A generalization of decomposition in orbifolds

Abstract

Abstract This paper describes a generalization of decomposition in orbifolds. In general terms, decomposition states that two-dimensional orbifolds and gauge theories whose gauge groups have trivially-acting subgroups decompose into disjoint unions of theories. However, decomposition can be, at least naively, broken in orbifolds if the orbifold has discrete torsion in the trivially-acting subgroup. (Formally, this breaks finite global one-form symmetries.) Nevertheless, even in such cases, one still sees rudiments of decomposition. In this paper, we generalize decomposition in orbifolds to include such examples of discrete torsion, which we check in numerous examples. Our analysis includes as special cases (and in one sense generalizes) quantum symmetries of abelian orbifolds.

Keywords

• Conformal Field Theory
• Discrete Symmetries
• Gauge Symmetry
• Conformal Field Models in String Theory