Quantum Mechanics of Fundamental Systems

From January 8-13,1990, distinguished physicists from many nations came to Chile to share with each other and with Latin American students exciting recent developments. The occasion was the third of a series of meetings on Quantum Mechanics of Fundamental Systems which are held every two years at the Centro de Estudios Cientificos de Santiago. This volume grew out from that gathering. The meeting was possible thanks to the generous support of the Tinker Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, the Ministere des AfIaires Etrangeres et Service Culturel et de Cooperation Scientifique et Technique de France, the Third World Academy of Sciences, and FONDECYT-Chile. The happy winds blowing over Chile at the time enhanced the joy provided by the beauty of the physics discussed. Claudio Teitelboim Jorge Zanelli Santiago, Chile vii Contents Chapter 1 Fractional Statistics in Quantum Mechanics Daniel P. Arovas 1. Introduction............................................. 1 2. Charge-Flux Composites. . . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 4 3. Dilute Anyon Gases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 4. Fractional Statistics in the Quantized Hall Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 5. Many-Body Theory of the Anyon Gas... . .................. 16 6. Chern-Simons Field Theory and Fractional Statistics ......... 20 Appendix: Many Anyons in a Magnetic Field. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 . .