Boundary Modes in the Chamon Model

Abstract

We study the fracton phase described by the Chamon model in a manifold with a boundary. The new processes and excitations emerging at the boundary can be understood by means of a diagrammatic framework. From a continuum perspective, the boundary theory is described by a set of scalar fields in similarity with the standard $K$-matrix Chern-Simons theory. The continuum theory recovers the gapped boundaries of the lattice model once we include sufficiently strong interactions that break charge conservation. The analysis of the perturbative relevance of the leading interactions reveals a regime in which the Chamon model can have a stable gapless fractonic phase at its boundary.