Symplectic Quantum Mechanics and Chern-Simons Gauge Theory I

Abstract: In this article we describe the relation between the Chern-Simons gauge theory partition function and the partition function defined using the symplectic action functional as the Lagrangian. We show that the partition functions obtained using these two Lagrangians agree, and we identify the semiclassical formula for the partition function defined using the symplectic action functional.