Abstract

Topological quantum field theories and fractional statistics are both defined in multiply connected manifolds. We study the relationship between both theories in 2 + 1 dimensions and we show that, due to the multiply-connected character of the manifold, the propagator for any quantum (field) theory always contains a first order pole that can be identified with a physical excitation with fractional spin. The article starts by reviewing the definition of general covariance in the Hamiltonian formalism, the gauge-fixing problem and the quantization following the lines of Batalin, Fradkin and Vilkovisky. The BRST-BFV quantization is reviewed in order to understand the topological approach proposed here.