Noninvertible symmetries in type IIB supergravity

Abstract

In this work, we uncover a collection of noninvertible topological operators linked to the 0-, 2-, 4-, and 6-form symmetries related to the type IIB superstring effective theory. By pinpointing the SL(2,Z)-covariant conserved currents corresponding to these symmetries, we first derive a set of SL(2,Z)-invariant invertible topological operators that encapsulate the integer Bogomol’nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield charges inherent to the theory. Moving forward, by incorporating fractional charges while maintaining gauge invariance, we introduce the noninvertible topological operators for each generalized symmetry and, in particular, for the SL(2,Z) 0-form symmetry. Identifying them as a novel kind of symmetries reminiscent of fractional quantum-Hall-effect-like noninvertible operators, we study their action on charged objects and their associated topological quantum field theories obtained via half (higher) gauging. Published by the American Physical Society 2025