title: Broken quantum symmetry and confinement phases in planar physics.
abstract: Many two-dimensional physical systems have symmetries which are mathematically described by quantum groups (quasitriangular Hopf algebras). In this Letter we introduce the concept of a spontaneously broken Hopf symmetry and show that it provides an effective tool for analyzing a wide variety of phases exhibiting many distinct confinement phenomena.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Theoretical Physics, Valckenierstraat 65, 1018 XE Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Bais
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Schroers
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Slingerland