Higher-order topological phases protected by non-invertible and subsystem symmetries

Abstract: Higher-order topological phases with invertible symmetries have been extensively studied in recent years, revealing gapless modes localized on boundaries of higher codimension. In this work, we extend the framework of higher-order symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases to include non-invertible symmetries. We construct a concrete model of a second-order SPT phase in $2+1$ dimensions that hosts symmetry-protected corner modes protected by a non-invertible symmetry. This construction is then generalized to a $d^{th}$-order SPT phase in $d+1$ dimensions, featuring similarly protected corner modes. Additionally, we demonstrate a second-order SPT phase in $3+1$ dimensions exhibiting hinge modes protected by a non-invertible symmetry.