This book explains the subtleties of quantum statistical mechanics in lower dimensions and their possible ramifications in quantum theory. The discussion is at a pedagogical level and is addressed to both graduate students and advanced researchers with a reasonable background in quantum and statistical mechanics.Topics in the first part of the book include the flux tube model of anyons, the braid group and a detailed discussion about the various aspects of quantum and statistical mechanics of a noninteracting anyon gas.The second part of the book includes a detailed discussion about fractional statistics from the point of view of Chern-Simons theories. Topics covered here include Chern-Simons field theories, charged vortices, anyon superconductivity and the fractional quantum Hall effect.Since the publication of the first edition of the book, an exciting possibility has emerged, that of quantum computing using anyons. A section has therefore been included on this topic in the second edition. In addition, new sections have been added about scattering of anyons with hard disk repulsion as well as fractional exclusion statistics and negative probabilities.

Particles with fractional statistics interpolating between bosons and fermions have attracted considerable interest from mathematical physicists. In recent years it has emerged that these so-called anyons have rather unexpected applications, such as the fractional Hall effect, anyonic excitations in films of liquid helium, and high-temrperature superconductivity. Furthermore, they are discussed also in the context of conformal field theories. This book is a systematic and pedagogical introduction that considers the subject of anyons from many different points of view. In particular, the author presents the relation of anyons to braid groups and Chern-Simons field theory and devotes three chapters to physical applications. The book, while being of interest to researchers, primarily addresses advanced students of mathematics and physics.

Part I: Concepts in fractional statistics, part II: States of anyon matter, part III: Reprinted papers

Fractional quantum mechanics is a recently emerged and rapidly developing field of quantum physics.This is the first monograph on fundamentals and physical applications of fractional quantum mechanics, written by its founder.The fractional Schrödinger equation and the fractional path integral are new fundamental physical concepts introduced and elaborated in the book. The fractional Schrödinger equation is a manifestation of fractional quantum mechanics. The fractional path integral is a new mathematical tool based on integration over Lévy flights. The fractional path integral method enhances the well-known Feynman path integral framework.Related topics covered in the text include time fractional quantum mechanics, fractional statistical mechanics, fractional classical mechanics and the α-stable Lévy random process.The book is well-suited for theorists, pure and applied mathematicians, solid-state physicists, chemists, and others working with the Schrödinger equation, the path integral technique and applications of fractional calculus in various research areas. It is useful to skilled researchers as well as to graduate students looking for new ideas and advanced approaches.

This book presents cutting-edge topics in modern theoretical physics-quantum Hall systems-the subject of two Nobel Prizes in 1985 and 1998.

Topological restrictions. These are relevant to the understanding of the statistical properties of elementary particles and the entanglement phenomena in polymer physics and biophysics. The Chern-Simons theory of particles with fractional statistics (anyons) is introduced and applied to explain the fractional quantum Hall effect." "The relevance of path integrals to financial markets is discussed, and improvements of the famous Black-Scholes formula for option prices are developed which account for the fact that large market fluctuations occur much more frequently than in Gaussian distributions." --Book Jacket.

For most of the last century, condensed matter physics has been dominated by band theory and Landau's symmetry breaking theory. In the last twenty years, however, there has been the emergence of a new paradigm associated with fractionalisation, topological order, emergent gauge bosons and fermions, and string condensation. These new physical concepts are so fundamental that they may even influence our understanding of the origin of light and fermions in the universe. This book is a pedagogical and systematic introduction to the new concepts and quantum field theoretical methods (which have fuelled the rapid developments) in condensed matter physics. It discusses many basic notions in theoretical physics which underlie physical phenomena in nature. Topics covered are dissipative quantum systems, boson condensation, symmetry breaking and gapless excitations, phase transitions, Fermi liquids, spin density wave states, Fermi and fractional statistics, quantum Hall effects, topological and quantum order, spin liquids, and string condensation. Methods covered are the path integral, Green's functions, mean-field theory, effective theory, renormalization group, bosonization in one- and higher dimensions, non-linear sigma-model, quantum gauge theory, dualities, slave-boson theory, and exactly soluble models beyond one-dimension. This book is aimed at teaching graduate students and bringing them to the frontiers of research in condensed matter physics.