Title: The Hilbert Space of large N Chern-Simons matter theories
Abstract: We demonstrate that all known formulae for the thermal partition function for large N Chern Simons matter theory admit a simple Hilbert Space interpretation. In each case this quantity equals the partition function of an associated ungauged large $N$ matter theory with a particular local Lagrangian with one additional element: the Fock Space of this associated theory is projected down to the subspace of its WZW singlets. This projection, in particular, implies the previously encountered `Bosonic Exclusion Principle’, namely that no single particle state can be occupied by more than $k_B$ particles ($k_B$ is the Chern Simons level). Unlike its Gauss Law counterpart, the WZW constraint does not trivialize in the large volume limit. However thermodynamics does simplify in this limit; the final partition function reduces to a product of partition functions associated with each single particle state. These individual single particle state partition functions are a one parameter generalizations of their free boson and free fermion counterparts, and reduce to the later at extreme values of the ‘t Hooft coupling. At generic values of the rank and the level the occupation statistics of each energy level is given by a $q$ deformation of the usual free formulae of Bose and Fermi statistics.