Fractional Statistics and Quantum Theory

Avinash Khare

Erik Sjöqvist, Henrik Carlsen

N. Read, Moore, G

It is argued that fractional quantum Hall effect wavefunctions can be interpreted as conformal blocks of two-dimensional conformal field theory. Fractional statistics can be extended to nonabelian statistics and examples can be constructed from conformal field theory. The Pfaffian state is related to the 2D Ising model and possesses fractionally charged excitations which are predicted to obey nonabelian statistics.

N. Read, G. Moore

It is argued that fractional quantum Hall effect wavefunctions can be interpreted as conformal blocks of two-dimensional conformal field theory. Fractional statistics can be extended to nonabelian statistics and examples can be constructed from conformal field theory. The Pfaffian state is related to the 2D Ising model and possesses fractionally charged excitations which are predicted to obey nonabelian statistics.

Daniel P. Arovas

Stefano Forte

These lectures discuss the formulation of quantum mechanics with fractional spin and statistics in 2+1 dimensions in a relativistic setting, emphasizing the path-integral approach. The non-relativistic theory is reviewed from a path-integral viewpoint. The group-theoretical underpinnings of relativistic fractional spin are discussed, then the path-integral quantization of spin and of massive fermions without using spinors is reviewed. The path integral for a system of n relativistic particles with fractional spin is constructed, the spin-statistics relation and the Lorentz and Poincare' representation content of physical states are discussed. Some problems in formulating a field theory with fractional statistics are presented, and their resolution in the operator cocycle approach is reviewed.