We construct an exactly solvable commuting projector model for a (
4+1)-dimensional
Z2-symmetry-protected topological phase (SPT) which is outside the cohomology classification of SPTs. The model is described by a decorated domain wall construction, with ``three-fermion'' Walker-Wang phases on the domain walls. We describe the anomalous nature of the phase in several ways. One interesting feature is that, in contrast to in-cohomology phases, the effective
Z2 symmetry on a (
3+1)-dimensional boundary cannot be described by a quantum circuit and instead is a nontrivial quantum cellular automaton. A related property is that a codimension-two defect (for example, the termination of a
Z2 domain wall at a trivial boundary) will carry nontrivial chiral central charge 4 mod 8. We also construct a gapped symmetric topologically ordered boundary state for our model, which constitutes an anomalous symmetry-enriched topological phase outside of the classification of Chen and Hermele, and define a corresponding anomaly indicator.
We review a many-body formulation of gravitational anomalies as obstructions to realizing the complete low-energy data by a local {\it bosonic} lattice quantum system of the same dimension. In this formulation, an anomalous theory can be realized at the boundary of a gapped {\it bosonic} lattice bulk, whose topological order gives a one-to-one classification of the anomaly. An invertible bulk reproduces conventional anomaly inflow; a bulk with non-trivial topological excitations yields a non-invertible generalization. To describe the holographic theory of anomalies, we explain the distinction between uniquely defined topological order and many versions of topological quantum field theory and discuss the boundary-to-bulk map. As an application of the holographic theory of anomalies, we describe morphisms between local quantum theories (such as quantum field theories). These morphisms are built from a bulk domain wall and an invertible boundary junction, which give rise to a sandwich picture. Chiral boson/fermion theory, Laughlin edges, and boundaries of
Z2 higher gauge theory with bosonic or fermionic point-like excitations illustrate the different kinds of information about non-invertible anomalies contained in transport coefficients, superselection sectors, and condensation data. In particular, a fermionic theory can be viewed as a theory with a particular non-invertible gravitational anomaly. Those examples also reveal that {\it symmetry
∼ gravitational anomaly
∼ topological order in one higher dimension}.
Quasiparticle excitations in
3+1 dimensions can be either bosons or fermions. In this work, we introduce the notion of fermionic loop excitations in
(3+1)-dimensional
(3+1d) topological phases. Specifically, we construct a new many-body lattice invariant of gapped Hamiltonians, the loop self-statistics $\ensuremath{\mu}=\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1$, that distinguishes two bosonic topological orders that both superficially resemble
3+1dZ2 gauge theory coupled to fermionic charged matter. The first has fermionic charges and bosonic
Z2 gauge flux loops (FcBl) and is just the ordinary fermionic toric code. The second has fermionic charges and fermionic loops (FcFl) and, as we argue, can only exist at the boundary of a nontrivial
(4+1)-dimensional
(4+1d) invertible phase, stable without any symmetries, i.e., it possesses a gravitational anomaly. We substantiate these claims by constructing an explicit exactly solvable
4+1d model using a method that bootstraps a boundary theory into a bulk Hamiltonian, analogous to that of Walker and Wang, and computing the loop self-statistics in the fermionic
Z2 gauge theory hosted at its boundary. We also show that the FcFl phase has the same gravitational anomaly as all-fermion quantum electrodynamics. Our results are in agreement with the recent classification of nondegenerate braided fusion 2-categories by Johnson-Freyd, and with the cobordism prediction of a nontrivial
Z2-classified
4+1d invertible phase with action $S=\frac{1}{2}\ensuremath{\int}{w}_{2}{w}_{3}$.
We construct an exactly sovable commuting projector Hamiltonian for (2+1)D bosonic topological insulator which is one of symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases protected by U(1) and time-reversal
Z2T symmetry, where the symmetry group is U(1)
⋊Z2T. The model construction is based on the decorated domain-wall interpretation of the
E∞-page of a spectral sequence of a cobordism group that classifies the SPT phases in question. We demonstrate nontriviality of the model by showing an emergence of a Kramers doublet when the system is put on a semi-infinite cylinder
(−∞,0]×S1 with an inserted
π-flux. The surface anomaly manifests itself as a non-onsite representation of the U(1)
⋊Z2T symmetry. Anomaly matching on a boundary is discussed within a simple boundary theory.
We study bosonic systems on a space-time lattice (with imaginary time) defined by path integrals of commuting fields. We introduce a concept of branch-independent bosonic (BIB) systems, whose path integral is independent of the branch structure of the space-time simplicial complex, even for a space-time with boundaries. In contrast, a generic lattice bosonic (GLB) system's path integral may depend on the branch structure. We find the invertible topological order characterized by the Stiefel-Whitney cocycle [such as
(4+1)d w2w3] to be nontrivial for branch-independent bosonic systems, but this topological order and a trivial gapped tensor product state belong to the same phase (via a smooth deformation without any phase transition) for generic lattice bosonic systems. This implies that the invertible topological orders in generic lattice bosonic systems on a space-time lattice are not classified by the oriented cobordism. The branch dependence on a lattice may be related to the orthonormal frame of smooth manifolds and the framing anomaly of continuum field theories. In general, the branch structure on a discretized lattice may be related to a frame structure on a smooth manifold that trivializes any Stiefel-Whitney classes. We construct branch-independent bosonic systems to realize the
w2w3 topological order, and its
(3+1)d gapped or gapless boundaries. One of the gapped boundaries is a
(3+1)d Z2 gauge theory with (1) fermionic
Z2 gauge charge particle which trivializes
w2 and (2) ``fermionic''
Z2 gauge flux line trivializes
w3. In particular, if the flux loop's world sheet is unorientable, then the orientation-reversal one-dimensional world line must correspond to a fermion world line that does not carry the
Z2 gauge charge. We also explain why Spin and Spin
c structures trivialize the
w2w3 nonperturbative global pure gravitational anomaly to zero [which helps to construct the anomalous
(3+1)d gapped
Z2 and gapless all-fermion U(1) gauge theories], but the Spin
h and Spin${\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}}_{{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}}$Spin$(n\ensuremath{\ge}3)$ structures modify the
w2w3 into a nonperturbative global mixed gauge-gravitational anomaly, which helps to constrain grand unifications (e.g.,
n=10,18) or construct new models.
In this paper we study gapped boundary states of
ZN bosonic symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases in (4+1)d, which are characterized by mixed
ZN-gravity response, and the closely related phases protected by
CN rotation symmetry. We show that if $N\ensuremath{\notin}{2,4,8,16}$, any symmetry-preserving boundary theory is necessarily gapless for the root SPT state. We then propose a (3+1)d
Z2 gauge theory coupled to fermionic matter as a candidate boundary theory for
N=2,4,8,16, where the anomalous symmetry is implemented by invertible topological defects obtained from gauging (2+1)d chiral topological superconductors. For the
CN case, we present an explicit construction for the boundary states for
N=2,4,8,16, and argue that the construction fails for other values of
N.