NON-ABELIAN SU(3) CHERN-SIMONS THEORY

We consider the non-Abelian SU(3) Chem-Simons field theory in a generic three-manifold. We give the general expressions for the values of the unknot and of the Hopf link in R3. The structure of the reduced tensor algebra associated with SU(3) is reported and the surgery rules, which permit us to solve the theory in a generic three-manifold, are derived. We define a three-manifold invariant which is associated with the non-abelian SU(3) Chem-Simons model. The value of this invariant is computed for various three-manifolds.