Emergent (2+1)D topological orders from iterative (1+1)D gauging

Gauging introduces gauge fields in order to localize an existing global symmetry, resulting in a dual global symmetry on the gauge fields that can be gauged again. By iterating the gauging process on spin chains with Abelian group symmetries and arranging the gauge fields in a 2D lattice, the local symmetries become the stabilizer of the XZZX-code for any Abelian group. By twisting the gauging map, we obtain codes that explicitly confine anyons, whose local creating operators violate an odd number of plaquettes. Their fusion results in either mobile dipole excitations twisting only half of the plaquette terms, or complete immobile Sierpiński-like excitations if we twist all the terms. Our construction naturally realizes any gapped boundary by taking different quantum phases of the initial (1+1)D globally symmetric system. In addition, our method also establishes a promising route to obtain higherdimensional topological codes from lower ones and to identify their gapped boundaries and their tensor network representations.