a × b = c in 2+1D TQFT

Abstract

We study the implications of the anyon fusion equation a × b = c on global properties of 2 + 1D topological quantum field theories (TQFTs). Here a and b are anyons that fuse together to give a unique anyon, c. As is well known, when at least one of a and b is abelian, such equations describe aspects of the one-form symmetry of the theory. When a and b are non-abelian, the most obvious way such fusions arise is when a TQFT can be resolved into a product of TQFTs with trivial mutual braiding, and a and b lie in separate factors. More generally, we argue that the appearance of such fusions for non-abelian a and b can also be an indication of zero-form symmetries in a TQFT, of what we term “quasi-zero-form symmetries" (as in the case of discrete gauge theories based on the largest Mathieu group, M24), or of the existence of non-modular fusion subcategories. We study these ideas in a variety of TQFT settings from (twisted and untwisted) discrete gauge theories to Chern-Simons theories based on continuous gauge groups and related cosets. Along the way, we prove various useful theorems.