A defect TQFT approach to fractons

ORAL

Abstract

We explore fracton phases from the perspective of topological quantum field theories. We argue that type I and type II gapped fracton models can be realized by a network of defects embedded into various 3+1D topological quantum field theories. The idea is that subdimensional excitations characteristic of fracton phases can appear due to mobility restrictions imposed by the defect network. We explicitly construct many well known examples of fracton phases and a few new models using the defect construction. As a byproduct the defect construction provides a generalized membrane-net condensate picture of fracton phases.

*This work was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, under the EPiQS initiative, Grant GBMF4304.

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Presenters

  • David Aasen

    • Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara
    • Microsoft Quantum, Microsoft Station Q, University of California, Santa Barbara

Authors

  • David Aasen

    • Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara
    • Microsoft Quantum, Microsoft Station Q, University of California, Santa Barbara

  • Daniel Bulmash

    • University of Maryland, College Park

  • Abhinav Prem

    • Princeton Center for Theoretical Sciences, Princeton University
    • Princeton University

  • Kevin Slagle

    • Physics, Caltech

  • Dominic Williamson

    • Physics, Stanford
    • Stanford Univ
    • Yale University