Tensor networks provide a natural language for noninvertible symmetries in general Hamiltonian lattice models. We use ZX-diagrams, which are tensor network presentations of quantum circuits, to define a noninvertible operator implementing the Wegner duality in 3 + 1 D lattice Z 2 gauge theory. The noninvertible algebra, which mixes with lattice translations, can be efficiently computed using ZX-calculus. We further deform the Z 2 gauge theory while preserving the duality and find a model with nine exactly degenerate ground states on a torus, consistent with the Lieb-Schultz-Mattis-type constraint imposed by the symmetry. Finally, we provide a ZX-diagram presentation of the noninvertible duality operators (including noninvertible parity and reflection symmetries) of generalized Ising models based on graphs, encompassing the 1 + 1 D Ising model, the three-spin Ising model, the Ashkin-Teller model, and the 2 + 1 D plaquette Ising model. The mixing (or lack thereof) with spatial symmetries is understood from a unifying perspective based on graph theory.
We discuss the exact non-invertible Kramers-Wannier symmetry of 1+1d lattice models on a tensor product Hilbert space of qubits. This symmetry is associated with a topological defect and a conserved operator, and the latter can be presented as a matrix product operator. Importantly, unlike its continuum counterpart, the symmetry algebra involves lattice translations. Consequently, it is not described by a fusion category. In the presence of this defect, the symmetry algebra involving parity/time-reversal is realized projectively, which is reminiscent of an anomaly. Different Hamiltonians with the same lattice non-invertible symmetry can flow in their continuum limits to infinitely many different fusion categories (with different Frobenius-Schur indicators), including, as a special case, the Ising CFT. The non-invertible symmetry leads to a constraint similar to that of Lieb-Schultz-Mattis, implying that the system cannot have a unique gapped ground state. It is either in a gapless phase or in a gapped phase with three (or a multiple of three) ground states, associated with the spontaneous breaking of the lattice non-invertible symmetry.
We study the symmetries of closed Majorana chains in 1+1d, including the translation, fermion parity, spatial parity, and time-reversal symmetries. The algebra of the symmetry operators is realized projectively on the Hilbert space, signaling anomalies on the lattice, and constraining the long-distance behavior. In the special case of the free Hamiltonian (and small deformations thereof), the continuum limit is the 1+1d free Majorana CFT. Its continuum chiral fermion parity (-1)^{F_L} ( − 1 ) F L emanates from the lattice translation symmetry. We find a lattice precursor of its mod 8 ’t Hooft anomaly. Using a Jordan-Wigner transformation, we sum over the spin structures of the lattice model (a procedure known as the GSO projection), while carefully tracking the global symmetries. In the resulting bosonic model of Ising spins, the Majorana translation operator leads to a non-invertible lattice translation symmetry at the critical point. The non-invertible Kramers-Wannier duality operator of the continuum Ising CFT emanates from this non-invertible lattice translation of the transverse-field Ising model.
We explore exact generalized symmetries in the standard 2+1d lattice \mathbb{Z}_2 ℤ 2 gauge theory coupled to the Ising model, and compare them with their continuum field theory counterparts. One model has a (non-anomalous) non-invertible symmetry, and we identify two distinct non-invertible symmetry protected topological phases. The non-invertible algebra involves a lattice condensation operator, which creates a toric code ground state from a product state. Another model has a mixed anomaly between a 1-form symmetry and an ordinary symmetry. This anomaly enforces a nontrivial transition in the phase diagram, consistent with the “Higgs=SPT” proposal. Finally, we discuss how the symmetries and anomalies in these two models are related by gauging, which is a 2+1d version of the Kennedy-Tasaki transformation.
The Kramers-Wannier transformation of the 1+1d transverse-field Ising model exchanges the paramagnetic and ferromagnetic phases and, at criticality, manifests as a non-invertible symmetry. Extending such self-duality symmetries beyond gauging of abelian groups in tensor-product Hilbert spaces has, however, remained challenging. In this work, we construct a generalized 1+1d Ising model based on a finite-dimensional semisimple Hopf algebra
H that enjoys an anomaly-free non-invertible symmetry
Rep(H). We provide an intuitive diagrammatic formulation of both the Hamiltonian and the symmetry operators using a non-(co)commutative generalization of ZX-calculus built from Hopf-algebraic data. When
H is self-dual, we further construct a generalized Kramers-Wannier duality operator that exchanges the paramagnetic and ferromagnetic phases and becomes a non-invertible symmetry at the self-dual point. This enlarged symmetry mixes with lattice translation and, in the infrared, flows to a weakly integral fusion category given by a
Z2 extension of
Rep(H). Specializing to the Kac-Paljutkin algebra
H8, the smallest self-dual Hopf algebra beyond abelian group algebras, we numerically study the phase diagram and identify four of the six
Rep(H8)-symmetric gapped phases, separated by Ising critical lines and meeting at a multicritical point. We also realize all six
Rep(H8)-symmetric gapped phases on the lattice via the
H-comodule algebra formalism, in agreement with the module-category classification of
Rep(H8). Our results provide a unified Hopf-algebraic framework for non-invertible symmetries, dualities, and the tensor product lattice models that realize them.
This thesis investigates gauge theories by combining theoretical analysis of non-invertible symmetries with computational simulations using neural network quantum states. We first investigate (3+1)d ZN gauge theories with non-invertible duality symmetries that arise from gauging one-form symmetries. These symmetries impose strict constraints on renormalization group flows, often prohibiting symmetry-preserving gapped phases. Our proof demonstrates that a self-dual theory with ZN one-form symmetry must either remain gapless or break self-duality, except when N = k²ℓ with –1 as a quadratic residue modulo ℓ. Lattice gauge theories provide concrete realizations of these constraints. We then focus on the development of neural network quantum states for studying lattice gauge theories. By implementing gauge-invariant neural networks, we compute ground-state wavefunctions for ZN lattice gauge theories in (2+1)d. For Z2 gauge theory, we characterize the continuous confinement transition and identify critical exponents consistent with the Ising universality class. In the Z3 case we observe a weakly first-order transition between the confined and deconfined phases. For both theories, we compute order and disorder parameters and verify the linear confining potential in the confining phase. These results demonstrate that neural network methods provide a powerful tool for studying quantum field theories computationally. By combining these simulations with symmetry-based analysis, this work uncovers new insights into the nonperturbative dynamics and phase structure of gauge theories.
Projective symmetries are ubiquitous in quantum lattice models and can be leveraged to constrain their phase diagram and entanglement structure. In this paper, we investigate the consequences of projective algebras formed by non-invertible symmetries and lattice translations in a generalized 1+1 1 + 1 D quantum XY model based on group-valued qudits. This model is specified by a finite group G G and enjoys a projective \mathsf{Rep}(G)× Z(G) 𝖱 𝖾 𝗉 ( G ) × Z ( G ) and translation symmetry, where symmetry operators obey a projective algebra in the presence of symmetry defects. For invertible symmetries, such projective algebras imply Lieb-Schultz-Mattis (LSM) anomalies. However, this is not generally true for non-invertible symmetries, and we derive a condition on G G for the existence of an LSM anomaly. When this condition is not met, we prove an SPT-LSM theorem: any unique and gapped ground state is necessarily a non-invertible weak symmetry protected topological (SPT) state with non-trivial entanglement, for which we construct an example fixed-point Hamiltonian. The projectivity also affects the dual symmetries after gauging \mathsf{Rep}(G)× Z(G) 𝖱 𝖾 𝗉 ( G ) × Z ( G ) sub-symmetries, giving rise to non-Abelian and non-invertible dipole symmetries, as well as non-invertible translations. We complement our analysis with the SymTFT, where the projectivity causes it to be a topological order non-trivially enriched by translations. Throughout the paper, we develop techniques for gauging \mathsf{Rep}(G) 𝖱 𝖾 𝗉 ( G ) symmetry and inserting its symmetry defects on the lattice, which are applicable to other non-invertible symmetries.