The Many Faces of Non-invertible Symmetries (2509.18072v1)

Abstract: We investigate the interplay between algebraic and categorical notions of non-invertible symmetries. In particular, a fusion categorical symmetry $\mathcal{C}$ is shown to induce an algebraic symmetry encoded in a weak Hopf algebra $H$ which is Tannaka-Krein dual to $\mathcal{C}$ in the sense that $\mathcal{C} = \text{Rep}(H^*)$. The latter duality is not unique, and consequently the algebraic symmetry acts on an extended system relative to the categorical one. We present an approach to analyzing the symmetry breaking patterns of weak Hopf algebraic non-invertible symmetries. The central ingredient is a certain conditional expectation, which serves as the analog of a group averaging map for a non-invertible symmetry. The index of this conditional expectation emerges as a quantum information theoretic quantity that determines the extent to which the underlying symmetry can be broken. Ambiguities which ensue from the non-uniqueness of the categorical reconstruction lead to distinct properties of symmetry breaking compared to the invertible case. Finally, we exemplify our approach through topological and conformal quantum field theories in which non-invertible symmetries are naturally interpreted as defect operators and boundary conditions.