Emergent 1-form symmetries

Journal Article · 24 June 2024 · Physical Review. D.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.109.125013 · OSTI ID:2377230

Cherman, Aleksey ; Jacobson, Theodore

We explore the necessary conditions for 1-form symmetries to emerge in the long-distance limit when they are explicitly broken at short distances. A minimal requirement is that there exist operators which become topological at long distances and that these operators have nontrivial correlation functions. These criteria are obeyed when the would-be emergent symmetry is spontaneously broken, or is involved in ’t Hooft anomalies. On the other hand, confinement, i.e. a phase with unbroken 1-form symmetry, is nearly incompatible with the emergence of 1-form symmetries. We comment on some implications of our results for QCD as well as the idea of Higgs-confinement continuity. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• Grant/Contract Number: FG02-00ER41132
• OSTI ID: 2377230
• Journal Information: Physical Review. D., Journal Name: Physical Review. D. Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 109; ISSN PRVDAQ; ISSN 2470-0010
• Publisher: American Physical SocietyCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English