Generalized symmetries and their application in topological phases of matter

Speaker：Weiguang Cao （曹伟光） 

Affiliation：University of Southern Denmark

Time: April 17, 2026 (Friday) 10:00-11:00 am

Venue：中南大学潇湘校区物理楼541

Tencent Meeting: 730-795-041 (password: 1927)

Abstract: Recently, the notion of symmetry has been generalized, including high form, subsystem, and noninvertible symmetries. These novel symmetries have extended our understanding of topological phases of matter. In this talk, I will review the recent development on generalized symmetry, with a focus on noninvertible symmetry and the phases protected by it. I will present a general method to classy a broad class of noninvertible symmetry protected topological phases (NISPTs), together with concrete lattice realizations. Finally I will show that NISPT is a natural platform to exhibit the connection between noninvertibility and entanglement. 

About the Speaker: Dr. Weiguang Cao received his Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo. After graduation, he conducted postdoctoral research at the Center for Quantum Mathematics, University of Southern Denmark. His research interests focus on understanding challenging problems in condensed-matter many-body systems from the perspective of symmetry, such as the classification of topological phases. His recent research mainly centers on irreversible symmetry within generalized symmetries and its applications in condensed matter physics and quantum information.