Symmetry operators and gravity
We argue that topological operators for continuous symmetries written in terms of currents need regularization, which effectively gives them a small but finite width. The regulated operator is a finite tension object which fluctuates. In the zero-width limit these fluctuations freeze, recovering the properties of a topological operator. When gravity is turned on, the zero-width limit becomes ill-defined, thereby prohibiting the existence of topological operators.
Authors
- Patrick Jefferson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7651-3668)
- Ibrahima Bah (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2843-4401)
- Thomas Waddleton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1005-8866)
- Konstantinos Roumpedakis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2238-4135)
Institutions
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- SciPost Physics
- Published
- 2025-10-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.21468/scipostphys.19.4.116
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Quantum many-body systems
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.99
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Johns Hopkins University