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On quantum gauge theories in two dimensions

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Abstract

Two dimensional quantum Yang-Mills theory is studied from three points of view: (i) by standard physical methods; (ii) by relating it to the largek limit of three dimensional Chern-Simons theory and two dimensional conformal field theory; (iii) by relating its weak coupling limit to the theory of Reidemeister-Ray-Singer torsion. The results obtained from the three points of view agree and give formulas for the volumes of the moduli spaces of representations of fundamental groups of two dimensional surfaces.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Natural Sciences, Institute for Advanced Study, Olden Lane, 08540, Princeton, NJ, USA

    Edward Witten

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  1. Edward Witten
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Communicated by A. Jaffe

Research supported in part by NSF Grant PHY86-20266

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Witten, E. On quantum gauge theories in two dimensions. Commun.Math. Phys. 141, 153–209 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02100009

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02100009

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