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We propose a classification of BPS states in holographic CFTs into monotone and fortuitous, based on their behaviors in the large $N$ limit. Intuitively, monotone BPS states form infinite sequences with increasing rank $N$, while fortuitous ones exist within finite ranges of consecutive ranks. A precise definition is formulated using supercharge cohomology. We conjecture that under the AdS/CFT correspondence, monotone BPS states are dual to smooth horizonless geometries, and fortuitous ones are responsible for typical black hole microstates and give dominant contributions to the entropy. We present supporting evidence for our conjectures in the ${\cal N}=4$ SYM and symmetric product orbifolds., Comment: 23 pages, 1 figure; v2: minor revision, Appendix A added

We investigate the existence of $\frac18$-BPS black hole microstates in the $\mathfrak{su}(1,1|2)$ sector of Type IIB string theory on $\mathrm{AdS}_5 \times \mathrm{S}^5$. As will be explained, these states are in one-to-one correspondence with the Schur operators comprising the chiral algebra of $\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills, and a conjecture of Beem et al. implies that the Schur sector only contains graviton operators and hence $\frac18$-BPS black holes do not exist. We scrutinize this conjecture from multiple angles. Concerning the macroscopic counting, we rigorously prove that the flavored Schur index cannot exhibit black hole entropy growth, and provide numerical evidence that the flavored MacDonald index also does not exhibit such growth. Next, we go beyond counting to examine the algebraic structure, beginning by presenting evidence for the well-definedness of the super-$\mathcal{W}$ algebra of Beem et al., then using modular differential equations to argue for an upper bound on the lightest non-graviton operator if existent, and finally performing a systematic construction of cohomologies to recover only gravitons. Along the way, we clarify key aspects of the 4d/2d correspondence using the formalism of the holomorphic topological twist., Comment: 37+15 pages, 5 figures, 6 tables; v2: minor revision, references added

We consider BPS states in M theory compactified on a Calabi-Yau threefold with one K\"ahler parameter, and investigate their relation to blackholes and blackrings. On the microscopic side, a characterization of the BPS degeneracy can be obtained from the non-perturbative part of the topological string free energy according to the Gopakumar-Vafa conjecture. On the macroscopic side, the Wald entropy of relevant black objects in the four-dimensional IIA description is computed from the perturbative part of the same topological string free energy following the work of Cardoso-de Wit-Mohaupt and then lifted to five-dimensional M theory through the Gaiotto-Strominger-Yin correspondence. For a given value of the M2 brane charge, we find that for small angular momenta, the microscopic BPS degeneracy matches the entropy of a rotating blackhole, whereas an apparent transition occurs at a critical value of the angular momentum. Beyond this value, we find encouraging evidence that the microscopic counting is well approximated by the entropy of a blackring. We conclude by formulating a new puzzle involving the corrections due to degenerate worldsheet instantons., Comment: 53 pages

Building on the recent discovery of the first candidate black hole operator in $\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills, we explore the near-supersymmetric aspects of the theory that capture lightly excited, highly stringy black holes. We extend the superspace formalism describing the classically supersymmetric (1/16-BPS) sector of $\mathcal{N}=4$ super-Yang-Mills and compute a large number of one-loop anomalous dimensions. Despite being in the highly stringy regime, we find hints of a gap in the spectrum, similar to that found by a gravitational path integral. We also determine the actual expression of the first candidate black hole operator at weak gauge coupling, going beyond the cohomological construction., Comment: 22+14 pages, 1 table, 3 figures; v2: minor revision

We classify two-dimensional purely chiral conformal field theories which are defined on two-dimensional surfaces equipped with spin structure and have central charge less than or equal to 16, and discuss their duality webs. This result can be used to confirm that the list of non-supersymmetric ten-dimensional heterotic string theories found in the late 1980s is complete and does not miss any exotic example., Comment: 29+13 pages; v2: published version, with many improvements in presentation thanks to comments by the referees

Using the numerical modular bootstrap, we constrain the space of 1+1d CFTs with a finite non-invertible global symmetry described by a fusion category $\mathcal{C}$. We derive universal and rigorous upper bounds on the lightest $\mathcal{C}$-preserving scalar local operator for fusion categories such as the Ising and Fibonacci categories. These numerical bounds constrain the possible robust gapless phases protected by a non-invertible global symmetry, which commonly arise from microscopic lattice models such as the anyonic chains. We also derive bounds on the lightest $\mathcal{C}$-violating local operator. Our bootstrap equations naturally arise from a "slab construction", where the CFT is coupled to the 2+1d Turaev-Viro TQFT, also known as the Symmetry TFT., Comment: 28 pages + references

The theory of topological modular forms (TMF) predicts that elliptic genera of physical theories satisfy a certain divisibility property, determined by the theory's gravitational anomaly. In this note we verify this prediction in Duncan's Supermoonshine module, as well as in tensor products and orbifolds thereof. Along the way we develop machinery for computing the elliptic genera of general alternating orbifolds and discuss the relation of this construction to the elusive "periodicity class" of TMF., Comment: 28 pages + appendices; v2: publication version

We revamp the constructive enumeration of 1/16-BPS states in the maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills in four dimensions, and search for ones that are not of multi-graviton form. A handful of such states are found for gauge group SU(2) at relatively high energies, resolving a decade-old enigma. Along the way, we clarify various subtleties in the literature, and prove a non-renormalization theorem about the exactness of the cohomological enumeration in perturbation theory. We point out a giant-graviton-like feature in our results, and envision that a deep analysis of our data will elucidate the fundamental properties of black hole microstates., Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures, 5 tables; v2, v3: minor revisions, references added; v4: references added, subtleties with non-renormalization theorem discussed

It is known that the asymptotic density of states of a 2d CFT in an irreducible representation $\rho$ of a finite symmetry group $G$ is proportional to $(\dim\rho)^2$. We show how this statement can be generalized when the symmetry can be non-invertible and is described by a fusion category $\mathcal{C}$. Along the way, we explain what plays the role of a representation of a group in the case of a fusion category symmetry; the answer to this question is already available in the broader mathematical physics literature but not yet widely known in hep-th. This understanding immediately implies a selection rule on the correlation functions, and also allows us to derive the asymptotic density., Comment: 42 pages; v2: minor revision; v3: published version

We explore connections among Monstrous Moonshine, orbifolds, the Kitaev chain and topological modular forms. Symmetric orbifolds of the Monster CFT, together with further orbifolds by subgroups of Monster, are studied and found to satisfy the divisibility property, which was recently used to rule out extremal holomorphic conformal field theories. For orbifolds by cyclic subgroups of Monster, we arrive at divisibility properties involving the full McKay-Thompson series. Orbifolds by non-abelian subgroups of Monster are further considered by utilizing the data of Generalized Moonshine., Comment: 24 pages; v2: improved discussion of series divisibility, added proofs and references; v3: minor revision

We study the statistical Ising model of spins on the infinite lattice using a bootstrap method that combines spin-flip identities with positivity conditions, including reflection positivity and Griffiths inequalities, to derive rigorous two-sided bounds on spin correlators through semi-definite programming. For the 2D Ising model on the square lattice, the bootstrap bounds based on correlators supported in a 13-site diamond-shaped region determine the nearest-spin correlator to within a small window, which for a wide range of coupling and magnetic field is narrower than the precision attainable with Monte Carlo methods. We also report preliminary results of the bootstrap bounds for the 3D Ising model on the cubic lattice., Comment: 27 pages, 11 figures. v2: minor revision, references added

We use the theory of topological modular forms to constrain bosonic holomorphic CFTs, which can be viewed as $(0,1)$ SCFTs with trivial right-moving supersymmetric sector. A conjecture by Segal, Stolz and Teichner requires the constant term of the partition function to be divisible by specific integers determined by the central charge. We verify this constraint in large classes of physical examples, and rule out the existence of an infinite set of extremal CFTs, including those with central charges $c=48, 72, 96$ and $120$., Comment: 7 pages; v2: references added

We numerically study an anyon chain based on the Haagerup fusion category, and find evidence that it leads in the long-distance limit to a conformal field theory whose central charge is $\sim 2$. Fusion categories generalize the concept of finite group symmetries to non-invertible symmetry operations, and the Haagerup fusion category is the simplest one which comes neither from finite groups nor affine Lie algebras. As such, ours is the first example of conformal field theories which have truly exotic generalized symmetries., Comment: 4+1 pages, 7 figures; the authors are ordered alphabetically

We construct the defining data of two-dimensional topological field theories (TFTs) enriched by non-invertible symmetries/topological defect lines. Simple formulae for the three-point functions and the lasso two-point functions are derived, and crossing symmetry is proven. The key ingredients are open-to-closed maps and a boundary crossing relation, by which we show that a diagonal basis exists in the defect Hilbert spaces. We then introduce regular TFTs, provide their explicit constructions for the Fibonacci, Ising and Haagerup $\mathcal{H}_3$ fusion categories, and match our formulae with previous bootstrap results. We end by explaining how non-regular TFTs are obtained from regular TFTs via generalized gauging., Comment: 41+9 pages; v2: minor update

In this work we revisit the "holomorphic modular bootstrap", i.e. the classification of rational conformal field theories via an analysis of the modular differential equations satisfied by their characters. By making use of the representation theory of ${\rm PSL}(2,\mathbb{Z}_n)$, we describe a method to classify allowed central charges and weights $(c,h_i)$ for theories with any number of characters $d$. This allows us to avoid various bottlenecks encountered previously in the literature, and leads to a classification of consistent characters up to $d=5$ whose modular differential equations are uniquely fixed in terms of $(c,h_i)$. In the process, we identify the full set of constraints on the allowed values of the Wronskian index for fixed $d\leq 5$., Comment: 39+15 pages, 14 tables; v2: minor revision

We construct a (1+1)$d$ topological field theory (TFT) whose topological defect lines (TDLs) realize the transparent Haagerup $\mathcal{H}_3$ fusion category. This TFT has six vacua, and each of the three non-invertible simple TDLs hosts three defect operators, giving rise to a total of 15 point-like operators. The TFT data, including the three-point coefficients and lasso diagrams, are determined by solving all the sphere four-point crossing equations and torus one-point modular invariance equations. We further verify that the Cardy states furnish a non-negative integer matrix representation under TDL fusion. While many of the constraints we derive are not limited to the this particular TFT with six vacua, we leave open the construction of TFTs with two or four vacua. Finally, TFTs realizing the Haagerup $\mathcal{H}_1$ and $\mathcal{H}_2$ fusion categories can be obtained by gauging algebra objects. This note makes a modest offering in our pursuit of exotica and the quest for their eventual conformity., Comment: 41+11 pages, 1 figure, 3 tables; v2: corrected statements about the literature, revised Appendix A

We explore constraints on (1+1)$d$ unitary conformal field theory with an internal $\mathbb{Z}_N$ global symmetry, by bounding the lightest symmetry-preserving scalar primary operator using the modular bootstrap. Among the other constraints we have found, we prove the existence of a $\mathbb{Z}_N$-symmetric relevant/marginal operator if $N-1 \le c\le 9-N$ for $N\leq4$, with the endpoints saturated by various WZW models that can be embedded into $(\mathfrak{e}_8)_1$. Its existence implies that robust gapless fixed points are not possible in this range of $c$ if only a $\mathbb{Z}_N$ symmetry is imposed microscopically. We also obtain stronger, more refined bounds that depend on the 't Hooft anomaly of the $\mathbb{Z}_N$ symmetry., Comment: 26+13 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables; v2: minor revision

We investigate the emergence of topological defect lines in the conformal Regge limit of two-dimensional conformal field theory. We explain how a local operator can be factorized into a holomorphic and an anti-holomorphic defect operator connected through a topological defect line, and discuss implications on Lorentzian dynamics including aspects of chaos. We derive a formula relating the infinite boost limit, which holographically encodes the "opacity" of bulk scattering, to the action of topological defect lines on local operators. Leveraging the unitary bound on the opacity and the positivity of fusion coefficients, we show that the spectral radii of a large class of topological defect lines are given by their loop expectation values. Factorization also gives a formula relating the local and defect operator algebras, and fusion categorical data. We then review factorization in rational conformal field theory from a defect perspective, and examine irrational theories. On the orbifold branch of the $c = 1$ free boson theory, we find a unified description for the topological defect lines through which the twist fields are factorized; at irrational points, the twist fields factorize through "non-compact" topological defect lines which exhibit continuous defect operator spectra. Along the way, we initiate the development of a formalism to characterize non-compact topological defect lines., Comment: 41+30 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables; v2: significant updates, enriched discussion on non-compact TDLs, extended scope of opacity bound, added TDL fusion rule in orbifold theory; v3: minor revision; v4: added Proposition 1

We revisit 't Hooft anomalies in (1+1)$d$ non-spin quantum field theory, starting from the consistency and locality conditions, and find that consistent U(1) and gravitational anomalies cannot always be canceled by properly quantized (2+1)$d$ classical Chern-Simons actions. On the one hand, we prove that certain exotic anomalies can only be realized by non-reflection-positive or non-compact theories; on the other hand, without insisting on reflection-positivity, the exotic anomalies present a caveat to the inflow paradigm. For the mixed U(1) gravitational anomaly, we propose an inflow mechanism involving a mixed U(1)$\times$SO(2) classical Chern-Simons action with a boundary condition that matches the SO(2) gauge field with the (1+1)$d$ spin connection. Furthermore, we show that this mixed anomaly gives rise to an isotopy anomaly of U(1) topological defect lines. The isotopy anomaly can be canceled by an extrinsic curvature improvement term, but at the cost of creating a periodicity anomaly. We survey the holomorphic $bc$ ghost system which realizes all the exotic consistent anomalies, and end with comments on a subtlety regarding the anomalies of finite subgroups of U(1)., Comment: 25+8 pages, 2 figures, 1 table. v2: minor corrections. v3, v4: improved discussion on periodicity anomaly and anomaly of finite subgroups

A fusion category is called transparent if the associator involving any invertible object is the identity map. For the Haagerup-Izumi fusion rings with $G = \mathbb{Z}_{2n+1}$ (the $\mathbb{Z}_3$ case is the Haagerup fusion ring with six simple objects), the transparent ansatz reduces the number of independent $F$-symbols from order $\mathcal{O}(n^6)$ to $\mathcal{O}(n^2)$, rendering the pentagon identity practically solvable. Transparent Haagerup-Izumi fusion categories are thereby constructively classified up to $G = \mathbb{Z}_9$, recovering all known Haagerup-Izumi fusion categories to this order, and producing new ones. Transparent Haagerup-Izumi fusion categories additionally satisfying $S_4$ tetrahedral invariance are further classified up to $G = \mathbb{Z}_{15}$, and the explicit $F$-symbols for the unitary ones, including the Haagerup $\mathcal{H}_3$ fusion category, are compactly presented. The $F$-symbols for the Haagerup $\mathcal{H}_2$ fusion category are also presented. Going beyond, the transparent ansatz offers a viable course towards constructing novel fusion categories for new fusion rings., Comment: 25+9 pages, 1 table; v2: improved exposition; v3: adopted unitary gauge for pseudo-unitary fusion categories

We propose an effective field theory (EFT) of fractional quantum Hall systems near the filling fraction $\nu=5/2$ that flows to pertinent IR candidate phases, including non-abelian Pfaffian, anti-Pfaffian, and particle-hole Pfaffian states (Pf, APf, and PHPf). Our EFT has a 2+1$d$ O(2)$_{2,L}$ Chern-Simons gauge theory coupled to four Majorana fermions by a discrete charge conjugation gauge field, with Gross-Neveu-Yukawa-Higgs terms. Including deformations via a Higgs condensate and fermion mass terms, we can map out a phase diagram with tunable parameters, reproducing the prediction of the recently-proposed percolation picture and its gapless topological quantum phase transitions. Our EFT captures known features of both gapless and gapped sectors of time-reversal-breaking domain walls between Pf and APf phases. Moreover, we find that Pf$\mid$APf domain walls have higher tension than domain walls in the PHPf phase. Then the former, if formed, may transition to the energetically-favored PHPf domain walls; this could, in turn, help further induce a bulk transition to PHPf., Comment: 72 pages, 10 figures, 5 tables. Many appendices. Add Sec 2.2, new remarks in Conclusion, and other clarifications. Accepted by Physical Review Research

We revisit the consistency of torus partition functions in (1+1)$d$ fermionic conformal field theories, combining traditional ingredients of modular invariance/covariance with a modernized understanding of bosonization/fermionization dualities. Various lessons can be learned by simply examining the oft-ignored Ramond sector. For several extremal/kinky modular functions in the bootstrap literature, we can either rule out or identify the underlying theory. We also revisit the ${\cal N} = 1$ Maloney-Witten partition function by calculating the spectrum in the Ramond sector, and further extending it to include the modular sum of seed Ramond characters. Finally, we perform the full ${\cal N} = 1$ RNS modular bootstrap and obtain new universal results on the existence of relevant deformations preserving different amounts of supersymmetry., Comment: 23+12 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables, v2: minor changes

We show that the fermionization of the Monster CFT with respect to $\mathbb{Z}_{2A}$ is the tensor product of a free fermion and the Baby Monster CFT. The chiral fermion parity of the free fermion implies that the Monster CFT is self-dual under the $\mathbb{Z}_{2A}$ orbifold, i.e. it enjoys the Kramers-Wannier duality. The Kramers-Wannier duality defect extends the Monster group to a larger category of topological defect lines that contains an Ising subcategory. We introduce the defect McKay-Thompson series defined as the Monster partition function twisted by the duality defect, and find that the coefficients can be decomposed into the dimensions of the (projective) irreducible representations of the Baby Monster group. We further prove that the defect McKay-Thompson series is invariant under the genus-zero congruence subgroup $16D^0$ of $PSL(2,\mathbb{Z})$., Comment: 26+9 pages, 7 figure, 4 tables. v2: minor changes

A Cardy formula for 6d superconformal field theories (SCFTs) conjectured by Di Pietro and Komargodski in [1] governs the universal behavior of the supersymmetric partition function on $S^1_\beta \times S^5$ in the limit of small $\beta$ and fixed squashing of the $S^5$. For a general 6d SCFT, we study its 5d effective action, which is dominated by the supersymmetric completions of perturbatively gauge-invariant Chern-Simons terms in the small $\beta$ limit. Explicitly evaluating these supersymmetric completions gives the precise squashing dependence in the Cardy formula. For SCFTs with a pure Higgs branch (also known as very Higgsable SCFTs), we determine the Chern-Simons levels by explicitly going onto the Higgs branch and integrating out the Kaluza-Klein modes of the 6d fields on $S^1_\beta$. We then discuss tensor branch flows, where an apparent mismatch between the formula in [1] and the free field answer requires an additional contribution from BPS strings. This "missing contribution" is further sharpened by the relation between the fractional part of the Chern-Simons levels and the (mixed) global gravitational anomalies of the 6d SCFT. We also comment on the Cardy formula for 4d $\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFTs in relation to Higgs branch and Coulomb branch flows., Comment: 58 pages. v2: typos corrected, references added

We investigate the non-BPS realm of 3d ${\cal N} = 4$ superconformal field theory by uniting the non-perturbative methods of the conformal bootstrap and supersymmetric localization, and utilizing special features of 3d ${\cal N} = 4$ theories such as mirror symmetry and a protected sector described by topological quantum mechanics (TQM). Supersymmetric localization allows for the exact determination of the conformal and flavor central charges, and the latter can be fed into the mini-bootstrap of the TQM to solve for a subset of the OPE data. We examine the implications of the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ mirror action for the SCFT single- and mixed-branch crossing equations for the moment map operators, and apply numerical bootstrap to obtain universal constraints on OPE data for given flavor symmetry groups. A key ingredient in applying the bootstrap analysis is the determination of the mixed-branch superconformal blocks. Among other results, we show that the simplest known self-mirror theory with $SU(2) \times SU(2)$ flavor symmetry saturates our bootstrap bounds, which allows us to extract the non-BPS data and examine the self-mirror $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry thereof., Comment: 50+27 pages, 6 figures, 7 tables. v2: typos corrected, references added. v3: a brief summary added, minor notations changed, SciPost published version

How many charged degrees of freedom are necessary to accommodate a certain amount of 't Hooft anomaly? Using the conformal bootstrap for the four-point function of flavor current multiplets, we show that in all (3+1)d superconformal field theories the 't Hooft anomaly of a continuous flavor symmetry is bounded from above by the 3/2 power of the current two-point function coefficient, which can be thought of as a measure for the amount of charged degrees of freedom. We check our bounds against free fields and SQCD in the conformal window., Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures. v2: Typos fixed, presentation improved

We study the implications of 't Hooft anomaly (i.e. obstruction to gauging) on conformal field theory, focusing on the case when the global symmetry is $\mathbb{Z_2}$. Using the modular bootstrap, universal bounds on (1+1)-dimensional bosonic conformal field theories with an internal $\mathbb{Z_2}$ global symmetry are derived. The bootstrap bounds depend dramatically on the 't Hooft anomaly. In particular, there is a universal upper bound on the lightest $\mathbb{Z_2}$ odd operator if the symmetry is anomalous, but there is no bound if the symmetry is non-anomalous. In the non-anomalous case, we find that the lightest $\mathbb{Z_2}$ odd state and the defect ground state cannot both be arbitrarily heavy. We also consider theories with a $U(1)$ global symmetry, and comment that there is no bound on the lightest $U(1)$ charged operator if the symmetry is non-anomalous., Comment: 49+16 pages, 19 figures, 1 table; v2: minor clarifications; v3: typos fixed