2025/10/21 by Apruzzi, Fabio, Martucci, Luca
#FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2510.18997
We uncover an infinite class of novel zero-form non-invertible symmetries in a broad family of four-dimensional models, studied years ago by Gaillard and Zumino (GZ), which includes several extended supergravities as particular subcases. The GZ models consist of abelian gauge fields coupled to a neutral sector, typically including a set of scalars, whose equations of motion are classically invariant under a continuous group \mathscrG acting on the electric and magnetic field strengths via symplectic transformations. The standard lore holds that, at the quantum level, these symmetries are broken to an integral subgroup \mathscrG_ℤ. We show that, in fact, a much larger subgroup \mathscrG_ℚ survives, albeit through non-invertible topological defects. We explicitly construct these defects and compute some of their fusion rules. As illustrative examples, we consider the axion-dilaton-Maxwell model and the bosonic sector of a class of N=2 supergravities of the kind that appear in type II Calabi-Yau compactifications. Finally, we comment on how (part of) these non-invertible zero-form symmetries can be broken by gauging the \mathscrG_ℤ subgroup of invertible symmetries.