title: Topological mass generation in four dimensions.
abstract: We show that in a large class of physically interesting systems the mass-generation phenomenon can be understood in terms of topological structures, without requiring a detailed knowledge of the underlying dynamics. This is first demonstrated by showing that Schwinger's mechanism for mass generation relies on topological structures of a two-dimensional gauge theory. In the same manner, corresponding four-dimensional topological entities give rise to topological mass generation in four dimensions. This formulation offers a unified topological description of some seemingly unrelated phenomena, such as two-dimensional superconductivity, and the generation of eta' and axion masses by QCD, and possibly by gravity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA.
authors.forename: Gia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dvali
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jackiw
authors.forename: So-Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Pi