Related papers: On field theory quantization around instantons
We give a geometrical set up for the semiclassical approximation to euclidean field theories having families of minima (instantons) parametrized by suitable moduli spaces ${\cal M}$. The standard examples are of course Yang-Mills theory and…
A characterization of instanton contributions to gauge field theory is given. The dynamics of instantons with the gluon field is given in terms of 'classical' instanton contributions, i.e. on the same footing as tree amplitudes in field…
The topic of the review is the application of new ideas of unconventional quantum states to the physics of condensed matter, in particular of solid state, in the context of modern field theory. A comparison is made with classical papers on…
This paper presents an introduction to phase transitions and critical phenomena on the one hand, and nonequilibrium patterns on the other, using the Ginzburg-Landau theory as a unified language. In the first part, mean-field theory is…
The standard lore about the sum over topological sectors in quantum field theory is that locality and cluster decomposition uniquely determine the sum over such sectors, thus leading to the usual theta-vacua. We show that without changing…
We explain how nonperturbative effects can be systematically included when constructing an effective field theory. We concentrate in particular on the matching calculation, by which a low energy theory without a heavy particle degree of…
Possible generalizations of the topological (or Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless) phase transition on multicomponent 2D systems with nontrivial vector homotopic group pi_1 are considered. Relations between Ginzburg-Landau like theories,…
We show how to do semiclassical nonperturbative computations within the worldline approach to quantum field theory using ``worldline instantons''. These worldline instantons are classical solutions to the Euclidean worldline loop equations…
In this expository review we discuss various aspects of gauge theory. While the focus is on mathematics, wherever possible we make contact with theoretical high energy physics. Particular emphasis is placed on instantons and monopoles,…
Chern-Simons topological field theories TFTs are the only TFTs that have already found application in the description of some exotic strongly-correlated electron systems and the corresponding concept of topological quantum computing. Here,…
A new description is proposed for the low-field critical behavior of type-II superconductors. The starting point is the Ginzburg-Landau theory in presence of an external magnetic field H. A set of fictitious vortex variables and a singular…
Starting with intersecting M2-branes in M-theory, the IIA supertube can be found by compactification with a boost to the speed of light in the compact dimension. A similar procedure applied to Donaldson-Uhlenbeck-Yau instantons on $\bC^3$,…
We study the quantum-mechanical tunneling phenomenon in models which include the existence of non-equivalent vacua. For such a purpose we evaluate the euclidean propagator between two minima of the potential at issue in terms of the…
Instantons and their quantisation in pure Yang-Mills theory formulated in the background of de Sitter spacetime represented by spatially-closed ($k = 1$) Friedmann-Robertson-Walker metric are discussed. As for the classical treatment of the…
In quantum mechanics and quantum field theory perturbation theory generically requires the inclusion of extra contributions non-perturbative in the coupling, such as instantons, to reproduce exact results. We show how full non-perturbative…
We show how to do semiclassical nonperturbative computations within the worldline approach to quantum field theory using ``worldline instantons''. These worldline instantons are classical solutions to the Euclidean worldline loop equations…
In modern physics, one of the greatest divides is that between space-time and quantum fields, as the fiber bundle of the Standard Model indicates. However on the operational grounds the fields and spacetime are not very different. To…
The role of instantons in describing non-perturbative aspects of globally supersymmetric gauge theories is reviewed. The cases of theories with N=1, N=2 and N=4 supersymmetry are discussed. Special attention is devoted to the intriguing…
Ideas from quantum field theory and topology have proved remarkably fertile in suggesting new phenomena in the quantum physics of condensed matter. Here I'll supply some broad, unifying context, both conceptual and historical, for the…
Recently, a topological field theory of membrane-matter coupled to BF theory in arbitrary spacetime dimensions was proposed [1]. In this paper, we discuss various aspects of the four-dimensional theory. Firstly, we study classical solutions…