Patrick Jefferson — Introduction to Chern-Simons Theory (Pt 3)

Patrick Jefferson (UMass Physics)

Chern–Simons theory is a three-dimensional topological quantum field theory with deep connections to various structures in mathematics and physics. I will give an introduction to Chern-Simons theory and survey some of these connections. A goal of this discussion is to establish a useful setting in which to revisit and further explore aspects of symmetries that were introduced last semester.

Last time, I began discussing the framing anomaly for quantum U(1)_k Chern-Simons theory on a closed 3-manifold with even level k. In this  seminar, I will compute the framing anomaly explicitly and show how it affects the expectation values of Wilson loop operators. I will also explain how the Wilson loop operators transform under a Z/Zk "one-form" symmetry.