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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Symmetry enhancement, symmetry-protected topological absorption, and duality in QED3

Shai M. Chester1 and Zohar Komargodski2

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Phys. Rev. B 112, L041113 – Published 11 July, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/pgm4-dtlp

Abstract

Quantum electrodynamics in 2+1 dimensions (QED3) with two Dirac fermions displays time reversal symmetry, nontrivial SPT phases, and anomalies. The fate of this theory in its strongly coupled regime has been debated extensively. Surprisingly, we find that gluing together the phase diagrams of two standard Wilson-Fisher O(4) theories suffices to reproduce all the SPT phases, anomalies, and semiclassical limits. A central mechanism behind it is “SPT absorption.” The patching of the O(4) transitions makes very concrete predictions for the behavior of the theory in its strongly coupled limits; for instance, the θ=π sigma model with S3 topology appears due to monopole condensation.

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Phys. Rev. B 112, L041113– Published 11 July, 2025
  • Received 13 November 2024
  • Accepted 23 June 2025
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