companion paper on gapped phases and anomalies associated with these symmetries. In the present work we focus on identifying fusion category symmetries, using both specialized 1+1D methods such as the modular bootstrap and (rational) conformal field theory (CFT), as well as general methods based on gauging finite symmetries, that extend to all dimensions. We apply these methods to $c = 1$ CFTs and uncover a rich structure. We find that even those $c = 1$ CFTs with only finite group-like symmetries can have continuous fusion category symmetries, and prove a Noether theorem that relates such symmetries in general to non-local conserved currents. We also use these symmetries to derive new constraints on RG flows between 1+1D CFTs.
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, including new 1+1D topological phases. The algebra of these operators is not a group but rather is described by their fusion ring and crossing relations, captured algebraically as a fusion category. Such data defines a Turaev-Viro/Levin-Wen model in 2+1D, while a 1+1D system with this fusion category acting as a global symmetry defines a boundary condition. This is akin to gauging a discrete global symmetry at the boundary of Dijkgraaf-Witten theory. We describe how to ungauge the fusion category symmetry in these boundary conditions and separate the symmetry-preserving phases from the symmetry-breaking ones. For Tambara-Yamagami categories and their generalizations, which are associated with Kramers-Wannier-like self-dualities under orbifolding, we develop gauge theoretic techniques which simplify the analysis. We include some examples of CFTs with fusion category symmetry derived from Kramers-Wannier-like dualities as an appetizer for the Part II companion paper.
Fixed points in three dimensions described by conformal field theories with $MN_{m,n}= O(m)^nrtimes S_n$ global symmetry have extensive applications in critical phenomena. Associated experimental data for $m=n=2$ suggest the existence of two non-trivial fixed points, while the $varepsilon$ expansion predicts only one, resulting in a puzzling state of affairs. A recent numerical conformal bootstrap study has found two kinks for small values of the parameters $m$ and $n$, with critical exponents in good agreement with experimental determinations in the $m=n=2$ case. In this paper we investigate the fate of the corresponding fixed points as we vary the parameters $m$ and $n$. We find that one family of kinks approaches a perturbative limit as $m$ increases, and using large spin perturbation theory we construct a large $m$ expansion that fits well with the numerical data. This new expansion, akin to the large $N$ expansion of critical $O(N)$ models, is compatible with the fixed point found in the $varepsilon$ expansion. For the other family of kinks, we find that it persists only for $n=2$, where for large $m$ it approaches a non-perturbative limit with $Delta_phiapprox 0.75$. We investigate the spectrum in the case $MN_{100,2}$ and find consistency with expectations from the lightcone bootstrap.
A tensorial representation of $phi^4$ field theory introduced in Phys. Rev. D. 93, 085005 (2016) is studied close to six dimensions, with an eye towards a possible realization of an interacting conformal field theory in five dimensions. We employ the two-loop $epsilon$-expansion, two-loop fixed-dimension renormalization group, and non-perturbative functional renormalization group. An interacting, real, infrared-stable fixed point is found near six dimensions, and the corresponding anomalous dimensions are computed to the second order in small parameter $epsilon=6-d$. Two-loop epsilon-expansion indicates, however, that the second-order corrections may destabilize the fixed point at some critical $epsilon_c <1$. A more detailed analysis within all three computational schemes suggests that the interacting, infrared-stable fixed point found previously collides with another fixed point and becomes complex when the dimension is lowered from six towards five. Such a result would conform to the expectation of triviality of $O(2)$ field theories above four dimensions.
Motivated by applications to critical phenomena and open theoretical questions, we study conformal field theories with $O(m)times O(n)$ global symmetry in $d=3$ spacetime dimensions. We use both analytic and numerical bootstrap techniques. Using the analytic bootstrap, we calculate anomalous dimensions and OPE coefficients as power series in $varepsilon=4-d$ and in $1/n$, with a method that generalizes to arbitrary global symmetry. Whenever comparison is possible, our results agree with earlier results obtained with diagrammatic methods in the literature. Using the numerical bootstrap, we obtain a wide variety of operator dimension bounds, and we find several islands (isolated allowed regions) in parameter space for $O(2)times O(n)$ theories for various values of $n$. Some of these islands can be attributed to fixed points predicted by perturbative methods like the $varepsilon$ and large-$n$ expansions, while others appear to arise due to fixed points that have been claimed to exist in resummations of perturbative beta functions.
We investigate in detail the phase diagram of the Abelian-Higgs model in one spatial dimension and time (1+1D) on a lattice. We identify a line of first order phase transitions separating the Higgs region from the confined one. This line terminates in a quantum critical point above which the two regions are connected by a smooth crossover. We analyze the critical point and find compelling evidences for its description as the product of two non-interacting systems, a massless free fermion and a massless free boson. However, we find also some surprizing results that cannot be explained by our simple picture, suggesting this newly discovered critical point to be an unusual one.