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(−1)-form symmetries and anomaly shifting from symmetry topological field theory

Daniel Robbins and Subham Roy

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Phys. Rev. D 112, 105020 – Published 26 November, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/2zk8-jd5t

Abstract

We investigate (−1)-form symmetries using the framework of symmetry topological field theories. Previous studies of (−1)-form symmetries have primarily focused in SymTFTs with topological point operators. Here we examine SymTFTs devoid of point operators, constructed to realize zero-form symmetries of some physical theory. In this context we identify codimension-one defects within the bulk of SymTFT constructed via higher gauging, which can be interpreted as the generators of (−1)-form symmetry of the absolute theory. In addition, we present examples where (−1)-form symmetries exhibit the novel ability to shift the ’t Hooft anomalies of the theory.

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Phys. Rev. D 112, 105020– Published 26 November, 2025
  • Received 16 June 2025
  • Accepted 9 November 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

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