A bstract We draw attention to a class of generalized global symmetries, which we call “Chern-Weil global symmetries,” that arise ubiquitously in gauge theories. The Noether currents of these Chern-Weil global symmetries are given by wedge products of gauge field strengths, such as F 2 ∧ H 3 and tr( $$ {F}_2^2 $$ F 2 2 ), and their conservation follows from Bianchi identities. As a result, they are not easy to break. However, it is widely believed that exact global symmetries are not allowed in a consistent theory of quantum gravity. As a result, any Chern-Weil global symmetry in a low-energy effective field theory must be either broken or gauged when the theory is coupled to gravity. In this paper, we explore the processes by which Chern-Weil symmetries may be broken or gauged in effective field theory and string theory. We will see that many familiar phenomena in string theory, such as axions, Chern-Simons terms, worldvolume degrees of freedom, and branes ending on or dissolving in other branes, can be interpreted as consequences of the absence of Chern-Weil symmetries in quantum gravity, suggesting that they might be general features of quantum gravity. We further discuss implications of breaking and gauging Chern-Weil symmetries for particle phenomenology and for boundary CFTs of AdS bulk theories. Chern-Weil global symmetries thus offer a unified framework for understanding many familiar aspects of quantum field theory and quantum gravity.
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Fractons and Exotic Symmetries from Branes
The emerging study of fractons, a new type of quasi‐particle with restricted mobility, has motivated the construction of several classes of interesting continuum quantum field theories with novel properties. One such class consists of
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10448177
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Fortschritte der Physik
- Volume:
- 69
- Issue:
- 11-12
- ISSN:
- 0015-8208
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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