This proposal requests funds to permit Dr. So-Young Pi, Department of Physics, Boston University, to pursue with Dr. Jae Hyung Yee, Department of Physics, Yonsei University, Korea, for a period of 24 months, a program of cooperative research on gauge field theories in the Schrodinger picture. The Schrodinger picture method for obtaining information from quantum field theories will be further developed, and this method will be applied to gauge theories and to some (2+1)-dimensional models, particularly those involving Chern-Simons terms. The success of quantum electrodynamics and the standard model for electro-weak and strong interactions shows that the quantum field theory is the most reliable framework for describing subatomic phenomena. The Schrodinger picture formulation of this theory gives the best physical picture of the subatomic world but mathematical problems with it only recently have been understood. The collaborators have used this approach successfully in prior research under NSF Grant No. INT-8807985. They expect this research to produce discoveries and an understanding of the structure of various quantum field theories. The PI and her collaborator are highly respected scientists in the field of the research and have a record of successful collaboration. This project is relevant to the objectives of the U.S.-Korea Cooperative Science Program which seeks to increase the level of cooperation between U.S. and Korean scientists and engineers through the exchange of scientific information, ideas, skills, and techniques and through collaboration on problems of mutual benefit. Dr. Yee's participation in the project is supported by the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF).
