Gauge Enhanced Quantum Criticality and Time Reversal Domain Wall: SU(2) Yang-Mills Dynamics with Topological Terms

Understand

We explore the low energy dynamics of the four siblings of Lorentz symmetry enriched SU(2) Yang-Mills theory with a theta term at $\theta=\pi$ in $(3+1)$d.

• Due to a mixed anomaly between time reversal symmetry and the center symmetry, the low energy dynamics must be nontrivial.
• We focus on two possible scenarios: 1) time reversal symmetry is spontaneously broken by the two confining vacua, and 2) the low energy theory is described by a U(1) Maxwell gauge theory (e.g.
• U(1) spin liquid in condensed matter) which is deconfined and gapless while preserving time reversal symmetry.