arXiv research

This paper approximates SU(2) Chern-Simons theory using finite group gauge theories.

Method implements symmetries in TQFT for finite groups.

Extends Coulomb gauge existence to non-associative gauge theory.

Chern-Simons and Reshetikhin-Turaev theories are shown equivalent for U(1) gauge group.

We formulate a family of spin Topological Quantum Filed Theories (spin-TQFTs) as fermionic generalization of bosonic Dijkgraaf-Witten TQFTs. They are obtained by gauging $G$-equivariant invertible spin-TQFTs, or, in physics language, gauging the interacting fermionic Symmetry Protected Topological states (SPTs) with a …

We give a complete and explicit description of the kinematical data of higher gauge theory on principal 2-bundles with the string 2-group model of Schommer-Pries as structure 2-group. We start with a self-contained review of the weak 2-category Bibun of Lie groupoids, bibundles and bibundle morphisms. We then construct…

We show that representations of the loop braid group arise from Aharonov-Bohm like effects in finite 2-group (3+1)-dimensional topological higher gauge theory. For this we introduce a minimal categorification of biracks, which we call W-bikoids (welded bikoids). Our main example of W-bikoids arises from finite 2-groups…

I give a formula for computing the number of regular $Γ$-coverings of closed orientable Seifert 3-manifolds, for a given finite group $Γ$. The number is computed using a 3d TQFT with finite gauge group, through a cut-and-glue process.

We introduce defects, with internal gauge symmetries, on a knot and Seifert surface to a knot into the combinatorial construction of finite gauge-group Dijkgraaf-Witten theory. The appropriate initial data for the construction are certain three object categories, with coefficients satisfying a partially degenerate cocy…

The G/G WZW model results from the WZW-model by a standard procedure of gauging. G/G WZW models are members of Dirac sigma models, which also contain twisted Poisson sigma models as other examples. We show how the general class of Dirac sigma models can be obtained from a gauging procedure adapted to Lie algebroids in …

We develop several methods that allow us to compute all-loop partition functions in perturbative Chern-Simons theory with complex gauge group G_C, sometimes in multiple ways. In the background of a non-abelian irreducible flat connection, perturbative G_C invariants turn out to be interesting topological invariants, wh…

New gauge-theoretic construction of 4D hyperkähler ALE spaces.

Classifies extended Abelian Chern-Simons theories using quadratic modules.

We propose a dimensional reduction procedure in the Stolz--Teichner framework of supersymmetric Euclidean field theories (EFTs) that is well-suited in the presence of a finite gauge group or, more generally, for field theories over an orbifold. As an illustration, we give a geometric interpretation of the Chern charact…

Arithmetic Dijkgraaf-Witten theory constructs analogues in Chern-Simons TQFT.

Finite presentations for skein algebras linked to gauge field theory.

We give holomorphic Chern-Simons-like action functionals on supertwistor space for self-dual supergravity theories in four dimensions, dealing with N=0,...,8 supersymmetries, the cases where different parts of the R-symmetry are gauged, and with or without a cosmological constant. The gauge group is formally the group …

The Kuperberg invariant is shown to be gauge invariant for certain framed 3-manifolds.

The gauge principle is at the heart of a good part of fundamental physics: Starting with a group G of so-called rigid symmetries of a functional defined over space-time Sigma, the original functional is extended appropriately by additional Lie(G)-valued 1-form gauge fields so as to lift the symmetry to Maps(Sigma,G). P…

If q : P -> M is a principal K-bundle over the compact manifold M, then any invariant symmetric V-valued bilinear form on the Lie algebra k of K defines a Lie algebra extension of the gauge algebra by a space of bundle-valued 1-forms modulo exact forms. In the present paper we analyze the integrability of this extensio…

Gauge theory for families helps compare 4-manifold groups.

In this paper, we provide a construction of a state-sum model for finite gauge-group Dijkgraaf-Witten theory on surfaces with codimension 1 defects. The construction requires not only that the triangulation be subordinate to the filtration, but flag-like: each simplex of the triangulation is either disjoint from the de…

We use gauge theoretic and algebraic methods to examine sufficient conditions for smooth points on the moduli space of flat connections on a compact manifold and on the character variety of a finitely generated and presented group. We give a complete proof of the slice theorem for the action of the group of gauge trans…

New gauge fields modify Fokker-Planck dynamics without changing the stationary state.

A cocycle $Ω: P \times G \to H$ taking values in a Lie group $H$ for a free right action of $G$ on $P$ defines a principal bundle $Q$ with the structure group $H$ over $P/G.$ The Chern character of a vector bundle associated to $Q$ defines then characteristic classes on $X.$ This observation becomes useful in the case …

For a smooth manifold $M$, possibly with boundary and corners, and a Lie group $G$, we consider a suitable description of gauge fields in terms of parallel transport, as groupoid homomorphisms from a certain path groupoid in $M$ to $G$. Using a cotriangulation $\mathscr{C}$ of $M$, and collections of finite-dimensional…

Survey of gauge theory for families of 4-manifolds.

The homotopy theory of gauge groups has received considerable attention in recent decades. In this work, we study the homotopy theory of gauge groups over some high dimensional manifolds. To be more specific, we study gauge groups of bundles over $(n-1)$-connected closed $2n$-manifolds, the classification of which was …

A new dynamical approach connects resolution cohomology to group representations.

In this easy introduction to higher gauge theory, we describe parallel transport for particles and strings in terms of 2-connections on 2-bundles. Just as ordinary gauge theory involves a gauge group, this generalization involves a gauge '2-group'. We focus on 6 examples. First, every abelian Lie group gives a Lie 2-gr…

Study Dirac operators on finite warped cylinders with gauge fields.

We consider dimensional reduction of gauge theories with arbitrary gauge group in a formalism based on equivariant principal bundles. For the classical gauge groups we clarify the relations between equivariant principal bundles and quiver bundles, and show that the reduced quiver gauge theories are all generically buil…

In the first part of this paper, we work out a perturbative Lagrangian formulation of semistrict higher gauge theory, that avoids the subtleties of the relationship between Lie 2-groups and algebras by relying exclusively on the structure semistrict Lie 2-algebra v and its automorphism 2-group Aut(v). Gauge transformat…

3D BF theory on certain 3-manifolds evaluated via residues and large k limits.

Class lecture notes at a beginning graduate level on the mathematical background needed to understand classical gauge theory. Covers group actions, fiber bundles, principal bundles, connections, gauge transformations, parallel transport, curvature, covariant derivatives, pseudo-riemannian manifolds, lagrangians, cliffo…

New approach simplifies gauge field theory without groups.

L-CNNs maintain gauge symmetry on non-Abelian lattice theories.

In this paper we introduce principal 2-bundles and show how they are classified by non-abelian Cech cohomology. Moreover, we show that their gauge 2-groups can be described by 2-group-valued functors, much like in classical bundle theory. Using this, we show that, under some mild requirements, these gauge 2-groups poss…

New result on finite gerbes simplifies classification of certain bundles.

We provide an action for gauge theories discretized on simplicial meshes, inspired by finite element methods. The action is discretely gauge invariant and we give a proof of consistency. A discrete Noether's theorem that can be applied to our setting, is also proved.

The paper characterizes gauge balls in the Heisenberg group by their curvature.

In this article we give the realization of the Klein's Program for geometrical structures (Riemannian spaces and fiber bundles with connection) with arbitrary variable curvature within the framework of infinite deformed groups. These groups generalize gauge groups to the case of nontrivial action on the base space of b…

We construct Chern-Weil classes on infinite dimensional vector bundles with structure group contained in the algebra $\cl[\leq 0](M, E)$ of non-positive order classical pseudo-differential operators acting on a finite rank vector bundle $E$ over a closed manifold $M$. Mimicking the finite dimensional Chern-Weil constru…

Many physical theories, including notably string theory, require non-abelian higher gauge fields defining higher holonomy. Previous approaches to such higher connections on categorified principal bundles require these to be fake flat. This condition, however, renders them locally gauge equivalent to connections on abel…

A description of how a theory of gravity can be considered as a gauge theory (in the sense of Trautman) of the Poincare' group is given. As a result, it is shown that a gauge theory of this kind is consistent with the Equivalence Principle only if the Lagrangian and the constraints are preserved not only by the gauge t…

We slightly extend the notion of a natural fibre bundle by requiring diffeomorphisms of the base to lift to automorphisms of the bundle only infinitesimally, i.e. at the level of the Lie algebra of vector fields. Spin structures are natural only in this extended sense. We classify fibre bundles with this property, assu…

It is argued that the enlargement of the gauge group found in non-commutative gauge theory is more fundamentally thought of as a consequence of the non-locality of the construction and that it was already encountered in an earlier discussion of a non-local gauge theory.

We discuss a general procedure for using characteristic classes to study the components of the gauge group for a principal G-bundle. To illustrate this, we work out the case where G is the projective unitary group.