Self-correction from higher-form symmetry protection on a boundary

Abstract

Recent work has shown that a self-correcting memory can exist in 3 spatial dimensions, provided it is protected by a 1-form symmetry. Requiring that a system's dynamics obey this type of symmetry is equivalent to enforcing a macroscopic number of symmetry terms throughout the bulk. In this paper, we show how to replace the explicit 1-form symmetry in the bulk with an emergent 1-form symmetry. Although the symmetry still has to be explicitly enforced on the boundary, this only requires O(L^2) terms instead of O(L^3) terms. We then reinterpret this boundary as a symmetry-protected topological defect in a bulk topological order. Defects can have interesting memory properties even in the absence of symmetry.