2019/02/04 by Nicola Maggiore
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Black Holes and Theoretical Physics #Boson #Boundary (topology) #Charge (physics) #Coupling constant #Geometry #Mathematical analysis #Mathematical physics #Mathematics #Maxwell's equations #Physics #Quantum #Quantum Chromodynamics and Particle Interactions #Quantum electrodynamics #Quantum mechanics #Scalar (mathematics) #Spinon #Topological Materials and Phenomena #cond-mat.mes-hall #hep-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/1751-8121/ab045a
published as J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 52 (2019) 115401 · 14 pages, no figures
openalex publication_date 2019/02/04 · arxiv created 2019/02/05 · arxiv updated 2019/02/19 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Abstract In this paper the 3D Maxwell theory with single-sided planar boundary is studied. As a consequence of the existence, on the boundary, of two Ward identities, we find two chiral conserved edge currents satisfying a Kaç–Moody algebra with central charge equal to the inverse of the Maxwell coupling constant. We show that the boundary degrees of freedom are two 2D scalar chiral bosons whose chiralities depend on the parameters of the bulk Maxwell theory. In particular, the edge chiral bosons may have opposite chiralities, in close analogy with the ‘spinon’ and ‘holon’ currents characterizing the 3D topological insulators.