Anomaly and Cobordism Constraints Beyond the Standard Model: Topological Force

TL;DR

This paper explores how cobordism and anomaly constraints beyond traditional local anomalies impose new restrictions on gauge theories, revealing hidden topological sectors that could address fundamental physics puzzles like dark matter.

Contribution

It introduces a systematic cobordism classification of anomalies, uncovering new gapped sectors and topological forces in Standard Model extensions and grand unification theories.

Findings

Discovery of a hidden gapped sector involving non-invertible TQFTs or 5d invertible TQFTs.

Identification of anomaly constraints beyond Feynman-graph perturbative anomalies.

Proposal of a topological force mediating entangled 4d and 5d universes.

Abstract

Standard lore uses local anomalies to check the kinematic consistency of gauge theories coupled to chiral fermions, e.g. Standard Models (SM). Based on a systematic cobordism classification, we examine constraints from invertible quantum anomalies (including all perturbative local and nonperturbative global anomalies) for gauge theories. We also clarify the different uses of these anomalies: including (1) anomaly cancellations of dynamical gauge fields, (2) 't Hooft anomaly matching conditions of background fields of global symmetries, and others. We apply several 4d $\mathbb{Z}_{n}$ anomaly constraints of $n=16,4,2$ classes, beyond the familiar Feynman-graph perturbative $\mathbb{Z}$ class local anomalies. As an application, for (SU(3)$\times$SU(2)$\times$U(1))/$\mathbb{Z}_q$ SM (with $q=1,2,3,6$) and SU(5) Grand Unification with 15n chiral Weyl fermions and with a discrete baryon minus lepton number $X=5({\bf B}- {\bf L})-4Y$ preserved, we discover a new hidden gapped sector previously unknown to the SM and Georgi-Glashow model. The gapped sector at low energy contains either (1) 4d non-invertible topological quantum field theory (TQFT, above the energy gap with heavy fractionalized anyon excitations from 1d particle worldline and 2d string worldsheet, inaccessible directly from Dirac or Majorana mass gap of the 16th Weyl fermions [i.e., right-handed neutrinos], but accessible via a topological quantum phase transition), or (2) 5d invertible TQFT in extra dimensions. Above a higher energy scale, the discrete $X$ becomes dynamically gauged, the entangled Universe in 4d and 5d is mediated by Topological Force. Our model potentially resolves puzzles, surmounting sterile neutrinos and dark matter, in fundamental physics.