The topology of orientable (2 + 1) space-times can be captured by certain lumps of nontrivial topology called topological geons. They are the topological analogs of conventional solitons. We give a description of topological geons where the degrees of freedom related to topology are separated from the complete theory that contain metric (dynamical) degrees of freedom. The formalism also allows us to investigate processes of quantum topology change. They correspond to creation and annihilation of quantum geons. Selection rules for such processes are derived. Int. J. Mod. Phys. A 2000.15:1629-1660. Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com by UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA @ DAVIS on 02/05/15. For personal use only.

The spin-statistics connection, quantum gravity and other physical considerations suggest that classical space-time topology is not an immutable attribute and can change in quantum physics. The implementation of topology change using quantum principles has been studied for over two decades by a few of us. There has been a recent revival of interest in some of our work, dating back to as early as 1995. The present paper is meant as a resource article to our major relevant papers. It contains summaries of the contents of the cited papers and the corresponding links wherever available.