Related papers: Path integrals and low-dimensional topology

We outline two approaches to the construction of integrable hierarchies associated with the theory of Gromov - Witten invariants of smooth projective varieties. We argue that a comparison of these two approaches yields nontrivial…

We consider the Non-Abelian Chern-Simons term coupled to external particles, in a gauge and diffeomorphism invariant form. The classical equations of motion are perturbativelly studied, and the on-shell action is shown to produce…

We discuss unifying features of topological field theories in 2, 3 and 4 dimensions. This includes relations among enumerative geometry (2d topological field theory) link invariants (3d Chern-Simons theory) and Donaldson invariants (4d…

We study finite-dimensional integrals in a way that elucidates the mathematical meaning behind the formal manipulations of path integrals occurring in quantum field theory. This involves a proper understanding of how Wick's theorem allows…

Extending the work of the first author, we introduce a notion of semisimple topological field theory in arbitrary even dimension and show that such field theories necessarily lead to stable diffeomorphism invariants. The main result of this…

Chern-Simons field theory based on a compact non-abelian gauge group is studied as a theory of knots and links in three dimensions. A method to obtain the invariants for links made from braids of upto four strands is developed. This…

We give a purely topological definition of the perturbative quantum invariants of links and 3-manifolds associated with Chern-Simons field theory. Our definition is as close as possible to one given by Kontsevich. We will also establish…

The cvariant path integral quantization of the theory of the scalar and spinor particles interacting through the abelian and non-Abelian Chern-Simons gauge fields is carried out and is shown to be mathematically ill defined due to the…

We introduce configuration space path integrals for quantum fields interacting with classical fields. We show that this can be done consistently by proving that the dynamics are completely positive directly, without resorting to master…

We consider quantum-mechanical path integrals for non-linear sigma models on a circle defined by the string-inspired method of Strassler, where one considers periodic quantum fluctuations about a center-of-mass coordinate. In this approach…

These notes review a description of quantum mechanics in terms of the topology of spaces, basing on the axioms of Topological Quantum Field Theory and path integral formalism. In this description quantum states and operators are encoded by…

Physical path integral formulation of motion of particles in Riemannian spaces is outlined and extended to deduce the corresponding field theoretical formulation. For the special case of a zero rest mass particle in Minkowski manifold, it…

In the prequel of this paper, Kauffman and Ogasa introduced new topological quantum invariants of compact oriented 3-manifolds with boundary where the boundary is a disjoint union of two identical surfaces. The invariants are constructed…

Topological insulator-based methods underpin the topological classification of gapped bands, including those surrounding semi-metallic nodal defects. However, multiple bands with gap-closing points can also possess non-trivial topology. We…

We present the alternative topological twisting of N=4 Yang-Mills, in which the path integral is dominated not by instantons, but by flat connections of the COMPLEXIFIED gauge group. The theory is nontrivial on compact orientable…

Witten constructed a topological quantum field theory with the Chern-Simons action as Lagrangian. We define a Chern-Simons action for 3-dimensional spectral triples. We prove gauge invariance of the Chern-Simons action, and we prove that it…

For the abelian Chern-Simons field theory, we consider the quantum functional integration over the Deligne-Beilinson cohomology classes and present an explicit path-integral non-perturbative computation of the Chern-Simons link invariants…

For the abelian Chern-Simons field theory, we consider the quantum functional integration over the Deligne-Beilinson cohomology classes and we derive the main properties of the observables in a generic closed orientable 3-manifold. We…

A brief review of the development of Chern-Simons gauge theory since its relation to knot theory was discovered in 1988 is presented. The presentation is done guided by a dictionary which relates knot theory concepts to quantum field theory…

Path integrals for particles in curved spaces can be used to compute trace anomalies in quantum field theories, and more generally to study properties of quantum fields coupled to gravity in first quantization. While their construction in…