Abstract:
In these lectures I review classical aspects of the self-dual Chern-Simons systems which describe charged scalar fields in 2+12+1 dimensions coupled to a gauge field whose dynamics is provided by a pure Chern-Simons Lagrangian. These self-dual models have one realization with nonrelativistic dynamics for the scalar fields, and another with relativistic dynamics for the scalars. In each model, the energy density may be minimized by a Bogomol'nyi bound which is saturated by solutions to a set of first-order self-duality equations. In the nonrelativistic case the self-dual potential is quartic, the system possesses a dynamical conformal symmetry, and the self-dual solutions are equivalent to the static zero energy solutions of the equations of motion. The nonrelativistic self-duality equations are integrable and all finite charge solutions may be found. In the relativistic case the self-dual potential is sixth order and the self-dual Lagrangian may be embedded in a model with an extended supersymmetry. The self-dual potential has a rich structure of degenerate classical minima, and the vacuum masses generated by the Chern-Simons Higgs mechanism reflect the self-dual nature of the potential.
Note:
  • 42 pages LaTeX
  • lectures: Mt. Sorak 1994/06/27
  • gauge field theory: Yang-Mills
  • Chern-Simons term
  • dimension: 3
  • duality
  • field equations: instanton
  • operator: Lax
  • vacuum state
  • algebra: representation
  • bibliography