Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• 1-form symmetries of 4d N=2 class S theories

  Lakshya Bhardwaj, Max Hübner, Sakura Schäfer-Nameki

  SciPost Phys. 11, 096 (2021) · published 24 November 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We determine the 1-form symmetry group for any 4d N = 2 class S theory constructed by compactifying a 6d N=(2,0) SCFT on a Riemann surface with arbitrary regular untwisted and twisted punctures. The 6d theory has a group of mutually non-local dimension-2 surface operators, modulo screening. Compactifying these surface operators leads to a group of mutually non-local line operators in 4d, modulo screening and flavor charges. Complete specification of a 4d theory arising from such a compactification requires a choice of a maximal subgroup of mutually local line operators, and the 1-form symmetry group of the chosen 4d theory is identified as the Pontryagin dual of this maximal subgroup. We also comment on how to generalize our results to compactifications involving irregular punctures. Finally, to complement the analysis from 6d, we derive the 1-form symmetry from a Type IIB realization of class S theories.

  38 citations

• Quantum error correction and large $N$

  Alexey Milekhin

  SciPost Phys. 11, 094 (2021) · published 19 November 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  In recent years quantum error correction (QEC) has become an important part of AdS/CFT. Unfortunately, there are no field-theoretic arguments about why QEC holds in known holographic systems. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap by studying the error correcting properties of the fermionic sector of various large $N$ theories. Specifically we examine $SU(N)$ matrix quantum mechanics and 3-rank tensor $O(N)^3$ theories. Both of these theories contain large gauge groups. We argue that gauge singlet states indeed form a quantum error correcting code. Our considerations are based purely on large $N$ analysis and do not appeal to a particular form of Hamiltonian or holography.

  3 citations

• Emergent supersymmetry on the edges

  Jin-Beom Bae, Sungjay Lee

  SciPost Phys. 11, 091 (2021) · published 16 November 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The WZW models describe the dynamics of the edge modes of Chern-Simons theories in three dimensions. We explore the WZW models which can be mapped to supersymmetric theories via the generalized Jordan-Wigner transformation. Some of such models have supersymmetric Ramond vacua, but the others break the supersymmetry spontaneously. We also make a comment on recent proposals that the Read-Rezayi states at filling fraction $\nu=1/2,~2/3$ are able to support supersymmetry.

  13 citations

• Analytic conformal bootstrap and Virasoro primary fields in the Ashkin-Teller model

  Nikita Nemkov, Sylvain Ribault

  SciPost Phys. 11, 089 (2021) · published 9 November 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We revisit the critical two-dimensional Ashkin-Teller model, i.e. the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ orbifold of the compactified free boson CFT at $c=1$. We solve the model on the plane by computing its three-point structure constants and proving crossing symmetry of four-point correlation functions. We do this not only for affine primary fields, but also for Virasoro primary fields, i.e. higher twist fields and degenerate fields. This leads us to clarify the analytic properties of Virasoro conformal blocks and fusion kernels at $c=1$. We show that blocks with a degenerate channel field should be computed by taking limits in the central charge, rather than in the conformal dimension. In particular, Al. Zamolodchikov's simple explicit expression for the blocks that appear in four-twist correlation functions is only valid in the non-degenerate case: degenerate blocks, starting with the identity block, are more complicated generalized theta functions.