Protocols for Creating Anyons and Defects via Gauging

Creating and manipulating anyons and symmetry defects in topological phases, especially those with a non-Abelian character, constitutes a primitive for topological quantum computation. We provide a physical protocol for implementing the ribbon operators of non-Abelian anyons and symmetry defects. We utilize dualities, in particular, the Kramers-Wannier or gauging map, which have previously been used to construct topologically ordered ground states by relating them to simpler states. In this Letter, ribbon operators are implemented by applying a gauging procedure to a lower-dimensional region of such states. This protocol uses sequential unitary circuits or, in certain cases, constant-depth adaptive circuits. We showcase this for anyons and defects in the Z3 toric code and S3 quantum double. The general applicability of our method is demonstrated by deriving unitary expressions for ribbon operators of various (twisted) quantum doubles.