About

Yoon Jung Choi is an assistant professor in Industrial Design at Virginia Tech. Her research interests focus on accelerating sustainability in the product and industrial design discipline through an interdisciplinary approach and impactful industry and public collaboration. She explores insights from multiple disciplines to apply in the design process, aiming to influence more environmentally friendly and socially beneficial use of products. Her work bridges the gap between sustainable design, behavioral science, and advanced technology to promote responsible consumer behavior, reduce functional waste, and enable the recirculation of materials for a zero-waste circular system. Choi completed her PhD at the Royal College of Art in London, where her thesis focused on design for owner–object detachment through care practices for object longevity and environmental benefit. She holds an MA in Communication Design from Kingston University and a BA in Product Design from Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. With ten years of industry experience, she has worked as a senior/mid-level designer at various packaging and brand design consultancies in London and as an independent designer for clients such as Coca-Cola, Cadbury, and McDonald's. She has previously taught at Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art in London. Her academic and professional work emphasizes sustainability, circular economy, participatory design research, design for behavior change, packaging design, and AI for design.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Physics
• Quantum mechanics
• Mathematical physics
• Theoretical physics
• Mathematics
• Algorithm

Selected publications

• Higher Connection in Open String Field Theory

  Open MIND · 2026-02-14

  preprint1st authorCorresponding

  We define a 2-form connection in the space of classical solutions of the bosonic open string field theory, using the open string star product and integration. The corresponding higher holonomies and the 3-form curvature are new observables invariant under the infinite-dimensional gauge algebra of open string field theory. The definition is analogous to that of Berry phase in quantum mechanics and is motivated by recent studies on higher Berry phase in condensed matter physics and quantum field theory. We suggest identifying this 2-form connection with the Kalb-Ramond $B$-field of the closed string background at least in favorable situations. Also discussed are sigma models whose target space is the moduli space of conformal boundary conditions of a two-dimensional CFT with the $B$-field given by a cousin of this 2-form connection.

  DOI

• Higher Connection in Open String Field Theory

  ArXiv.org · 2026-02-14

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  We define a 2-form connection in the space of classical solutions of the bosonic open string field theory, using the open string star product and integration. The corresponding higher holonomies and the 3-form curvature are new observables invariant under the infinite-dimensional gauge algebra of open string field theory. The definition is analogous to that of Berry phase in quantum mechanics and is motivated by recent studies on higher Berry phase in condensed matter physics and quantum field theory. We suggest identifying this 2-form connection with the Kalb-Ramond $B$-field of the closed string background at least in favorable situations. Also discussed are sigma models whose target space is the moduli space of conformal boundary conditions of a two-dimensional CFT with the $B$-field given by a cousin of this 2-form connection.

  PublisherOA PDF

• Generalized Tube Algebras, Symmetry-Resolved Partition Functions, and Twisted Boundary States

  Communications in Mathematical Physics · 2026-03-09 · 2 citations

  article1st author
  PublisherDOI

• Higher connection in open string field theory

  Journal of High Energy Physics · 2026-05-20

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  A bstract We define a 2-form connection in the space of classical solutions of the bosonic open string field theory, using the open string star product and integration. The corresponding higher holonomies and the 3-form curvature are new observables invariant under the infinite-dimensional gauge algebra of open string field theory. The definition is analogous to that of Berry phase in quantum mechanics and is motivated by recent studies on higher Berry phase in condensed matter physics and quantum field theory. We suggest identifying this 2-form connection with the Kalb-Ramond B -field of the closed string background at least in favorable situations. Also discussed are sigma models whose target space is the moduli space of conformal boundary conditions of a two-dimensional CFT with the B -field given by a cousin of this 2-form connection.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Non-invertible and higher-form symmetries in 2+1d lattice gauge theories

  SciPost Physics · 2025-01-09 · 28 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  We explore exact generalized symmetries in the standard 2+1d lattice \mathbb{Z}_2 <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:msub> <mml:mstyle mathvariant="double-struck"> <mml:mi>ℤ</mml:mi> </mml:mstyle> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:msub> </mml:math> gauge theory coupled to the Ising model, and compare them with their continuum field theory counterparts. One model has a (non-anomalous) non-invertible symmetry, and we identify two distinct non-invertible symmetry protected topological phases. The non-invertible algebra involves a lattice condensation operator, which creates a toric code ground state from a product state. Another model has a mixed anomaly between a 1-form symmetry and an ordinary symmetry. This anomaly enforces a nontrivial transition in the phase diagram, consistent with the “Higgs=SPT” proposal. Finally, we discuss how the symmetries and anomalies in these two models are related by gauging, which is a 2+1d version of the Kennedy-Tasaki transformation.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Higher Structures on Boundary Conformal Manifolds: Higher Berry Phase and Boundary Conformal Field Theory

  ArXiv.org · 2025-07-16 · 1 citations

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  We introduce the notion of higher Berry connection and curvature in the space of conformal boundary conditions in (1+1)d conformal field theories (CFT), related to each other by exactly marginal boundary deformations, forming a "boundary conformal manifold." Our definition builds upon previous works on tensor networks, such as matrix product states (MPS), where the triple inner product or multi-wavefunction overlap plays the key geometric role. On the one hand, our boundary conformal field theory (BCFT) formulation of higher Berry phase provides a new analytic tool to study families of invertible phases in condensed matter systems. On the other hand, it uncovers a new geometric structure on the moduli space of conformal boundary conditions, beyond the usual Riemannian structure defined through the Zamolodchikov metric. When the boundary conformal manifold has an interpretation as the position moduli space of a D-brane, our higher Berry connection coincides with the NS-NS $B$-field in string theory. The general definition does not require such an interpretation and is formulated purely field-theoretically, in terms of correlation functions of boundary-condition-changing (bcc) operators. We also explore a connection between higher Berry connections and functional Berry connections in the loop spaces of boundary conformal manifolds.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Quantization of Axion-Gauge Couplings and Noninvertible Higher Symmetries

  Physical Review Letters · 2024-03-20 · 34 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  We derive model-independent quantization conditions on the axion couplings (sometimes known as the anomaly coefficients) to the standard model gauge group [SU(3)×SU(2)×U(1)_{Y}]/Z_{q} with q=1, 2, 3, 6. Using these quantization conditions, we prove that any QCD axion model to the right of the E/N=8/3 line on the |g_{aγγ}|-m_{a} plot must necessarily face the axion domain wall problem in a postinflationary scenario. We further demonstrate the higher-group and noninvertible global symmetries in the standard model coupled to a single axion. These generalized global symmetries lead to universal bounds on the axion string tension and the monopole mass. If the axion were discovered in the future, our quantization conditions could be used to constrain the global form of the standard model gauge group.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Generalized Tube Algebras, Symmetry-Resolved Partition Functions, and Twisted Boundary States

  arXiv (Cornell University) · 2024-09-03 · 4 citations

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  We introduce a class of generalized tube algebras which describe how finite, non-invertible global symmetries of bosonic 1+1d QFTs act on operators which sit at the intersection point of a collection of boundaries and interfaces. We develop a 2+1d symmetry topological field theory (SymTFT) picture of boundaries and interfaces which, among other things, allows us to deduce the representation theory of these algebras. In particular, we initiate the study of a character theory, echoing that of finite groups, and demonstrate how many representation-theoretic quantities can be expressed as partition functions of the SymTFT on various backgrounds, which in turn can be evaluated explicitly in terms of generalized half-linking numbers. We use this technology to explain how the torus and annulus partition functions of a 1+1d QFT can be refined with information about its symmetries. We are led to a vast generalization of Ishibashi states in CFT: to any multiplet of conformal boundary conditions which transform into each other under the action of a symmetry, we associate a collection of generalized Ishibashi states, in terms of which the twisted sector boundary states of the theory and all of its orbifolds can be obtained as linear combinations. We derive a generalized Verlinde formula involving the characters of the boundary tube algebra which ensures that our formulas for the twisted sector boundary states respect open-closed duality. Our approach does not rely on rationality or the existence of an extended chiral algebra; however, in the special case of a diagonal RCFT with chiral algebra $V$ and modular tensor category $\mathscr{C}$, our formalism produces explicit closed-form expressions - in terms of the $F$-symbols and $R$-matrices of $\mathscr{C}$, and the characters of $V$ - for the twisted Cardy states, and the torus and annulus partition functions decorated by Verlinde lines.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Noninvertible Symmetry-Resolved Affleck-Ludwig-Cardy Formula and Entanglement Entropy from the Boundary Tube Algebra

  arXiv (Cornell University) · 2024-09-04 · 1 citations

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  We derive a refined version of the Affleck-Ludwig-Cardy formula for a 1+1d conformal field theory, which controls the asymptotic density of high energy states on an interval transforming under a given representation of a noninvertible global symmetry. We use this to determine the universal leading and sub-leading contributions to the noninvertible symmetry-resolved entanglement entropy of a single interval. As a concrete example, we show that the ground state entanglement Hamiltonian for a single interval in the critical double Ising model enjoys a Kac-Paljutkin $H_8$ Hopf algebra symmetry when the boundary conditions at the entanglement cuts are chosen to preserve the product of two Kramers-Wannier symmetries, and we present the corresponding symmetry-resolved entanglement entropies. Our analysis utilizes recent developments in symmetry topological field theories (SymTFTs).

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Non-invertible and higher-form symmetries in 2+1d lattice gauge theories

  arXiv (Cornell University) · 2024-05-21 · 9 citations

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  We explore exact generalized symmetries in the standard 2+1d lattice $\mathbb{Z}_2$ gauge theory coupled to the Ising model, and compare them with their continuum field theory counterparts. One model has a (non-anomalous) non-invertible symmetry, and we identify two distinct non-invertible symmetry protected topological phases. The non-invertible algebra involves a lattice condensation operator, which creates a toric code ground state from a product state. Another model has a mixed anomaly between a 1-form symmetry and an ordinary symmetry. This anomaly enforces a nontrivial transition in the phase diagram, consistent with the "Higgs=SPT" proposal. Finally, we discuss how the symmetries and anomalies in these two models are related by gauging, which is a 2+1d version of the Kennedy-Tasaki transformation.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Shu-Heng Shao

  25 shared

• Ho Tat Lam

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  18 shared

• Brandon C. Rayhaun

  Stony Brook University

  10 shared

• Yaman Sanghavi

  7 shared

• Kyungwha Park

  Virginia Tech

  6 shared

• Yunqin Zheng

  5 shared

• Husong Zheng

  4 shared

• Po-Shen Hsin

  4 shared

Labs

• Industrial DesignPI

Awards & honors

• VT Engage Development fund, Community collaborative project…
• Center for Human-Computer Interaction, Matching fund, ToySph…
• Institute for Creativity Art & Technology, Major SEAD Grant,…
• Institute for Creativity Art & Technology, Major SEAD Grant,…
• "Dream of the Earth", Art pieces exhibited for Hilton Market…