Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Chicago, 845 W. Taylor St., Chicago, IL 60607-7059, USA
Abstract:
We discuss the physics of topological vortices moving on an arbitrary surface M in a YangMills-Higgs theory in which the gauge group G breaks to a finite subgroup H. We concentrate on the case where M is compact and/or non-orientable. Interesting new features arise which have no analog on the plane. The consequences for the quantum statistics of vortices are discussed, particularly when H is non-abelian.