# Graph Neural Networks in the Wilson Loop Representation of Abelian Lattice Gauge Theories

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.03901 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.03901/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 35 of its 97 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 5 May 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 35)

- [Inductive Representation Learning on Large Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.02216/) (2017)
- [How Powerful are Graph Neural Networks?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1810.00826/) (2018)
- [Neural Message Passing for Quantum Chemistry](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1704.01212/) (2017)
- [Group Equivariant Convolutional Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1602.07576/) (2016)
- [E(3)-Equivariant Graph Neural Networks for Data-Efficient and Accurate Interatomic Potentials](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.03164/) (2021)
- [MACE: Higher Order Equivariant Message Passing Neural Networks for Fast and Accurate Force Fields](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.07697/) (2022)
- [3D Steerable CNNs: Learning Rotationally Equivariant Features in Volumetric Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1807.02547/) (2018)
- [Invariant and Equivariant Graph Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.09902/) (2018)
- [Steerable CNNs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1612.08498/) (2016)
- [Gauge Equivariant Convolutional Networks and the Icosahedral CNN](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1902.04615/) (2019)
- [Cormorant: Covariant Molecular Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.04015/) (2019)
- [Learning Local Equivariant Representations for Large-Scale Atomistic Dynamics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.05249/) (2022)
- [A General Theory of Equivariant CNNs on Homogeneous Spaces](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1811.02017/) (2018)
- [Graph neural networks for materials science and chemistry](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.09481/) (2022)
- [Flow-based generative models for Markov chain Monte Carlo in lattice field theory](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1904.12072/) (2019)
- [Equivariant flow-based sampling for lattice gauge theory](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2003.06413/) (2020)
- [The Design Space of E(3)-Equivariant Atom-Centered Interatomic Potentials](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.06643/) (2022)
- [Sampling using SU(N) gauge equivariant flows](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2008.05456/) (2020)
- [Lattice gauge equivariant convolutional neural networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2012.12901/) (2020)
- [Gauge-equivariant flow models for sampling in lattice field theories with pseudofermions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.08945/) (2022)
- [Gauge equivariant neural networks for quantum lattice gauge theories](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2012.05232/) (2020)
- [Machine Learning for Condensed Matter Physics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.14228/) (2020)
- [Accelerate Monte Carlo Simulations with Restricted Boltzmann Machines](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1610.02746/) (2016)
- [Gauge Invariant and Anyonic Symmetric Transformer and RNN Quantum States for Quantum Lattice Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.07243/) (2021)
- [Generalization capabilities of translationally equivariant neural networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.14686/) (2021)
- [Machine learning nonequilibrium electron forces for adiabatic spin dynamics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.12124/) (2021)
- [Descriptors for Machine Learning Model of Generalized Force Field in Condensed Matter Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.00798/) (2022)
- [Machine learning for phase ordering dynamics of charge density waves](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.03493/) (2023)
- [Coarsening of chiral domains in itinerant electron magnets: A machine learning force field approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.11705/) (2024)
- [Gauge-equivariant neural networks as preconditioners in lattice QCD](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.05419/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [Theoretical Aspects of Lie Groupoid and Lie Algebroid Equivariant Convolutional Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.02758/) (2026)
- [Emergent Loop Geometry in Gauge-Equivariant Graph Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.18742/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Local gauge structures play a central role in a wide range of condensed matter systems and synthetic quantum platforms, where they emerge as effective descriptions of strongly correlated phases and engineered dynamics. We introduce a gauge-invariant graph neural network (GNN) architecture for Abelian lattice gauge models, in which symmetry is enforced explicitly through local gauge-invariant inputs, such as Wilson loops, and preserved throughout message passing, eliminating redundant gauge degrees of freedom while retaining expressive power. We benchmark the approach on both mathbbZ2 and U(1) lattice gauge models, achieving accurate predictions of global observables and spatially resolved quantities despite the nonlocal correlations induced by gauge-matter coupling. We further demonstrate that the learned model serves as an efficient surrogate for semiclassical dynamics in U(1) quantum link models, enabling stable and scalable time evolution without repeated fermionic diagonalization, while faithfully reproducing both local dynamics and statistical correlations. These results establish gauge-invariant message passing as a compact and physically grounded framework for learning and simulating Abelian lattice gauge systems.