Chern-Simons theory with finite gauge group (Q1311665)

The authors construct in detail a \(2+1\) dimensional gauge theory with finite gauge group, which was originally introduced by R. Dijkgraaf and E. Witten. In the given context the path integral reduces to a finite sum, eliminating thus the analytic problems of quantization. A specific aspect is the focus on the algebraic structure and particularly the construction of quantum Hilbert spaces on closed surfaces by cutting and pasting, including the ``Verlinde formula''.