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Topological Operators and Completeness of Spectrum in Discrete Gauge Theories

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arxiv 2006.10052 v2 pith:OA5AEIQD submitted 2020-06-17 hep-th

classification hep-th
keywords gaugeoperatorstopologicalabsencecompletenessglobalspectrumtheory
verification ladder T0 review T1 audit T2 compute T3 formal
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In many gauge theories, the existence of particles in every representation of the gauge group (also known as completeness of the spectrum) is equivalent to the absence of one-form global symmetries. However, this relation does not hold, for example, in the gauge theory of non-abelian finite groups. We refine this statement by considering topological operators that are not necessarily associated with any global symmetry. For discrete gauge theory in three spacetime dimensions, we show that completeness of the spectrum is equivalent to the absence of certain Gukov-Witten topological operators. We further extend our analysis to four and higher spacetime dimensions. Since topological operators are natural generalizations of global symmetries, we discuss evidence for their absence in a consistent theory of quantum gravity.

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Cited by 3 Pith papers

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score. Full citation record

  1. Disjoint additivity and local quantum physics

    hep-th 2025-09 conditional novelty 7.0 of 10

    Local quantum systems should obey disjoint additivity plus Haag duality, a combination that survives higher-form symmetries and fails for known nonlocal constructions.

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    Imaginary wormholes and the IDB imply that towers of BPS EFT instantons generate infinitely many superpotential terms that break non-invertible axion shift symmetries in N=1 axiverse models.

  3. A Matrix Theory Construction of the IIA/IIB Wall

    hep-th 2026-03 conditional novelty 6.0 of 10

    A lightlike IIA/IIB domain wall is constructed at zero string coupling by gauging (−1)^{F_L} in matrix string theory, turning BPS IIA D0-branes into non-BPS IIB D0-branes.

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