Anomalies of TQFTs coupled to parameter spaces and constraints on ground-state degeneracies
Abstract
Anomalies of global symmetries can arise in long-range entangled quantum many-body systems and provide useful constraints on their dynamics. In this paper, we study anomalies of d-dimensional topological quantum field theories (TQFTs) coupled to parameter spaces and their implications for ground-state degeneracies. Specifically, we formulate anomalies as obstructions to constructing parametrized families of TQFTs. We discuss how the classification of these anomalies depends on the choice of topology on the universal U(1) (d−1)-form symmetry. In this framework, we use the projective ground-state bundle obtained by compactifying the TQFT on a spatial manifold to derive a general constraint relating its ground-state degeneracy N to its torsion anomaly ω, expressed as N∫Wω∈ℤ for bundles W of spatial manifolds over closed surfaces. We apply this constraint to ground-state degeneracies of (2+1)-dimensional TQFTs with framing and 1-form symmetry anomalies and to obstructions to symmetry-preserving TQFTs. We also discuss implications for bordism generators and propose a conjecture on anomaly detection by manifolds fibered over surfaces.
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BibTeX
@misc{ando2026anomalies,
title = {{Anomalies of TQFTs coupled to parameter spaces and constraints on ground-state degeneracies}},
author = {Takamasa Ando and Ryan Thorngren},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.42007},
eprint = {2610.42007},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.42007},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Anomalies of TQFTs coupled to parameter spaces and constraints on ground-state degeneracies
AU - Takamasa Ando
AU - Ryan Thorngren
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.42007
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.42007
AB - Anomalies of global symmetries can arise in long-range entangled quantum many-body systems and provide useful constraints on their dynamics. In this paper, we study anomalies of d-dimensional topological quantum field theories (TQFTs) coupled to parameter spaces and their implications for ground-state degeneracies. Specifically, we formulate anomalies as obstructions to constructing parametrized families of TQFTs. We discuss how the classification of these anomalies depends on the choice of topology on the universal U(1) (d−1)-form symmetry. In this framework, we use the projective ground-state bundle obtained by compactifying the TQFT on a spatial manifold to derive a general constraint relating its ground-state degeneracy N to its torsion anomaly ω, expressed as N∫_Wω∈ℤ for bundles W of spatial manifolds over closed surfaces. We apply this constraint to ground-state degeneracies of (2+1)-dimensional TQFTs with framing and 1-form symmetry anomalies and to obstructions to symmetry-preserving TQFTs. We also discuss implications for bordism generators and propose a conjecture on anomaly detection by manifolds fibered over surfaces.
ER -