MS Seminar (Mathematics - String Theory)

Speaker: Brandon Rayhaun (Princeton, Institute for Advanced Study (IAS))
Title: Generalized symmetries of relative QFTs and chiral algebras
Date (JST): Thu, Feb 26, 2026, 13:30 - 15:00
Place: Balcony A
Abstract:
There is by now a beautiful theory of generalized symmetries for 2D QFTs based in the physics of topological line defects and the mathematics of tensor categories. I will sketch a generalization of this theory to the setting of *relative* 2D QFTs (i.e. QFTs which live at the boundary of a bulk 3D topological order), emphasizing various new features which arise. This theory is particularly rich when applied to the chiral half of a rational CFT, and I will spend most of the time unpacking this special case and discussing applications.