Fluid Dynamics, Chern-Simons Theory, and the Quantum Hall Effect

In this paper we show that classical fluid dynamics in a plane is a gauge theory useful for studying aspects of the quantum Hall system. When the fluid is charged and placed in a magnetic field, Chern-Simons fields appear naturally and the fractional statistics of vortex excitations can be understood qualitatively. Applying the fluid picture to a gas of anyons shows that it superconducts.