Related papers: Quantum Wilson surfaces and topological interactio…

Topological quantum field theories can be used as a powerful tool to probe geometry and topology in low dimensions. Chern-Simons theories, which are examples of such field theories, provide a field theoretic framework for the study of knots…

The vacuum expectation value of the Wilson loop functional in pure Yang-Mills theory on an arbitrary two-dimensional orientable manifold is studied. We consider the calculation of this quantity for the abelian theory in the continuum case…

The theory of embedded random surfaces, equivalent to two--dimensional quantum gravity coupled to matter, is reviewed, further developed and partly generalized to four dimensions. It is shown that the action of the Liouville field theory…

We formulate the theory of a 2-form gauge field on a Euclidean spacetime lattice. In this approach, the fundamental degrees of freedom live on the faces of the lattice, and the action can be constructed from the sum over Wilson surfaces…

We study a class of lattice field theories in two dimensions that includes gauge theories. Given a two dimensional orientable surface of genus $g$, the partition function $Z$ is defined for a triangulation consisting of $n$ triangles of…

We study correlation functions in topologically twisted $\mathcal{N}=2, d=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory for gauge groups of rank larger than one on compact four-manifolds $X$. We find that the topological invariance of the generator…

We show that the large N partition functions and Wilson loop observables of two-dimensional Yang-Mills theories admit a universal functional form irrespective of the gauge group. We demonstrate that U(N) QCD_2 undergoes a large N,…

Finding diffeomorphism-invariant observables to characterize the properties of gravity and spacetime at the Planck scale is essential for making progress in quantum gravity. The holonomy and Wilson loop of the Levi-Civita connection are…

The Hamiltonian dynamics of \(2 + 1\) dimensional Yang-Mills theory with gauge group SU(2) is reformulated in gauge invariant, geometric variables, as in earlier work on the \(3 + 1\) dimensional case. Physical states in electric field…

One of the main open problems of mathematical physics is to consistently quantize Yang-Mills gauge theory. If such a consistent quantization were to exist, it is reasonable to expect a ``Wightman reconstruction theorem,'' by which a Hilbert…

We study equivariant localization formulas for phase space path integrals when the phase space is a multiply connected compact Riemann surface. We consider the Hamiltonian systems to which the localization formulas are applicable and show…

We lay the foundations of a Morse homology on the space of connections on a principal $G$-bundle over a compact manifold $Y$, based on a newly defined gauge-invariant functional $\mathcal J$. While the critical points of $\mathcal J$…

We revisit the problem of building consistent interactions for a multiplet of partially massless spin-2 fields in (anti-)de Sitter space. After rederiving and strengthening the existing no-go result on the impossibility of Yang-Mills type…

Wilson observables for 2+1 quantum gravity with negative cosmological constant, when the spatial manifold is a torus, exhibit several novel features: signed area phases relate the observables assigned to homotopic loops, and their…

I investigate the Poisson-sigma model on the classical and quantum level. First I show how the interaction can be obtained by a deformation of the classical master equation of an Abelian BF theory in two dimensions. On the classical level…

In [1] (hep-th/0211069), the author has discussed the quantum parameter space of the N=1 super Yang-Mills theory with one adjoint Higgs field Phi, tree-level superpotential W_tree = m (Phi^2)/2 + g (Phi^3)/3$, and gauge group U(Nc). In…

We study pure Yang--Mills theory on $\Sigma\times S^2$, where $\Sigma$ is a compact Riemann surface, and invariance is assumed under rotations of $S^2$. It is well known that the self-duality equations in this set-up reduce to vortex…

By considering specific limits in the gauge coupling constant of pure Yang--Mills dynamics, it is shown how there exist topological quantum field theory sectors in such systems defining nonperturbative topological configurations of the…

Previous path integral treatments of Yang-Mills on a Riemann surface automatically sum over principal fiber bundles of all possible topological types in computing quantum expectations. This paper extends the path integral formulation to…

Let $\Gamma_g$ be the fundamental group of a closed connected orientable surface of genus $g\geq2$. We introduce a combinatorial structure of "core surfaces", that represent subgroups of $\Gamma_g$. These structures are (usually)…