Global 3-group symmetry and 't Hooft anomalies in axion electrodynamics

Abstract

We investigate a higher-group structure of massless axion electrodynamics in $(3+1)$ dimensions. By using the background gauging method, we show that the higher-form symmetries necessarily have a global semistrict 3-group (2-crossed module) structure, and exhibit 't Hooft anomalies of the 3-group. In particular, we find a cubic mixed 't Hooft anomaly between 0-form and 1-form symmetries, which is specific to the higher-group structure.

30 + 39 pages, 46 figures; v2: references and discussions added, published version

References in corpus (15)

• Topological Field Theory of Time-Reversal Invariant Insulators
• Generalized Global Symmetries
• Symmetries and Strings in Field Theory and Gravity
• Topological Defects and Gapless Modes in Insulators and Superconductors
• Chiral anomaly, Charge Density Waves, and Axion Strings from Weyl Semimetals
• Autocorrelations and Thermal Fragility of Anyonic Loops in Topologically Quantum Ordered Systems
• Higher-form symmetries and 3-group in axion electrodynamics
• On electrodynamics of chiral matter
• Fractional $\theta$ angle, 't Hooft anomaly, and quantum instantons in charge-$q$ multi-flavor Schwinger model
• Quantization of Fayet-Iliopoulos Parameters in Supergravity
• Anomalous electrodynamics of neutral pion matter in strong magnetic fields
• On 2-form gauge models of topological phases
• Semistrict Higher Gauge Theory
• Emergent discrete 3-form symmetry and domain walls
• Triangle anomalies and nonrelativistic Nambu-Goldstone modes of generalized global symmetries

Cited by in corpus (39)

• Non-Invertible Global Symmetries and Completeness of the Spectrum
• The Branes Behind Generalized Symmetry Operators
• Non-invertible Symmetries of Class $\mathcal{S}$ Theories
• Chern-Weil Global Symmetries and How Quantum Gravity Avoids Them
• Semi-Abelian gauge theories, non-invertible symmetries, and string tensions beyond $N$-ality
• Symmetry TFTs for 3d QFTs from M-theory
• Generalized Symmetry Breaking Scales and Weak Gravity Conjectures
• Relative Defects in Relative Theories: Trapped Higher-Form Symmetries and Irregular Punctures in Class S
• Cosmic strings from pure Yang-Mills theory
• Lifetimes of (near) eternal false vacua
• Quantization of Axion-Gauge Couplings and Non-Invertible Higher Symmetries
• Anomalies of Generalized Symmetries from Solitonic Defects
• Relations among topological solitons
• Remarks on Geometric Engineering, Symmetry TFTs and Anomalies
• Field theories with higher-group symmetry from composite currents
• Modified Villain formulation of abelian Chern-Simons theory
• Fermionic Higher-form Symmetries
• A fresh view on string orbifolds
• Vector mesons on the wall
• Higher-group structure in $2n$-dimensional axion-electrodynamics
• Higher-form symmetries, anomalous magnetohydrodynamics, and holography
• Fractionally Charged Particles at the Energy Frontier: The SM Gauge Group and One-Form Global Symmetry
• Magnetic operators in 2D compact scalar field theories on the lattice
• Generalized chiral instabilities, linking numbers, and non-invertible symmetries
• Generalized symmetries in singularity-free nonlinear $\sigma$ models and their disordered phases
• Study of gapped phases of 4d gauge theories using temporal gauging of the ${\mathbb{Z}}_N$ 1-form symmetry
• Non-Invertible Peccei-Quinn Symmetry, Natural 2HDM Alignment, and the Visible Axion
• Topological invariant of 4-manifolds based on a 3-group
• Topological mass generation in gapless systems
• BCF anomaly and higher-group structure in the low energy effective theories of mesons
• Unstable Nambu-Goldstone modes
• Higher Chern-Simons based on (2-)crossed modules
• Higher-Matter and Landau-Ginzburg Theory of Higher-Group Symmetries
• U(1) Gauging, Continuous TQFTs, and Higher Symmetry Structures
• Dipole symmetries from the topology of the phase space and the constraints on the low-energy spectrum
• Henneaux-Teitelboim gauge symmetry and its applications to higher gauge theories
• Symmetry breaking mechanisms of the 3BF action for the Standard Model coupled to gravity
• Universal Deformations
• Correspondence between 3BF and Einstein-Cartan formulations of quantum gravity