Strong planar subsystem symmetry-protected topological phases and their dual fracton orders

TL;DR

This paper classifies 3+1D subsystem symmetry-protected topological phases with planar symmetries, distinguishing between weak and strong phases, and explores their duality with fracton orders, providing explicit constructions and classifications.

Contribution

It introduces a classification scheme for strong SSPT phases in 3+1D with planar symmetries and establishes their duality with certain fracton orders, including explicit examples and a general framework.

Findings

Strong SSPTs cannot be constructed by stacking 2+1D SPTs.

Strong SSPTs exist for arbitrary finite abelian groups.

Fracton orders from p-string condensation are dual to weak SSPTs.

Abstract

We classify subsystem symmetry-protected topological (SSPT) phases in $3+1$D protected by planar subsystem symmetries, which are dual to abelian fracton topological orders. We distinguish between weak SSPTs, which can be constructed by stacking $2+1$D SPTs, and strong SSPTs, which cannot. We identify signatures of strong phases, and show by explicit construction that such phases exist. A classification of strong phases is presented for an arbitrary finite abelian group. Finally, we show that fracton orders realizable via $p$-string condensation are dual to weak SSPTs, while strong SSPTs do not admit such a realization.