Note on higher-group structure in 6d self-dual gauge theory

TL;DR

This paper investigates the higher-group symmetry structure in a 6d self-dual gauge theory derived from axion-electrodynamics, revealing anomaly cancellation mechanisms and the role of background gauge fields in the model.

Contribution

It introduces a novel analysis of higher-group structures and anomaly cancellation in a 6d self-dual gauge theory with coupled background fields.

Findings

Identification of a Green-Schwarz-like transformation in 6d models

Demonstration of anomaly cancellation via gauging a 3-form symmetry

Discussion of the anomalous nature of a discrete 1-form symmetry

Abstract

We analyze higher-group structure of a 6d model coupled with a self-dual 2-form gauge field. This model is defined from 6d axion-electrodynamics with a 1-form Chern-Weil(CW) symmetry gauged dynamically. The gauging leads to a Green-Schwarz-West-Sagnotti(GSWS) term, which gives rise to an anomaly through a GSWS transformation acting on the 2-form gauge field. We cancel this anomaly by gauging a 3-form CW symmetry in 6d axion-electrodynamics. We find out the global symmetries in the resultant model and derive the gauge invariant action in the presence of the background gauge fields. It is argued that a discrete 1-form symmetry is anomalous because turning on the associated background gauge field causes quantum inconsistency due to an operator-valued ambiguity. Higher-group structure in this model that is manifested as a Green-Schwarz-like transformation for CW background gauge fields is discussed.