Topological

quantum field theory

A topological quantum field theory (or

topological field theory or TQFT) is a
quantum field theory which computes
topological invariants.

Although TQFTs were invented by

physicists, they are also of mathematical
interest, being related to, among other
things, knot theory and the theory of four-
manifolds in algebraic topology, and to the
theory of moduli spaces in algebraic
geometry. Donaldson, Jones, Witten, and
Kontsevich have all won Fields Medals for
mathematical work related to topological
field theory.

In condensed matter physics, topological

quantum field theories are the low-energy
effective theories of topologically ordered
states, such as fractional quantum Hall
states, string-net condensed states, and
other strongly correlated quantum liquid
states.

In dynamics, all continuous time

dynamical systems, with and without
noise, are Witten-type TQFTs and the
phenomenon of the spontaneous
breakdown of the corresponding
topological supersymmetry encompasses
such well-established concepts as chaos,
turbulence, 1/f and crackling noises, self-
organized criticality etc.

Overview
In a topological field theory, the correlation
functions do not depend on the metric of
spacetime. This means that the theory is
not sensitive to changes in the shape of
spacetime; if the spacetime warps or
contracts, the correlation functions do not
change. Consequently, they are topological
invariants.

Topological field theories are not very

interesting on the flat Minkowski
spacetime used in particle physics.
Minkowski space can be contracted to a
point, so a TQFT on Minkowski space
computes only trivial topological
invariants. Consequently, TQFTs are
usually studied on curved spacetimes,
such as, for example, Riemann surfaces.
Most of the known topological field
theories are defined on spacetimes of
dimension less than five. It seems that a
few higher-dimensional theories exist, but
they are not very well understood.

Quantum gravity is believed to be

background-independent (in some suitable
sense), and TQFTs provide examples of
background independent quantum field
theories. This has prompted ongoing
theoretical investigation of this class of
models.

(Caveat: It is often said that TQFTs have

only finitely many degrees of freedom.
This is not a fundamental property. It
happens to be true in most of the
examples that physicists and
mathematicians study, but it is not
necessary. A topological sigma model with
target infinite-dimensional projective
space, if such a thing could be defined,
would have countably infinitely many
degrees of freedom.)

Specific models
The known topological field theories fall
into two general classes: Schwarz-type
TQFTs and Witten-type TQFTs. Witten
TQFTs are also sometimes referred to as
cohomological field theories. See
(Schwarz 2000).

Schwarz-type TQFTs
In Schwarz-type TQFTs, the correlation
functions or partition functions of the
system are computed by the path integral
of metric independent action functionals.
For instance, in the BF model, the
spacetime is a two-dimensional manifold
M, the observables are constructed from a
two-form F, an auxiliary scalar B, and their
derivatives. The action (which determines
the path integral) is
The spacetime metric does not appear
anywhere in the theory, so the theory is
explicitly topologically invariant. The first
example appeared in 1977 and is due to A.
Schwarz; its action functional is:

Another more famous example is Chern–

Simons theory, which can be used to
compute knot invariants. In general
partition functions depend on a metric but
the above examples are shown to be
metric-independent.
Witten-type TQFTs

The first example of Witten-type TQFTs

appeared in Witten's paper in 1988 (Witten
1988a), i.e. topological Yang–Mills theory
in four dimensions. Though its action
functional contains the spacetime metric
gαβ, after a topological twist it turns out to
be metric independent. The independence
of the stress-energy tensor Tαβ of the
system from the metric depends on
whether BRST-operator is closed.
Following Witten's example a lot of
examples are found in string theory.
Witten-type TQFTs arise if the following
conditions are satisfied:

1. The action of the TQFT has a

symmetry, i.e. if denotes a
symmetry transformation (e.g. a Lie
derivative) then it holds
2. The symmetry transformation is
exact, i.e.
3. There are existing observables
which satisfy
for all .
4. The stress-energy-tensor (or similar
physical quantities) is of the form
 for an arbitrary tensor
.

As an example (Linker 2015) given a 2-

form field with the differential operator
which satisfies . Then the action

has a symmetry if

since

Further it holds (under the condition that

is independent on and acts similarly to
a functional derivative):

The expression is proportional to

with another 2-form .

Now any averages of observables

for the

corresponding Haar measure are

independent on the "geometric" field
and therefore topological:
 .

In the third equality it was used the fact

that and the invariance of
the Haar measure under symmetry

transformations. Since is

only a number, the Lie derivative applied

on it vanishes.

Mathematical formulations
The original Atiyah–Segal axioms
Atiyah suggested a set of axioms for
topological quantum field theory Atiyah
(1988) which was inspired by Segal's
proposed axioms for conformal field
theory (afterday, Segal's idea was
summarized in Segal (2001)), and Witten's
idea of the geometric meaning of
supersymmetry, Witten (1982). Atiyah's
axioms are constructed on gluing the
boundary with differentiable (topological
or continuous) transformation, while
Segal's are with conformal transformation.
These axioms have been relatively useful
for mathematical treatments of Schwarz-
type QFTs, although it isn't clear that they
capture the whole structure of Witten-type
QFTs. The basic idea is that a TQFT is a
functor from a certain category of
cobordisms to the category of vector
spaces.

There are in fact two different sets of

axioms which could reasonably be called
the Atiyah axioms. These axioms differ
basically in whether or not they study a
TQFT defined on a single fixed n-
dimensional Riemannian / Lorentzian
spacetime M or a TQFT defined on all n-
dimensional spacetimes at once.

Let Λ be a commutative ring with 1 (for

almost all real-world purposes we will have
Λ = Z, R or C). Atiyah originally proposed
the axioms of a topological quantum field
theory (TQFT) in dimension d defined over
a ground ring Λ as following:

A finitely generated Λ-module Z(Σ)

associated to each oriented closed
smooth d-dimensional manifold Σ
(corresponding to the homotopy axiom),
 An element Z(M) ∈ Z(∂M) associated to
each oriented smooth (d + 1)-
dimensional manifold (with boundary) M
(corresponding to an additive axiom).

These data are subject to the following

axioms (4 and 5 were added by Atiyah):

1. Z is functorial with respect to

orientation preserving
diffeomorphisms of Σ and M,
2. Z is involutory, i.e. Z(Σ*) = Z(Σ)* where
Σ* is Σ with opposite orientation and
Z(Σ)* denotes the dual module,
3. Z is multiplicative.
 4. Z(φ) = Λ for the d-dimensional empty
manifold and Z(φ) = 1 for the (d + 1)-
dimensional empty manifold.
5. Z(M*) = Z(M) (the hermitian axiom).
Equivalently, Z(M*) is the disjoint of
Z(M)

Remark. If for a closed manifold M we

view Z(M) as a numerical invariant, then
for a manifold with boundary we should
think of Z(M) ∈ Z(∂M) as a "relative"
invariant. Let f : Σ → Σ be an orientation
preserving diffeomorphism, and identify
opposite ends of Σ × I by f. This gives a
manifold Σf and our axioms imply
where Σ(f) is the induced automorphism of
Z(Σ).

Remark. For a manifold M with boundary Σ

we can always form the double
which is a closed manifold.
The fifth shows that

where on the right we compute the norm in

the hermitian (possibly indefinite) metric.

The relation to physics

Physically (2) + (4) is related to relativistic
invariance while (3) + (5) is indicative of
the quantum nature of the theory.

Σ is meant to indicate the physical space

(usually, d = 3 for standard physics) and
the extra dimension in Σ × I is "imaginary"
time. The space Z(M) is the Hilbert space
of the quantum theory and a physical
theory, with a Hamiltonian H, will have a
time evolution operator eitH or an
"imaginary time" operator e−tH. The main
feature of topological QFTs is that H = 0,
which implies that there is no real
dynamics or propagation, along the
cylinder Σ × I. However, there can be non-
trivial "propagation" (or tunneling
amplitudes) from Σ0 to Σ1 through an
intervening manifold M with
; this reflects the
topology of M.

If ∂M = Σ, then the distinguished vector

Z(M) in the Hilbert space Z(Σ) is thought of
as the vacuum state defined by M. For a
closed manifold M the number Z(M) is the
vacuum expectation value. In analogy with
statistical mechanics it is also called the
partition function.

The reason why a theory with zero

Hamiltonian can be sensibly formulated
resides in the Feynman path integral
approach to QFT. This incorporates
relativistic invariance (which caters for
general (d + 1)-dimensional "spacetimes")
and the theory is formally defined by
writing down a suitable Lagrangian - a
functional of the classical fields of the
theory. A Lagrangian which involves only
first derivatives in time formally leads to a
zero Hamiltonian, but the Lagrangian itself
may have non-trivial features which relate
it to the topology of M.

Atiyah's examples

In 1988, M. Atiyah published a paper in

which he described many new examples
of topological quantum field theory that
were considered at that time. (Atiyah
1988) It contains some new topological
invariants and the new ideas, which are
Casson invariant, Donaldson invariant,
Gromov's theory, Floer homology and
Jones-Witten's theory.

d=0

In this case Σ consists of finitely many

points. To a single point we associate a
vector space V = Z(point) and to n-points
the n-fold tensor product: V⊗n = V ⊗ … ⊗ V.
The symmetric group Sn acts on V⊗n. A
standard way to get the quantum Hilbert
space is to give a classical symplectic
manifold (or phase space) and then
quantize it. Let us extend Sn to compact
Lie group G and consider "integrable"
orbits for which the symplectic structure
comes from a line bundle then
quantization leads to the irreducible
representations V of G. This is the physical
interpretation of the Borel–Weil theorem
or the Borel–Weil–Bott theorem. The
Lagrangian of these theories is the
classical action (holonomy of the line
bundle). Thus topological QFT's with d = 0
relate naturally to the classical
representation theory of Lie groups and
Symmetry groups.

d=1
We should consider periodic boundary
conditions given by closed loops in a
compact symplectic manifold X. Along to
Witten (1982) holonomy round such loops
used in the case of d = 0 as a Lagrangian
is used to modify the Hamiltonian. For a
closed surface M the invariant Z(M) of the
theory is the number of pseudo
holomorphic maps f : M → X in the sense
of Gromov (they are ordinary holomorphic
maps if X is a Kähler manifold). If this
number becomes to infinite i.e. if there are
"moduli", then we must fix further data on
M. This can be done by picking some
points Pi and then looking at holomorphic
maps f : M → X with f(Pi) constrained to lie
on a fixed hyperplane. Witten (1988b) has
written down the relevant Lagrangian for
this theory. Floer has given a rigorous
treatment, i.e. Floer homology, based on
Witten (1982)'s Morse theory ideas, for the
case when the boundary conditions are
the interval instead of periodic, the initial
and end-points of paths lie on two fixed
Lagrangian submanifolds. This theory has
been developed as Gromov–Witten
invariant theory.
Another example is Holomorphic
Conformal Field Theory. This might not be
strictly topological quantum field theory at
that time because Hilbert spaces are
infinite dimensional. The conformal field
theories are also related to compact Lie
group G in which the classical phase
consists of a central extension of the loop
group LG. Quantizing these produces the
Hilbert spaces of the theory of irreducible
(projective) representations of LG. The
group Diff+(S1) now substitutes for the
symmetric group and play an important
role. The partition function in such
theories depends on complex structure: it
is not purely topological.

d=2

Jones-Witten theory is the most important

theory in this case. Here the classical
phase space, associated to a closed
surface Σ is the moduli space of flat G-
bundle over Σ. The Lagrangian is an
integer multiple of the Chern–Simons
function of a G-connection on a 3-manifold
(which has to be "framed"). The integer
multiple k, called the level, is a parameter
of the theory and k → ∞ gives the
classical limit. This theory can be naturally
coupled with the d = 0 theory to produce a
"relative" theory. The details have been
described by Witten who shows that
partition function for a (framed) link in the
3-sphere is just the value of the Jones
polynomial for a suitable root of unity. The
theory can be defined over the relevant
cyclotomic field. By considering Riemann
surface with boundary, we can couple it to
the d = 1 conformal theory instead of
coupling d = 2 theory to d = 0. This theory
has been developed as the Jones–Witten
theory and turned out to be the trigger
binding the knot theory and the quantum
theory.

d=3

Donaldson has defined integer invariant of

smooth 4-manifolds by using moduli
spaces of SU(2)-instantons. These
invariants are polynomials on the second
homology. Thus 4-manifolds should have
extra data consisting of the symmetric
algebra of H2. Witten (1988a) has
produced a super-symmetric Lagrangian
which formally reproduces the Donaldson
theory. Witten's formula might be
understood as an infinite-dimensional
analogue of the Gauss–Bonnet theorem.
At a later date, this theory was further
developed and became the Seiberg–
Witten gauge theory which reduces SU(2)
to U(1) in N = 2, d = 4 gauge theory. The
Hamiltonian version of the theory has
been developed by Floer in terms of the
space of connections on a 3-manifold.
Floer uses the Chern–Simons function,
which is the Lagrangian of the Jones-
Witten theory to modify the Hamiltonian.
For details, see Atiyah (1988). Witten
(1988a) has also shown how one can
couple the d = 3 and d = 1 theories
together: this is quite analogous to the
coupling between d = 2 and d = 0 in the
Jones–Witten theory.

Now, it isn't considered on a fixed

dimension but on all the dimensions at the
same time, namely, topological field theory
is viewed as a functor.

The case of a fixed spacetime

Let BordM be the category whose

morphisms are n-dimensional
submanifolds of M and whose objects are
connected components of the boundaries
of such submanifolds. Regard two
morphisms as equivalent if they are
homotopic via submanifolds of M, and so
form the quotient category hBordM: The
objects in hBordM are the objects of BordM,
and the morphisms of hBordM are
homotopy equivalence classes of
morphisms in BordM. A TQFT on M is a
symmetric monoidal functor from hBordM
to the category of vector spaces.

Note that cobordisms can, if their

boundaries match up, be sewn together to
form a new bordism. This is the
composition law for morphisms in the
cobordism category. Since functors are
required to preserve composition, this
says that the linear map corresponding to
a sewn together morphism is just the
composition of the linear map for each
piece.

There is an equivalence of categories

between the category of 2-dimensional
topological quantum field theories and the
category of commutative Frobenius
algebras.
All n-dimensional spacetimes at
once

The pair of pants is a (1+1)-dimensional bordism,

which corresponds to a product or coproduct in a 2-
dimensional TQFT.

To consider all spacetimes at once, it is

necessary to replace hBordM by a larger
category. So let Bordn be the category of
bordisms, i.e. the category whose
morphisms are n-dimensional manifolds
with boundary, and whose objects are the
connected components of the boundaries
of n-dimensional manifolds. (Note that any
(n−1)-dimensional manifold may appear
as an object in Bordn.) As above, regard
two morphisms in Bordn as equivalent if
they are homotopic, and form the quotient
category hBordn. Bordn is a monoidal
category under the operation which takes
two bordisms to the bordism made from
their disjoint union. A TQFT on n-
dimensional manifolds is then a functor
from hBordn to the category of vector
spaces, which takes disjoint unions of
bordisms to the tensor product of them.

For example, for (1 + 1)-dimensional

bordisms (2-dimensional bordisms
between 1-dimensional manifolds), the
map associated with a pair of pants gives
a product or coproduct, depending on how
the boundary components are grouped –
which is commutative or cocommutative,
while the map associated with a disk gives
a counit (trace) or unit (scalars),
depending on grouping of boundary, and
thus (1+1)-dimension TQFTs correspond
to Frobenius algebras.

Furthermore, we consider simultaneously

4-dimensional, 3-dimensional and 2-
dimensional manifolds that are related by
the above bordisms, then obtain ample
and important examples.

Development at a later time

Looking at the development of topological

quantum field theory we should consider
that it has many applications to Seiberg–
Witten gauge theory, topological string
theory, the relationship between knot
theory and quantum theory, and quantum
knot invariants. Furthermore, it has
provided objects of great interest to both
mathematics and physics. Also of
important recent interest are non-local
operators in TQFT. (Gukov & Kapustin
(2013)). If string theory is viewed as the
fundamental, then non-local TQFTs can be
viewed as non-physical models that
provide a computationally efficient
approximation to local string theory.

Witten-type TQFTs and dynamical

systems

All stochastic (partial) differential

equations (SDEs), the models for
everything in nature above the scale of
quantum degeneracy and coherence, are
essentially Witten-type TQFTs. All SDEs
possess topological or BRST
supersymmetry, , which in the operator
representation of stochastic dynamics is
the exterior derivative naturally
commutative with the stochastic evolution
operator defined as the pullback induced
by the phase space diffeomorphisms
specified by the SDE and averaged over
the noise configurations. This
supersymmetry has the meaning of the
preservation of the continuity of the phase
space by continuous flows and the
phenomenon of the spontaneous
breakdown of this supersymmetry by a
global non-supersymmetric ground state
encompasses such well-established
physical concepts as chaos, turbulence,
1/f and crackling noises, self-organized
criticality etc. Topological sector of the
theory for any SDE can be recognized as a
Witten-type TQFT.
See also
Quantum topology
Topological defect
Topological entropy in physics
Topological order
Topological quantum number
Topological quantum computer
Topological string theory
Arithmetic topology
Cobordism hypothesis

References
Atiyah, Michael (1988). "New invariants
of three and four dimensional
manifolds". The Mathematical Heritage
of Hermann Weyl. Proceedings of
Symposia in Pure Mathematics. 48.
American Mathematical Society.
pp. 285–299.
doi:10.1090/pspum/048/974342 .
ISBN 9780821814826.
Atiyah, Michael (1988). "Topological
quantum field theories" (PDF).
Publications Mathématiques de l'IHÉS.
68 (68): 175–186.
doi:10.1007/BF02698547 .
MR 1001453 .
Gukov, Sergei; Kapustin, Anton (2013).
"Topological Quantum Field Theory,
Nonlocal Operators, and Gapped Phases
of Gauge Theories". arXiv:1307.4793
[hep-th ].
Linker, Patrick (2015). "Topological
Dipole Field Theory". The Winnower. 2:
e144311.19292.
doi:10.15200/winn.144311.19292 .
Lurie, Jacob (2009). "On the
Classification of Topological Field
Theories". arXiv:0905.0465 [math.CT ].
Schwarz, Albert (2000). "Topological
quantum field theories". arXiv:hep-
th/0011260 .
Segal, Graeme (2001). "Topological
structures in string theory" .
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal
Society of London. Series A:
Mathematical, Physical and Engineering
Sciences. 359 (1784): 1389–1398.
Bibcode:2001RSPTA.359.1389S .
doi:10.1098/rsta.2001.0841 .
Witten, Edward (1982). "Super-symmetry
and Morse Theory". Journal of
Differential Geometry. 17 (4): 661–692.
doi:10.4310/jdg/1214437492 .
Witten, Edward (1988a). "Topological
quantum field theory" . Communications
in Mathematical Physics. 117 (3): 353–
386. Bibcode:1988CMaPh.117..353W .
doi:10.1007/BF01223371 .
MR 0953828 .
Witten, Edward (1988b). "Topological
sigma models" . Communications in
Mathematical Physics. 118 (3): 411–
449. Bibcode:1988CMaPh.118..411W .
doi:10.1007/bf01466725 .
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