Disconnected 0-Form and 2-Group Symmetries

Abstract

Quantum field theories can have both continuous and finite 0-form symmetries. We study global symmetry structures that arise when both kinds of 0-form symmetries are present. The global structure associated to continuous 0-form symmetries is described by a connected Lie group, which captures the possible backgrounds of the continuous 0-form symmetries the theory can be coupled to. Finite 0-form symmetries can act as outer-automorphisms of this connected Lie group. Consequently, possible background couplings to both continuous and finite 0-form symmetries are described by a disconnected Lie group, and we call the resulting symmetry structure a disconnected 0-form symmetry. Additionally, finite 0-form symmetries may act on the 1-form symmetry group. The 1-form symmetries and continuous 0-form symmetries may combine to form a 2-group, which when combined with finite 0-form symmetries leads to another type of 2-group, that we call a disconnected 2-group and the resulting symmetry structure a disconnected 2-group symmetry. Examples of arbitrarily complex disconnected 0-form and 2-group symmetries in any spacetime dimension are furnished by gauge theories: with 1-form symmetries arising from the center of the gauge group, continuous 0-form symmetries arising as flavor symmetries acting on matter content, and finite 0-form symmetries arising from outer-automorphisms of gauge and flavor Lie algebras.

53 pages

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Cited by in corpus (6)

• Mixed Anomalies, Two-groups, Non-Invertible Symmetries, and 3d Superconformal Indices
• Generalized Symmetries and Anomalies of 3d N=4 SCFTs
• 3d $\mathcal{N}=4$ mirror symmetry with 1-form symmetry
• Bordism for the 2-group symmetries of the heterotic and CHL strings
• Higher-Matter and Landau-Ginzburg Theory of Higher-Group Symmetries
• Disconnected gauge groups in the infrared