Factorizing Defects from Generalized Pinning Fields

Abstract: We introduce generalized pinning fields in conformal field theory that model a large class of critical impurities at large distance, enriching the familiar universality classes. We provide a rigorous definition of such defects as certain unbounded operators on the Hilbert space and prove that when inserted on codimension-one surfaces they factorize the spacetime into two halves. The factorization channels are further constrained by symmetries in the bulk. As a corollary, we solve such critical impurities in the 2d minimal models and establish the factorization phenomena previously observed for localized mass deformations in the 3d ${\rm O}(N)$ model.