Twisted gauging and topological sectors in (2+1)d abelian lattice gauge theories

Abstract

Given a two-dimensional quantum lattice model with an abelian gauge theory interpretation, we investigate a duality operation that amounts to gauging its invertible 1-form symmetry, followed by gauging the resulting 0-form symmetry in a twisted way via a choice of discrete torsion. Using tensor networks, we introduce explicit lattice realisations of the so-called condensation defects, which are obtained by gauging the 1-form symmetry along submanifolds of spacetime, and employ the same calculus to realise the duality operators. By leveraging these tensor network operators, we compute the non-trivial interplay between symmetry-twisted boundary conditions and charge sectors under the duality operation, enabling us to construct isometries relating the dual Hamiltonians. Whenever a lattice gauge theory is left invariant under the duality operation, we explore the possibility of promoting the self-duality to an internal symmetry. We argue that this results in a symmetry structure that encodes the 2-representations of a 2-group.