Exploring the phases of 2+1 dimensional gauge theories through bosonization, holography & more

Abstract

The dynamics of 2+1 dimensional gauge theories offer insight into the exciting interplay between topology and physics. With the addition of Chern-Simons terms to the action, one can engineer conformal field theories which are related by a myriad of dualities. Understanding these dualities offers insight into the phases and behavior of these theories, and allows one to explore the phase diagram from many different points of view. In this thesis, we will use these dualities to i) amass evidence for their validity, ii) derive new dualities for exotic gauge theories, and iii) explore the symmetry breaking patterns of QCD3 with product flavor groups.