Generalized symmetries of nonsupersymmetric orbifolds

Abstract

We determine generalized symmetries for 4D theories engineered via type II strings on nonsupersymmetric orbifold backgrounds R3,1×R6/Γ. Probe branes detect generalized symmetries via the adjacency matrix for fermionic degrees of freedom in an associated quiver gauge theory. In situations where the tachyons are sequestered away from the boundary S5/Γ, this exactly matches the result extracted from singular homology. In situations with an unsequestered tachyon which stretches out to the boundary, the presence of tachyonic pulses partitions up the space into several distinct sectors, and the net contribution again matches with the answer expected via quiver methods. For IIA backgrounds, the presence of a localized closed string tachyon leads to transitions in the spectrum of states, generalized symmetries, higher-group symmetries, as well as the level matrix of the associated symmetry topological field theory (SymTFT). For IIB backgrounds with a stack of spacetime filling probe D3-branes, the onset of a radiatively generated potential leads to similar considerations involving scale dependent transitions in the symmetries of the theory, including structures such as duality defects/interfaces. Published by the American Physical Society 2025