Topology, Geometry and Quantum Field Theory

Topology, Geometry and Quantum Field Theory
Author: Ulrike Luise Tillmann
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 596
Release: 2004-06-28
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 9780521540490

The symposium held in honour of the 60th birthday of Graeme Segal brought together leading physicists and mathematicians. Its topics were centred around string theory, M-theory, and quantum gravity on the one hand, and K-theory, elliptic cohomology, quantum cohomology and string topology on the other. Geometry and quantum physics developed in parallel since the recognition of the central role of non-abelian gauge theory in elementary particle physics in the late seventies and the emerging study of super-symmetry and string theory. With its selection of survey and research articles these proceedings fulfil the dual role of reporting on developments in the field and defining directions for future research. For the first time Graeme Segal's manuscript 'The definition of Conformal Field Theory' is published, which has been greatly influential over more than ten years. An introduction by the author puts it into the present context.

Geometry and Quantum Field Theory

Geometry and Quantum Field Theory
Author: Daniel S. Freed
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
Total Pages: 476
Release: 1995
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780821886830

The first title in a new series, this book explores topics from classical and quantum mechanics and field theory. The material is presented at a level between that of a textbook and research papers making it ideal for graduate students. The book provides an entree into a field that promises to remain exciting and important for years to come.

Geometric and Topological Methods for Quantum Field Theory

Geometric and Topological Methods for Quantum Field Theory
Author: Sylvie Paycha
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2007
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0821840622

This volume, based on lectures and short communications at a summer school in Villa de Leyva, Colombia (July 2005), offers an introduction to some recent developments in several active topics at the interface between geometry, topology and quantum field theory. It is aimed at graduate students in physics or mathematics who might want insight in the following topics (covered in five survey lectures): Anomalies and noncommutative geometry, Deformation quantisation and Poisson algebras, Topological quantum field theory and orbifolds. These lectures are followed by nine articles on various topics at the borderline of mathematics and physics ranging from quasicrystals to invariant instantons through black holes, and involving a number of mathematical tools borrowed from geometry, algebra and analysis.

Quantum Geometry

Quantum Geometry
Author: Jan Ambjørn
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 377
Release: 1997-06-19
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0521461677

Describes random geometry and applications to strings, quantum gravity, topological field theory and membrane physics.

Frobenius Algebras and 2-D Topological Quantum Field Theories

Frobenius Algebras and 2-D Topological Quantum Field Theories
Author: Joachim Kock
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 260
Release: 2004
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 9780521540315

This 2003 book describes a striking connection between topology and algebra, namely that 2D topological quantum field theories are equivalent to commutative Frobenius algebras. The precise formulation of the theorem and its proof is given in terms of monoidal categories, and the main purpose of the book is to develop these concepts from an elementary level, and more generally serve as an introduction to categorical viewpoints in mathematics. Rather than just proving the theorem, it is shown how the result fits into a more general pattern concerning universal monoidal categories for algebraic structures. Throughout, the emphasis is on the interplay between algebra and topology, with graphical interpretation of algebraic operations, and topological structures described algebraically in terms of generators and relations. The book will prove valuable to students or researchers entering this field who will learn a host of modern techniques that will prove useful for future work.

Dirichlet Branes and Mirror Symmetry

Dirichlet Branes and Mirror Symmetry
Author:
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
Total Pages: 698
Release: 2009
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0821838482

Research in string theory has generated a rich interaction with algebraic geometry, with exciting work that includes the Strominger-Yau-Zaslow conjecture. This monograph builds on lectures at the 2002 Clay School on Geometry and String Theory that sought to bridge the gap between the languages of string theory and algebraic geometry.

Lectures on Field Theory and Topology

Lectures on Field Theory and Topology
Author: Daniel S. Freed
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2019-08-23
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1470452065

These lectures recount an application of stable homotopy theory to a concrete problem in low energy physics: the classification of special phases of matter. While the joint work of the author and Michael Hopkins is a focal point, a general geometric frame of reference on quantum field theory is emphasized. Early lectures describe the geometric axiom systems introduced by Graeme Segal and Michael Atiyah in the late 1980s, as well as subsequent extensions. This material provides an entry point for mathematicians to delve into quantum field theory. Classification theorems in low dimensions are proved to illustrate the framework. The later lectures turn to more specialized topics in field theory, including the relationship between invertible field theories and stable homotopy theory, extended unitarity, anomalies, and relativistic free fermion systems. The accompanying mathematical explanations touch upon (higher) category theory, duals to the sphere spectrum, equivariant spectra, differential cohomology, and Dirac operators. The outcome of computations made using the Adams spectral sequence is presented and compared to results in the condensed matter literature obtained by very different means. The general perspectives and specific applications fuse into a compelling story at the interface of contemporary mathematics and theoretical physics.

Quantum Gravity in 2+1 Dimensions

Quantum Gravity in 2+1 Dimensions
Author: Steven Carlip
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2003-12-04
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780521545884

The first comprehensive survey of (2+1)-dimensional quantum gravity - for graduate students and researchers.

Conformal Field Theory and Topology

Conformal Field Theory and Topology
Author: Toshitake Kohno
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
Total Pages: 188
Release: 2002
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 9780821821305

Geometry and physics have been developed with a strong influence on each other. One of the most remarkable interactions between geometry and physics since 1980 has been an application of quantum field theory to topology and differential geometry. This book focuses on a relationship between two-dimensional quantum field theory and three-dimensional topology which has been studied intensively since the discovery of the Jones polynomial in the middle of the 1980s and Witten's invariantfor 3-manifolds derived from Chern-Simons gauge theory. An essential difficulty in quantum field theory comes from infinite-dimensional freedom of a system. Techniques dealing with such infinite-dimensional objects developed in the framework of quantum field theory have been influential in geometryas well. This book gives an accessible treatment for a rigorous construction of topological invariants originally defined as partition functions of fields on manifolds. The book is organized as follows: The Introduction starts from classical mechanics and explains basic background materials in quantum field theory and geometry. Chapter 1 presents conformal field theory based on the geometry of loop groups. Chapter 2 deals with the holonomy of conformal field theory. Chapter 3 treatsChern-Simons perturbation theory. The final chapter discusses topological invariants for 3-manifolds derived from Chern-Simons perturbation theory.

The Large N Expansion In Quantum Field Theory And Statistical Physics

The Large N Expansion In Quantum Field Theory And Statistical Physics
Author: Edouard Brezin
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 1149
Release: 1993-08-31
Genre: Science
ISBN: 981450663X

This book contains an edited comprehensive collection of reprints on the subject of the large N limit as applied to a wide spectrum of problems in quantum field theory and statistical mechanics. The topics include (1) Spin Systems; (2) Large N Limit of Gauge Theories; (3) Two-Dimensional QCD; (4) Exact Results on Planar Perturbation Series and the Nature of the 1/N Series; (5) Schwinger-Dyson Equations Approach; (6) QCD Phenomenological Lagrangians and the Large N Limit; (7) Other Approaches to Large N: Eguchi-Kawai Model, Collective Fields and Numerical Methods; (8) Matrix Models; (9) Two-Dimensional Gravity and String Theory.