Dynamical edge modes in p-form gauge theories

Abstract We extend our recently identified dynamical edge mode boundary condition to p-form gauge theories, revealing their edge modes as Goldstone bosons arising from gauge transformations with support on the boundary. The symplectic conjugates of these edge modes correspond to the electric-field-l...

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Main Authors: Adam Ball, Y. T. Albert Law
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2025-02-01
Series:Journal of High Energy Physics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP02(2025)182
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author Adam Ball
Y. T. Albert Law
author_facet Adam Ball
Y. T. Albert Law
author_sort Adam Ball
collection DOAJ
description Abstract We extend our recently identified dynamical edge mode boundary condition to p-form gauge theories, revealing their edge modes as Goldstone bosons arising from gauge transformations with support on the boundary. The symplectic conjugates of these edge modes correspond to the electric-field-like components normal to the boundary. We demonstrate that both the symplectic form and the Hamiltonian naturally decompose into bulk and edge parts. When the boundary is a stretched horizon, we show that the thermal edge partition function reduces to that of a codimension-two ghost (p – 1)-form residing on the bifurcation surface. These findings provide a dynamical framework that elucidates observations made by several authors. Additionally, we generalize Donnelly and Wall’s non-dynamical approach to obtain edge partition functions for both massive and massless p-forms. In the context of a de Sitter static patch, these results are consistent with the edge partition functions found by several authors in arbitrary dimensions.
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spelling doaj-art-6242dc7d74574100a6f2560652b51e382025-08-20T02:16:22ZengSpringerOpenJournal of High Energy Physics1029-84792025-02-012025214910.1007/JHEP02(2025)182Dynamical edge modes in p-form gauge theoriesAdam Ball0Y. T. Albert Law1Perimeter Institute for Theoretical PhysicsStanford Institute for Theoretical PhysicsAbstract We extend our recently identified dynamical edge mode boundary condition to p-form gauge theories, revealing their edge modes as Goldstone bosons arising from gauge transformations with support on the boundary. The symplectic conjugates of these edge modes correspond to the electric-field-like components normal to the boundary. We demonstrate that both the symplectic form and the Hamiltonian naturally decompose into bulk and edge parts. When the boundary is a stretched horizon, we show that the thermal edge partition function reduces to that of a codimension-two ghost (p – 1)-form residing on the bifurcation surface. These findings provide a dynamical framework that elucidates observations made by several authors. Additionally, we generalize Donnelly and Wall’s non-dynamical approach to obtain edge partition functions for both massive and massless p-forms. In the context of a de Sitter static patch, these results are consistent with the edge partition functions found by several authors in arbitrary dimensions.https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP02(2025)182Duality in Gauge Field TheoriesGauge Symmetry
spellingShingle Adam Ball
Y. T. Albert Law
Dynamical edge modes in p-form gauge theories
Journal of High Energy Physics
Duality in Gauge Field Theories
Gauge Symmetry
title Dynamical edge modes in p-form gauge theories
title_full Dynamical edge modes in p-form gauge theories
title_fullStr Dynamical edge modes in p-form gauge theories
title_full_unstemmed Dynamical edge modes in p-form gauge theories
title_short Dynamical edge modes in p-form gauge theories
title_sort dynamical edge modes in p form gauge theories
topic Duality in Gauge Field Theories
Gauge Symmetry
url https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP02(2025)182
work_keys_str_mv AT adamball dynamicaledgemodesinpformgaugetheories
AT ytalbertlaw dynamicaledgemodesinpformgaugetheories