non-Abelian Chern-Simons Theory Research Articles

A Chern-Simons theory for dipole symmetry

We present effective field theories for dipole symmetric topological matters that can be described by the Chern-Simons theory. Unlike most studies using higher-rank gauge theory, we develop a framework with both U(1)U(1) and dipole gauge fields. As a result, only the highest multipole symmetry can support the ’t Hooft anomaly. We show that with appropriate point group symmetries, the dipolar Chern-Simons theory can exist in any dimension and, moreover, the bulk-edge correspondence can depend on the boundary. As two applications, we draw an analogy between the dipole anomaly and the torsional anomaly and generalize particle-vortex duality to dipole phase transitions. All of the above are in the flat spacetime limit, but our framework is able to systematically couple dipole symmetry to curved spacetime. Based on that, we give a proposal about anomalous dipole hydrodynamics. Moreover, we show that the fracton-elasticity duality arises naturally from a non-abelian Chern-Simons theory in 3D.

Quantum double structure in cold atom superfluids

The theory of topological quantum computation is underpinned by two important classes of models. One is based on non-abelian Chern–Simons theory, which yields the so-called SU(2)k anyon models that often appear in the context of electrically charged quantum fluids. The physics of the other is captured by symmetry broken Yang–Mills theory in the absence of a Chern–Simons term and results in the so-called quantum double models. Extensive resources have been invested into the search for SU(2)k anyon quasi-particles, in particular, the so-called Ising anyons (k = 2) of which Majorana zero modes are believed to be an incarnation. In contrast to the SU(2)k models, quantum doubles have attracted little attention in experiments despite their pivotal role in the theory of error correction. Beyond topological error correcting codes, the appearance of quantum doubles has been limited to contexts primarily within mathematical physics, and as such, they are of seemingly little relevance for the study of experimentally tangible systems. However, recent works suggest that quantum double anyons may be found in spinor Bose–Einstein condensates. In light of this, the core purpose of this article is to provide a self-contained exposition of the quantum double structure, framed in the context of spinor condensates, by constructing explicitly the quantum doubles for various ground state symmetry groups and discuss their experimental realisability. We also derive analytically an equation for the quantum double Clebsch–Gordan coefficients from which the relevant braid matrices can be worked out. Finally, the existence of a particle-vortex duality is exposed and illuminated upon in this context.

Constrained systems, generalized Hamilton-Jacobi actions, and quantization

<p style='text-indent:20px;'>Mechanical systems (i.e., one-dimensional field theories) with constraints are the focus of this paper. In the classical theory, systems with infinite-dimensional targets are considered as well (this then encompasses also higher-dimensional field theories in the hamiltonian formalism). The properties of the Hamilton–Jacobi (HJ) action are described in details and several examples are explicitly computed (including nonabelian Chern–Simons theory, where the HJ action turns out to be the gauged Wess–Zumino–Witten action). Perturbative quantization, limited in this note to finite-dimensional targets, is performed in the framework of the Batalin–Vilkovisky (BV) formalism in the bulk and of the Batalin–Fradkin–Vilkovisky (BFV) formalism at the endpoints. As a sanity check of the method, it is proved that the semiclassical contribution of the physical part of the evolution operator is still given by the HJ action. Several examples are computed explicitly. In particular, it is shown that the toy model for nonabelian Chern–Simons theory and the toy model for 7D Chern–Simons theory with nonlinear Hitchin polarization do not have quantum corrections in the physical part (the extension of these results to the actual cases is discussed in the companion paper [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="b21">21</xref>]). Background material for both the classical part (symplectic geometry, generalized generating functions, HJ actions, and the extension of these concepts to infinite-dimensional manifolds) and the quantum part (BV-BFV formalism) is provided.</p>

Bundle geometry of the connection space, covariant Hamiltonian formalism, the problem of boundaries in gauge theories, and the dressing field method

We take advantage of the principal bundle geometry of the space of connections to obtain general results on the presymplectic structure of two classes of (pure) gauge theories: invariant theories, and non-invariant theories satisfying two restricting hypothesis. In particular, we derive the general field-dependent gauge transformations of the presymplectic potential and presymplectic 2-form in both cases. We point-out that a generalisation of the standard bundle geometry, called twisted geometry, arises naturally in the study of non-invariant gauge theories (e.g. non-Abelian Chern-Simons theory). These results prove that the well-known problem of associating a symplectic structure to a gauge theory over bounded regions is a generic feature of both classes. The edge modes strategy, recently introduced to address this issue, has been actively developed in various contexts by several authors. We draw attention to the dressing field method as the geometric framework underpinning, or rather encompassing, this strategy. The geometric insight afforded by the method both clarifies it and clearly delineates its potential shortcomings as well as its conditions of success. Applying our general framework to various examples allows to straightforwardly recover several results of the recent literature on edge modes and on the presymplectic structure of general relativity.

Gravitational dual of averaged free CFT\u2019s over the Narain lattice

It has been recently argued that the averaging of free CFT’s over the Narain lattice can be holographically described through a Chern-Simons theory for U (1)D×U (1)D with a precise prescription to sum over three-dimensional handlebodies.We show that a gravitational dual of these averaged CFT’s would be provided by Einstein gravity on AdS3 with U (1)D−1× U (1)D−1 gauge fields, endowed with a precise set of boundary conditions closely related to the “soft hairy” ones. Gravitational excitations then go along diagonal SL (2, ℝ) generators, so that the asymptotic symmetries are spanned by U (1)D× U (1)D currents. The stress-energy tensor can then be geometrically seen as composite of these currents through a twisted Sugawara construction. Our boundary conditions are such that for the reduced phase space, there is a one-to-one map between the configurations in the gravitational and the purely abelian theories. The partition function in the bulk could then also be performed either from a non-abelian Chern-Simons theory for two copies of SL (2, ℝ) × U (1)D−1 generators, or formally through a path integral along the family of allowed configurations for the metric. The new boundary conditions naturally accommodate BTZ black holes, and the microscopic number of states then appears to be manifestly positive and suitably accounted for from the partition function in the bulk. The inclusion of higher spin currents through an extended twisted Sugawara construction in the context of higher spin gravity is also briefly addressed.

Interfaces and the extended Hilbert space of Chern-Simons theory

The low energy effective field theories of (2 + 1) dimensional topological phases of matter provide powerful avenues for investigating entanglement in their ground states. In [1] the entanglement between distinct Abelian topological phases was investigated through Abelian Chern-Simons theories equipped with a set of topological boundary conditions (TBCs). In the present paper we extend the notion of a TBC to non-Abelian Chern-Simons theories, providing an effective description for a class of gapped interfaces across non-Abelian topological phases. These boundary conditions furnish a defining relation for the extended Hilbert space of the quantum theory and allow the calculation of entanglement directly in the gauge theory. Because we allow for trivial interfaces, this includes a generic construction of the extended Hilbert space in any (compact) Chern-Simons theory quantized on a Riemann surface. Additionally, this provides a constructive and principled definition for the Hilbert space of effective ground states of gapped phases of matter glued along gapped interfaces. Lastly, we describe a generalized notion of surgery, adding a powerful tool from topological field theory to the gapped interface toolbox.

The Batalin–Vilkovisky formalism description of self-dual Chern–Simons gauge theory coupled to matter fields in superspace

We construct the extended BRST and anti-BRST transformation by considering a shift symmetry both in Abelian and non-Abelian Chern–Simons theories coupled to scalar fields using the approach of Batalin–Vilkovisky quantization. The extended BRST invariant Lagrangian density is able to be addressed in the framework of superfield formalism with one fermionic coordinate. In the case of extended BRST–anti-BRST symmetry, it is shown that the Batalin–Vilkovisky action of the theory can be expressed in a covariant form with two fermionic coordinates in the superspace.

Ground-state degeneracy of non-Abelian topological phases from coupled wires

We construct a family of two-dimensional non-Abelian topological phases from coupled wires using a non-Abelian bosonization approach. We then demonstrate how to determine the nature of the non-Abelian topological order (in particular, the anyonic excitations and the topological degeneracy on the torus) realized in the resulting gapped phases of matter. This paper focuses on the detailed case study of a coupled-wire realization of the bosonic $su(2)^{\,}_{2}$ Moore-Read state, but the approach we outline here can be extended to general bosonic $su(2)^{\,}_{k}$ topological phases described by non-Abelian Chern-Simons theories. We also discuss possible generalizations of this approach to the construction of three-dimensional non-Abelian topological phases.

Gauge and supersymmetry invariance of [formula omitted] boundary Chern–Simons theory

In this paper, we study the restoration of gauge symmetry and up to half the supersymmetry (N=(2,0) or N=(1,1) in two dimensions) for N=2 non-Abelian Chern–Simons theories in the presence of a boundary. We describe the boundary action which is a supersymmetric WZW model coupled to the bulk Chern–Simons theory. Unlike the N=1 case, higher supersymmetry (N=(2,0)) will endow the group manifold of the WZW model with a complex structure. Therefore, the N=(2,0) WZW model in our paper is constructed via a coset space Gc/G, where G is the same as the gauge group in the Chern–Simons action.

Chern-Simons-Higgs transitions out of topological superconducting phases

In this study, we examine effective field theories of superconducting phases with topological order, making a connection to proposed realizations of exotic topological phases (including those hosting Ising and Fibonacci anyons) in superconductor-quantum Hall heterostructures. Our effective field theories for the non-Abelian superconducting states are non-Abelian Chern-Simons theories in which the condensation of vortices carrying non-Abelian gauge flux leads to the associated Abelian quantum Hall states. This Chern-Simons-Higgs condensation process is dual to the emergence of superconducting non-Abelian topological phases in coupled chain constructions. In such transitions, the chiral central charge of the system generally changes, so they fall outside the description of bosonic condensation transitions put forth by Bais and Slingerland [F. A. Bais and J. K. Slingerland, Phys. Rev. B 79, 045316 (2009)] (though the two approaches agree when the described transitions coincide). Our condensation process may be generalized to Chern-Simons theories based on arbitrary Lie groups, always describing a transition from a Lie algebra to its Cartan subalgebra. We include several instructive examples of such transitions.

A general existence result for the Toda system on compact surfaces

In this paper we consider the following Toda system of equations on a compact surface:{−Δu1=2ρ1(h1eu1∫Σh1eu1dVg−1)−ρ2(h2eu2∫Σh2eu2dVg−1)−Δu1=−4π∑j=1mα1,j(δpj−1),−Δu2=2ρ2(h2eu2∫Σh2eu2dVg−1)−ρ1(h1eu1∫Σh1eu1dVg−1)−Δu2=−4π∑j=1mα2,j(δpj−1), which is motivated by the study of models in non-abelian Chern–Simons theory. Here h1,h2 are smooth positive functions, ρ1,ρ2 two positive parameters, pi points of the surface and α1,i,α2,j non-negative numbers. We prove a general existence result using variational methods.The same analysis applies to the following mean field equation−Δu=ρ1(heu∫ΣheudVg−1)−ρ2(he−u∫Σhe−udVg−1), which arises in fluid dynamics.

Anomalous dimensions in non-supersymmetric bifundamental Chern-Simons theories

Non-abelian Chern-Simons theories coupled to fermions are known to provide an interesting class of non-supersymmetric conformal fixed points \cite{Giombi:2011kc}. These theories, particularly those based on bifundamental matter, are important because they may provide simple non-supersymmetric examples of the AdS/CFT correspondence. For instance, it seems natural to conjecture that $O(N)_{-k}\times O(N)_k$ Chern-Simons theory coupled to Majorana fermions transforming in a bi-vector representation may be dual to pure Einstein gravity with a small negative cosmological constant in the "M-theory" limit where $k=1$ and $N$ is large. While it is extremely difficult to directly study such bifundamental theories when $k=1$ or even at strong 't Hooft coupling $\lambda=\frac{N}{k}$, it is possible to calculate physical quantities to all orders in $\lambda$ in a $U(M)_{k_M} \times U(N)_{k_N}$ theory, in the limit $M \ll N$, in an $M/N$ expansion. To illustrate this, we calculate the anomalous dimension of the primary operator $\bar{\psi}{\psi}$, to first order in $M/N$, to all orders in $\lambda_M=\frac{N}{k_M}$, but with $\lambda_N=\frac{N}{k_N}=0$. We also comment on possible bosonization dualities for bifundamental Chern-Simons theories.

Non-Abelian Chern-Simons theory from a Hubbard-like model

Here, we provide a simple Hubbard-like model of spin-$1/2$ fermions that gives rise to the SU(2) symmetric Thirring model that is equivalent, in the low-energy limit, to Yang-Mills-Chern-Simons model. First, we identify the regime that simulates the SU(2) Yang-Mills theory. Then, we suitably extend this model so that it gives rise to the SU(2) level $k$ Chern-Simons theory with $k\geq2$ that can support non-Abelian anyons. This is achieved by introducing multiple fermionic species and modifying the Thirring interactions, while preserving the SU(2) symmetry. Our proposal provides the means to theoretically and experimentally probe non-Abelian SU(2) level $k$ topological phases.

New variables for classical and quantum gravity in all dimensions: V. Isolated horizon boundary degrees of freedom

In this paper, we generalize the treatment of isolated horizons in loop quantum gravity, resulting in a Chern–Simons theory on the boundary in the four-dimensional case, to non-distorted isolated horizons in 2(n + 1)-dimensional spacetimes. The key idea is to generalize the four-dimensional isolated horizon boundary condition by using the Euler topological density E(2n) of a spatial slice of the black hole horizon as a measure of distortion. The resulting symplectic structure on the horizon coincides with the one of higher-dimensional SO(2(n + 1))-Chern–Simons theory in terms of a Peldan-type hybrid connection Γ0 and resembles closely the usual treatment in (3 + 1) dimensions. We comment briefly on a possible quantization of the horizon theory. Here, some subtleties arise since higher-dimensional non-Abelian Chern–Simons theory has local degrees of freedom. However, when replacing the natural generalization to higher dimensions of the usual boundary condition by an equally natural stronger one, it is conceivable that the problems originating from the local degrees of freedom are avoided, thus possibly resulting in a finite entropy.

The BV Formalization of Chern—Simons Theory on Deformed Superspace

In this paper we will study non-abelian Chern—Simons theory on a deformed superspace. We will deform the superspace in such a way that it includes the noncommutativity between bosonic and fermionic coordinates. We will first analyse the BRST and the anti-BRST symmetries of the Chern—Simons theory on this deformed superspace. Then we will analyse the extended BRST and the extended anti-BRST symmetries of this theory in the Batalin—Vilkovisky (BV) formalism. Finally, we will express these extended BRST and extended anti-BRST symmetries in extended superspace formalism by introducing new Grassmann coordinates.

Aspects of effective action for super Chern-Simons-Matter models

We develop the superfield background field method and study the effective action in the N = 2, d3 supersymmetric Chern-Simons-matter systems. The one-loop low-energy effective action for non-Abelian supersymmetric Chern-Simons theory is computed to order F4 by use of N = 2 superfield heat kernel techniques.

Fractional Spin in Non-Abelian Chern-Simons Theories at the Quantum level

Based on the quantization of constrained Hamiltonian system, the quantal conserved laws can be established under the global symmetry transformation. The application of the results to non-Abelian Chern-Simons theory, we can show that property of fractional spin is still preserved at the quantum level in the non-Abelian Chern-Simons theory.

The background field method for $ \mathcal{N} = {2} $ , d3 super Chern-Simons-matter theories

We develop the superfield background field method and study the effective action in the N=2, d3 supersymmetric Chern-Simons-matter systems. The one-loop low-energy effective action for non-Abelian supersymmetric Chern-Simons theory is computed to order $F^4$ by use of N = 2 superfield heat kernel techniques.

Quantum Symmetry for a System with a Singular Lagrangian Containing Subsidiary Condition

The quantization for a system with a singular Lagrangian containing subsidiary constrained conditions in configuration space is studied. The system is called constrained singular system. In certain case, the constrained singular system can be brought into the theoretical framework of the constrained Hamilton system. A modified Dirac-Bergmann algorithm for the calculation of constraints in the system is deduced. The path integral quantization is formulated by using the Faddeev-Senjanovic scheme, and the classical/quantum Noether theorem in canonical formalism are also established for such a system. The application of the results to study the fractional spin in non-Abelian Chern-Simons theory is given. We make a precise investigation of the fractional spin for such a system at the quantal level. A simple example is presented to show that the connection between the symmetry and conservation law in classical theories in general is no longer preserved in quantum theories.

Chern–Simons models on [formula omitted], torus gauge fixing, and link invariants II

The present paper is the continuation of a previous paper [cf. A. Hahn, Chern–Simons models on S 2 × S 1 , torus gauge fixing, and link invariants I, J. Geom. Phys. 53 (3) (2005) 275–314], in which we derived a heuristic path integral formula for the Wilson loop observables (WLOs) of Non-Abelian Chern–Simons theory on manifolds M of the form M = Σ × S 1 using “torus gauge fixing”. In order to obtain this formula we had to make the assumption that the surface Σ is non-compact. In the present paper we will generalize the treatment of the previous paper in such a way that also the case of compact Σ is included.