Perfect Particle Transmission through Duality Defects

Abstract: We study wavepackets that propagate across (a) topological interfaces in quantum spin systems exhibiting non-invertible symmetries and (b) duality defects coupling dual theories. We demonstrate that the transmission is always perfect, and that a particle traversing the interface is converted into a nonlocal string-like excitation. We give a systematic way of constructing such a defect by identifying its Hilbert space with the virtual bond dimension of the matrix product operator representing defect lines. Our work both gives an operational meaning to topological interfaces, and provides a lattice analogue of recent results solving the monopole paradox in quantum field theory.