Conformal Surface Defects in Maxwell Theory are Trivial

Abstract

We consider a free Maxwell field in four dimensions in the presence of a codimension two defect. Reflection positive, codimension two defects which preserve conformal symmetry in this context are very limited. We show only generalized free fields can appear in the defect operator product expansion of the bulk Maxwell field; in particular correlation functions of these defect operators can be evaluated via Wick's Theorem.

46 pages, 1 figure

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• Phases of Wilson Lines in Conformal Field Theories
• Conformal dispersion relations for defects and boundaries
• RG flows on two-dimensional spherical defects
• Polyakov's confinement mechanism for generalized Maxwell theory
• Conformal boundary conditions for a 4d scalar field
• Rényi Entropy with Surface Defects in Six Dimensions