- Open Access
Supersymmetric lattice theories on curved space
Phys. Rev. D 113, 054513 – Published 26 March, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/z3qg-nlxc
Abstract
We show how to construct Hamiltonian lattice theories with one exact supersymmetry on arbitrary triangulations of curved space in any number of dimensions. Both bosons and fermions satisfy discrete Kähler-Dirac equations. The quantization of the fermions proceeds by imposing conventional anticommutation relations while the bosons require a modification of the usual canonical commutator. On regular lattices we construct parity, time reversal and translation-by-one (shift) symmetries. We argue that the latter are generically noninvertible symmetries. We also show how to couple these degrees of freedom to background gauge fields which leads to a theory with enhanced supersymmetry.
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Article Text
References (28)
- J. B. Kogut and L. Susskind, Hamiltonian formulation of Wilson’s lattice gauge theories, Phys. Rev. D 11, 395 (1975).
- S. Catterall, J. Laiho, and J. Unmuth-Yockey, Topological fermion condensates from anomalies, J. High Energy Phys. 10 (2018) 013.
- S. Catterall, J. Laiho, and J. Unmuth-Yockey, Kähler-Dirac fermions on Euclidean dynamical triangulations, Phys. Rev. D 98, 114503 (2018).
- N. Butt, S. Catterall, A. Pradhan, and G. C. Toga, Anomalies and symmetric mass generation for Kähler-Dirac fermions, Phys. Rev. D 104, 094504 (2021).
- S. Catterall, ‘t Hooft anomalies for staggered fermions, Phys. Rev. D 107, 014501 (2023).
- S. Catterall, Lattice regularization of reduced Kähler-Dirac fermions and connections to chiral fermions, SciPost Phys. 16, 108 (2024).
- N. Seiberg and S.-H. Shao, Majorana chain and Ising model—(non-invertible) translations, anomalies, and emanant symmetries, SciPost Phys. 16, 064 (2024).
- Y.-Y. Li, J. Wang, and Y.-Z. You, Quantum many-body lattice C-R-T symmetry: Fractionalization, anomaly, and symmetric mass generation, arXiv:2412.19691.
- L. Gioia and R. Thorngren, Exact chiral symmetries of Hamiltonian lattice fermions, Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 061601 (2026).
- A. Chatterjee, S. D. Pace, and S.-H. Shao, Quantized axial charge of staggered fermions and the chiral anomaly, Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 021601 (2025).
- S. D. Pace, M. L. Kim, A. Chatterjee, and S.-H. Shao, Parity anomaly from LSM: Exact valley symmetries on the lattice, Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 236501 (2025).
- T. Onogi and T. Yamaoka, Non-singlet conserved charges and anomalies in staggered fermions, arXiv:2509.04906.
- S. Catterall, D. B. Kaplan, and M. Unsal, Exact lattice supersymmetry, Phys. Rep. 484, 71 (2009).
- S. Catterall, J. Giedt, and G. C. Toga, Holography from lattice super Yang-Mills, J. High Energy Phys. 08 (2023) 084.
- D. Berenstein, Staggered bosons, Phys. Rev. D 108, 074509 (2023).
- D. Berenstein and P. N. T. Lloyd, One dimensional staggered bosons, clock models, and their noninvertible symmetries, Phys. Rev. D 110, 054508 (2024).
- S.-H. Shao, What’s done cannot be undone: TASI lectures on non-invertible symmetries, arXiv:2308.00747.
- D. Berenstein, S. Catterall, and P. N. T. Lloyd, Staggered bosons and Kahler-Dirac bosons, Proc. Sci., CORFU2023 (2024) 280 [arXiv:2405.03758].
- L. Susskind, Lattice fermions, Phys. Rev. D 16, 3031 (1977).
- M. F. L. Golterman and J. Smit, Selfenergy and flavor interpretation of staggered fermions, Nucl. Phys. B245, 61 (1984).
- S. Catterall, A. Pradhan, and A. Samlodia, Symmetries and anomalies of Hamiltonian staggered fermions, Phys. Rev. D 113, 014504 (2026).
- S. Elitzur, E. Rabinovici, and A. Schwimmer, Supersymmetric models on the lattice, Phys. Lett. 119B, 165 (1982).
- S. Elitzur and A. Schwimmer, two-dimensional Wess-Zumino model on the lattice, Nucl. Phys. B226, 109 (1983).
- T. Banks, Y. Dothan, and D. Horn, Geometric fermions, Phys. Lett. 117B, 413 (1982).
- P. Fendley, K. Schoutens, and J. de Boer, Lattice models with supersymmetry, Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 120402 (2003).
- E. Witten, Topological quantum field theory, Commun. Math. Phys. 117, 353 (1988).
- D. B. Kaplan, E. Katz, and M. Unsal, Supersymmetry on a spatial lattice, J. High Energy Phys. 05 (2003) 037.
- D. B. Kaplan and M. Unsal, A Euclidean lattice construction of supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories with sixteen supercharges, J. High Energy Phys. 09 (2005) 042.