Higher and lower form symmetries: 2d Yang-Mills case study

by Dr Leonardo Santilli (Tsinghua University)

Monday 15 Apr 2024, 14:00 → 15:00 Asia/Shanghai

B105 (CHEP)

I will highlight some tensions in the treatment of theories possessing a (d-1)-form symmetry. I will then show how, for invertibile symmetries, the tensions are automatically resolved in the formalism of gerbes. After this general introduction and motivation, I will present a detailed study of gauging the 1-form symmetry of pure 2d Yang-Mills. I will identify the orbifolds in which charge conjugation is spontaneously broken. I will then study mixed ‘t Hooft anomalies involving the dual ‘lower form’ symmetry, and present physical applications. Finally, I will consider gauging a non-invertibile 1-form symmetry, and extend the spontaneous symmetry breaking scenario to these generalized orbifolds.
Based on joint work with R.J. Szabo, arXiv:2403.03119
 
Introduction:
Leonardo Santilli is a postdoc at the Yau Mathematical Sciences Center of Tsinghua University. He earned his PhD degree in mathematics in 2022 from Lisbon University, which also awarded him the prize for best thesis in mathematical sciences. His works is in mathematical physics, focused on aspects of QFT and string theory. He published 22 papers on the subject so far. In particular, he studies partition functions of (supersymmetric) field theories, with applications toward algebraic geometry as well as holography. 

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