Higher-form entanglement asymmetry. Part I. The limits of symmetry breaking

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Benini, Francesco, García-Valdecasas, Eduardo, Vitouladitis, Stathis
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Benini, Francesco
García-Valdecasas, Eduardo
Vitouladitis, Stathis
author_facet Benini, Francesco
García-Valdecasas, Eduardo
Vitouladitis, Stathis
contents Entanglement asymmetry is a relative entropy that faithfully diagnoses symmetry breaking in quantum states, possibly within a spatial subregion. In this work, we extend such framework to higher-form symmetries and compute entanglement asymmetry in theories with spontaneously-broken continuous zero- and higher-form symmetries. One of our central results is an entropic Coleman-Mermin-Wagner theorem, for 0- and $p$-form symmetries, valid also on subregions, which forbids spontaneous breaking of continuous $p$-form symmetries in spacetime dimensions $d\leq p+2$. Our theorem not only qualifies symmetry breaking, it also quantifies it: spontaneous breaking triggers a nonvanishing entanglement asymmetry that grows monotonically towards the infrared, and counts the number of Goldstone fields. Along the way, we derive standalone results concerning the entanglement entropy and asymmetry of Goldstone bosons and gauge fields. In particular, we find a closed-form expression for the Rényi asymmetries of a compact scalar field on spherical subregions in three and four spacetime dimensions, and for higher-form gauge fields in higher dimensions.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_15898
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Higher-form entanglement asymmetry. Part I. The limits of symmetry breaking
Benini, Francesco
García-Valdecasas, Eduardo
Vitouladitis, Stathis
High Energy Physics - Theory
Statistical Mechanics
Strongly Correlated Electrons
Quantum Physics
Entanglement asymmetry is a relative entropy that faithfully diagnoses symmetry breaking in quantum states, possibly within a spatial subregion. In this work, we extend such framework to higher-form symmetries and compute entanglement asymmetry in theories with spontaneously-broken continuous zero- and higher-form symmetries. One of our central results is an entropic Coleman-Mermin-Wagner theorem, for 0- and $p$-form symmetries, valid also on subregions, which forbids spontaneous breaking of continuous $p$-form symmetries in spacetime dimensions $d\leq p+2$. Our theorem not only qualifies symmetry breaking, it also quantifies it: spontaneous breaking triggers a nonvanishing entanglement asymmetry that grows monotonically towards the infrared, and counts the number of Goldstone fields. Along the way, we derive standalone results concerning the entanglement entropy and asymmetry of Goldstone bosons and gauge fields. In particular, we find a closed-form expression for the Rényi asymmetries of a compact scalar field on spherical subregions in three and four spacetime dimensions, and for higher-form gauge fields in higher dimensions.
title Higher-form entanglement asymmetry. Part I. The limits of symmetry breaking
topic High Energy Physics - Theory
Statistical Mechanics
Strongly Correlated Electrons
Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.15898