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arXiv:2605.28688

Topological lattice gauge theory enriched by non-invertible symmetry

Lea E. Bottini, Clement Delcamp, Edmund Heng, Campbell McLauchlan, Dominic J. Williamson

Published May 27, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

We use finite group topological lattice gauge theory, also known as the quantum double model, as a lens to explore a notion of topological order enriched by a non-invertible symmetry. For invertible symmetry enriched topological order, there is an established axiomatisation in terms of a G-crossed braided fusion category. We lay the foundations for a generalisation of this notion. By condensing an arbitrary algebra of charges in a quantum double model, we demonstrate that the category of localised excitations in the resulting theory forms a hypergroup-graded extension of the category of deconfined excitations. For every element in the hypergroup, the associated domain wall acts in a typically non-invertible way on these localised excitations. Both this action and the monoidal structure are compatible with the hypergroup grading. The actual categorical action is encoded in a Hopf monad on the category of localised excitations, and gauging the non-invertible symmetry amounts to computing the category of modules over this Hopf monad. Finally, we outline how this framework naturally extends to theories obtained by condensing algebras in a generic string-net model.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2605.28688

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We use finite group topological lattice gauge theory, also known as the quantum double model, as a lens to explore a notion of topological order enriched by a non-invertible symmetry. For invertible symmetry enriched topological order, there is an established axiomatisation in terms of a G-crossed braided fusion category. We lay the foundations for a generalisation of this notion. By condensing an arbitrary algebra of charges in a quantum double model, we demonstrate that the category of localised excitations in the resulting theory forms a hypergroup-graded extension of the category of deconfined excitations. For every element in the hypergroup, the associated domain wall acts in a typically non-invertible way on these localised excitations. Both this action and the monoidal structure are compatible with the hypergroup grading. The actual categorical action is encoded in a Hopf monad on the category of localised excitations, and gauging the non-invertible symmetry amounts to computing the category of modules over this Hopf monad. Finally, we outline how this framework naturally extends to theories obtained by condensing algebras in a generic string-net model.
In recent work, we developed a method to construct invertible and non-invertible symmetries of finite-group gauge theories as topological domain walls on the lattice. In the present work, we consider abelian and non-abelian finite-group gauge theories in general spacetime dimension, and demonstrate how to realize these symmetries as condensation defects, i.e., as suitable insertions of lower dimensional topological operators. We then compute the fusion rules and action of these symmetries using their condensation expression and the algebraic properties of the lower dimensional objects that make them. We illustrate the discussion in ZN\mathbb{Z}_NZN​ gauge theory, where we derive the correspondence between domain walls, labeled by subgroups and actions for the doubled gauge group, and higher gauging condensation defects, labeled by subalgebras of the global symmetry. As a primary application, we obtain the condensation expression for the invertible symmetries of abelian gauge theories defined by outer automorphisms of the gauge group. We also show how to use these ideas to derive the action for certain non-abelian groups. For instance, one can obtain the action for the Dihedral group D4\mathbb{D}_4D4​ by gauging a swap symmetry of Z2×Z2\mathbb{Z}_2\times\mathbb{Z}_2Z2​×Z2​ gauge theory.
A bstract We propose weak Hopf symmetry as a general framework to explore (1+1)D topological phases that exhibit non-invertible symmetries. Inspired by the Symmetry Topological Field Theory (SymTFT) description of quantum phases with non-invertible symmetry, we construct a lattice model by introducing two distinct topological boundary conditions for a weak Hopf lattice gauge theory. One boundary encodes the topological symmetry information, while the other incorporates the non-topological dynamics. The resulting model is termed the cluster ladder model. We demonstrate that the cluster state model is a special case of this broader class of lattice models exhibiting weak Hopf symmetry H × Ĥ , where H is a weak Hopf algebra and Ĥ is its dual weak Hopf algebra. On a closed manifold, the symmetry reduces to Cocom( H ) × Cocom( Ĥ ), corresponding to the cocommutative subalgebras of H × Ĥ . An essential weak Hopf sub-symmetry is Cocom( H ) × Rep( H ), which, in the finite group case, reduces to the familiar symmetry G × Rep( G ). To exactly solve the lattice model, we introduce a weak Hopf tensor network. Furthermore, we demonstrate how to construct the lattice realization of an arbitrary fusion category symmetry S \mathcal{S} S S via combining Tannaka-Krein reconstruction or weak Hopf tube algebra and the cluster ladder model.
We propose a definition of a non-invertible symmetry enriched topological order (NI-SETO), and we implement our definition for string net models. We do so in two ways, using full inclusions of unitary fusion categories (UFCs), as well as anyon condensation. In both cases, the NI-SETO is a relative center of UFCs. All NI-SETOs can be realized in either model, where we can use enriched UFCs to get chiral examples on the boundary of a 3D Walker-Wang model representing the anomaly. We describe several examples of NI-SETOs and compute the qualitative symmetry action on anyons and symmetry defects using tube algebra techniques.
A bstract We present a systematic framework for constructing exactly-solvable lattice models of symmetry-enriched topological (SET) phases based on an enlarged version of the string-net model. We also gauge the global symmetries of our SET models to obtain string-net models of pure topological phases. Without invoking externally imposed onsite symmetry actions, our approach promotes the string-net model of a pure topological order, specified by an input unitary fusion category F \mathcal{F} F F , to an SET model, specified by a multifusion category together with a set of isomorphisms. Two complementary construction strategies are developed in the main text: (i) promotion via outer automorphisms of F \mathcal{F} F F and (ii) promotion via the Frobenius algebras of F \mathcal{F} F F . The global symmetries derived via these two strategies are intrinsic to topological phases and are thus termed blood symmetries, as opposed to adopted symmetries, which can be arbitrarily imposed on topological phases. We propose the concept of symmetry-gauging family of topological phases, which are related by gauging their blood symmetries. With our approach, we construct the first explicit lattice realization of a nonabelian-symmetry-enriched topological phase — the S 3 symmetry-enriched ℤ 2 × ℤ 2 quantum-double phase. The approach further reveals the role of local excitations in SET phases and establishes their symmetry constraints.
A candidate reading of seven recent preprints from cond-mat.str-el and physics.atom-ph suggests that the classical toolkit for classifying gapped phases and their transitions—built on Landau symmetry breaking, local order parameters, and invertible group symmetries—requires systematic extension at the level of microscopic algebraic structure, not merely at the phenomenological level. The emerging picture, drawn from the corpus, is that *generalized symmetries* (non-invertible, categorical, and higher-form) impose precise algebraic constraints on what constitutes a valid order parameter, what boundary conditions are permissible, and which phase transitions can occur without any form of spontaneous symmetry breaking, even after arbitrary gauging. Concretely: (i) condensable algebras in 2+1d topological orders classify gapped boundaries, and twin algebras sharing identical anyon content but inequivalent algebra structure describe physically distinct phases with isomorphic ground-state degeneracy but inequivalent order parameters [corpus:arxiv:2605.31602]; (ii) these twin phases can undergo direct transitions that are provably beyond-Landau even after partial gauging [corpus:arxiv:2605.31601]; (iii) string order parameters in 1d systems organize into Lagrangian algebras in the Drinfel'd center of the symmetry category, making the fusion rule of the symmetry category—not just its representation theory—the operative diagnostic [corpus:arxiv:2605.27193]; (iv) non-invertible symmetry-breaking transitions can be mapped via generalized gauging to deconfined quantum critical points, and vice versa, establishing a precise duality [corpus:arxiv:2605.27672]; and (v) non-invertible symmetry enriched topological orders (NI-SETOs) can be constructed from string-net models, extending symmetry enrichment beyond the group-theoretic setting [corpus:arxiv:2605.28794]. Two additional corpus entries—a Rydberg spin-chain study [corpus:arxiv:2605.27166] and a topological lattice gauge theory paper [corpus:arxiv:2605.28688]—provide microscopic anchoring and structural context, respectively. The central falsification path is explicit: if a twin-phase transition can be shown to spontaneously break some hidden symmetry after arbitrary gauging, the framework collapses. Concrete tensor-network (DMRG/MPS) constructions of twin-phase order parameters in 1+1d would constitute a direct test. --- Authorship: Saluca Agentic AI Research Team (Saluca LLC). AI-drafted from arXiv preprint corpus on the date in the filename. Cited arXiv preprints: 2605.27166, 2605.27193, 2605.27672, 2605.28688, 2605.28794, 2605.29745, 2605.29875, 2605.30421, 2605.31185, 2605.31540, 2605.31601, 2605.31602