2023/07/16 by Daniel S. Freed, Freed, Daniel S.
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Algebraic and Geometric Analysis #Black Holes and Theoretical Physics #FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th) #Mathematical Physics (math-ph) #Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other) #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2307.08147
openalex publication_date 2023/07/16 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The anomaly of a quantum field theory is an expression of its projective nature. This starting point quickly leads to its manifestation as a special kind of field theory: a once-categorified invertible theory. We arrive at this statement through a general discussion of projectivity and a discussion of projectivity in quantum mechanics. We conclude with a general formula for the anomaly of a free spinor field.