Explicit tensor network representation for the ground states of string-net models

Abstract

We provide a simple expression for the ground states of arbitrary string-net models in the form of local tensor networks. These tensor networks encode the data of the fusion category underlying a string-net model and thus represent all doubled topological phases of matter in the infrared limit according to Levin and Wen [Phys. Rev. B 71, 045110 (2005)]. Furthermore, our construction highlights the importance of the fat lattice equivalence between lattice and continuum descriptions of string-net models.