Information,Quantum Mechanics,and Gravity

This is a basically expository article, with some new observations, tracing connections of the quantum potential to Fisher information, to Kähler geometry of the projective Hilbert space of a quantum system, and to the Weyl-Ricci scalar curvature of a Riemannian flat spacetime with quantum matter.Á Denise     

Quantum Group of Isometries in Classical and Noncommutative Geometry

We formulate a quantum generalization of the notion of the group of Riemannian isometries for a compact Riemannian manifold, by introducing a natural notion of smooth and isometric action by a compact quantum group on a classical or noncommutative manifold described by spectral triples, and then proving the existence of a universal object (called the quantum isometry group) in the category of compact quantum groups acting smoothly and isometrically on a given (possibly noncommutative) manifold satisfying certain regularity assumptions. The idea of ‘quantum families’ (due to Woronowicz and Soltan) are relevant to our construction. A number of explicit examples are given and possible applications of our results to the problem of constructing quantum group equivariant spectral triples are discussed. Supported in part by the Indian National Academy of Sciences.     

Gravity coupled with matter and the foundation of non-commutative geometry

We first exhibit in the commutative case the simple algebraic relations between the algebra of functions on a manifold and its infinitesimal length elementds. Its unitary representations correspond to Riemannian metrics and Spin structure whileds is the Dirac propagatords=x−x=D ⁻¹, whereD is the Dirac operator. We extend these simple relations to the non-commutative case using Tomita's involutionJ. We then write a spectral action, the trace of a function of the length element, which when applied to the non-commutative geometry of the Standard Model will be shown ([CC]) to give the SM Lagrangian coupled to gravity. The internal fluctuations of the non-commutative geometry are trivial in the commutative case but yield the full bosonic sector of SM with all correct quantum numbers in this slightly non-commutative case. The group of local gauge transformations appears spontaneously as a normal subgroup of the diffeomorphism group.     

Quantum theory of fields and origin of gravity

The unification of the quantum theory of fields and general relativity is supposed possible on the basis of Sakharov's hypothesis that gravity results from variations in vacuum fluctuations. It is shown that under very general conditions this hypothesis leads to Riemannian geometry of the world-lines of free particle motion. The origin of causal spacetime relations is discussed as the problem complementary to that of the source of geometry. This involves an interpretation of the EPR experiment and supports the idea that spacetime relations in microphysics result from adjusting quantum processes to the causality of macroscopic participators.     

Deformation quantization of nonholonomic almost Kähler models and Einstein gravity

Nonholonomic distributions and adapted frame structures on (pseudo) Riemannian manifolds of even dimension are employed to build structures equivalent to almost Kähler geometry and which allows to perform a Fedosov-like quantization of gravity. The nonlinear connection formalism that was formally elaborated for Lagrange and Finsler geometry is implemented in classical and quantum Einstein gravity.     

Dual geometric field theory

A Weyl geometry with a gauge-invariant, Riemannian subgeometry is used to geometrize the combined Einstein-Maxwell theory. A generalized Hamilton-Jacobi equation from particle mechanics emerges as an immediate consistency requirement. The time-independent, Coulomb field case is found to include at least lowest-order quantum effects as in wave mechanics. Possible microscopic entropy is identified.Work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy.     

Theory of filters

We consider the following statistical problem: suppose we have a light beam and a collection of semi-transparent windows which can be placed in the way of the beam. Assume that we are colour blind and we do not possess any colour sensitive detector. The question is, whether by only measurements of the decrease in the beam intensity in various sequences of windows we can recognize which among our windows are light beam filters absorbing photons according to certain definite rules? To answer this question a definition of physical systems is formulated independent of “quantum logic” and lattice theory, and a new idea of quantization is proposed. An operational definition of filters is given: in the framework of this definition certain nonorthodox classes of filters are admissible with a geometry incompatible to that assumed in orthodox quantum mechanics. This leads to an extension of the existing quantum mechanical structure generalizing the schemes proposed by Ludwig [10] and the present author [13]. In the resulting theory, the quantum world of orthodox quantum mechanics is not the only possible but is a special member of a vast family of “quantum worlds” mathematically admissible. An approximate classification of these worlds is given, and their possible relation to the quantization of non-linear fields is discussed. It turns out to be obvious that the convex set theory has a similar significance for quantum physics as the Riemannian geometry for space-time physics.     

Weyl geometry

We develop the properties of Weyl geometry, beginning with a review of the conformal properties of Riemannian spacetimes. Decomposition of the Riemann curvature into trace and traceless parts allows an easy proof that the Weyl curvature tensor is the conformally invariant part of the Riemann curvature, and shows the explicit change in the Ricci and Schouten tensors required to insure conformal invariance. We include a proof of the well-known condition for the existence of a conformal transformation to a Ricci-flat spacetime. We generalize this to a derivation of the condition for the existence of a conformal transformation to a spacetime satisfying the Einstein equation with matter sources. Then, enlarging the symmetry from Poincaré to Weyl, we develop the Cartan structure equations of Weyl geometry, the form of the curvature tensor and its relationship to the Riemann curvature of the corresponding Riemannian geometry. We present a simple theory of Weyl-covariant gravity based on a curvature-linear action, and show that it is conformally equivalent to general relativity. This theory is invariant under local dilatations, but not the full conformal group.     

Gravity in non-commutative geometry

We study general relativity in the framework of non-commutative differential geometry. As a prerequisite we develop the basic notions of non-commutative Riemannian geometry, including analogues of Riemannian metric, curvature and scalar curvature. This enables us to introduce a generalized Einstein-Hilbert action for non-commutative Riemannian spaces. As an example we study a space-time which is the product of a four dimensional manifold by a two-point space, using the tools of non-commutative Riemannian geometry, and derive its generalized Einstein-Hilbert action. In the simplest situation, where the Riemannian metric is taken to be the same on the two copies of the manifold, one obtains a model of a scalar field coupled to Einstein gravity. This field is geometrically interpreted as describing the distance between the two points in the internal space.Dedicated to H. ArakiSupported in part by the Swiss National Foundation (SNF)     

The Mathematical Basis for Physical Laws

Laws of mechanics, quantum mechanics, electromagnetism, gravitation and relativity are derived as “related mathematical identities” based solely on the existence of a joint probability distribution for the position and velocity of a particle moving on a Riemannian manifold. This probability formalism is necessary because continuous variables are not precisely observable. These demonstrations explain why these laws must have the forms previously discovered through experiment and empirical deduction. Indeed, the very existence of electric, magnetic and gravitational fields is predicted by these purely mathematical constructions. Furthermore these constructions incorporate gravitation into special relativity theory and provide corrected definitions for coordinate time and proper time. These constructions then provide new insight into the relationship between manifold geometry and gravitation and present an alternative to Einstein’s general relativity theory.     

Kinematics in matrix gravity

We develop the kinematics in Matrix Gravity, which is a modified theory of gravity obtained by a non-commutative deformation of General Relativity. In this model the usual interpretation of gravity as Riemannian geometry is replaced by a new kind of geometry, which is equivalent to a collection of Finsler geometries with several Finsler metrics depending both on the position and on the velocity. As a result the Riemannian geodesic flow is replaced by a collection of Finsler flows. This naturally leads to a model in which a particle is described by several mass parameters. If these mass parameters are different then the equivalence principle is violated. In the non-relativistic limit this also leads to corrections to the Newton’s gravitational potential. We find the first and second order corrections to the usual Riemannian geodesic flow and evaluate the anomalous nongeodesic acceleration in a particular case of static spherically symmetric background.     

Twistor forms on Riemannian products

We study twistor forms on products of compact Riemannian manifolds and show that they are defined by Killing forms on the factors. The main result of this note is a necessary step in the classification of compact Riemannian manifolds with non-generic holonomy carrying twistor forms.     

Post-Newtonian limit of Finsler space theories of gravity and solar system tests

Finsler geometry is considered as a wider framework for analysing solar system tests of theories of gravity than is afforded by Riemannian geometry. The post-Newtonian limit for the spherically symmetric one-body problem is examined by expanding the Finsler metric about the Minkowski space of Special Relativity for those Finsler spaces whose null surface is Riemannian. In such a framework there are five PPN parameters instead of the three in Riemannian geometry. The classical solar system tests can readily be satisfied leaving two arbitrary parameters. These parameters could be determined from measurements of the second order gravitational red-shift and periodic perturbations in particle orbits, thus providing a consistency check on the Riemannian metric hypothesis of General Relativity. Such an experiment is possible on a satellite on an orbit with perihelion of a few solar radii.     

Einstein gravity in almost Kähler and Lagrange–Finsler variables and deformation quantization

A geometric procedure is elaborated for transforming (pseudo) Riemannian metrics and connections into canonical geometric objects (metric and nonlinear and linear connections) for effective Lagrange, or Finsler, geometries which, in turn, can be equivalently represented as almost Kähler spaces. This allows us to formulate an approach to quantum gravity following standard methods of deformation quantization. Such constructions are performed not on tangent bundles, as in usual Finsler geometry, but on spacetimes enabled with nonholonomic distributions defining 2+2$2+2$ splitting with associate nonlinear connection structure. We also show how the Einstein equations can be written in terms of Lagrange–Finsler variables and corresponding almost symplectic structures and encoded into the zero-degree cohomology coefficient for a quantum model of Einstein manifolds.     

Twisting of Quantum Differentials and¶the Planck Scale Hopf Algebra

We show that the crossed modules and bicovariant differential calculi on two Hopf algebras related by a cocycle twist are in 1-1 correspondence. In particular, for quantum groups which are cocycle deformation-quantisations of classical groups the calculi are obtained as deformation-quantisations of the classical ones. As an application, we classify all bicovariant differential calculi on the Planck scale Hopf algebra . This is a quantum group which has an limit as the functions on a classical but non-Abelian group and a limit as flat space quantum mechanics. We further study the noncommutative differential geometry and Fourier theory for this Hopf algebra as a toy model for Planck scale physics. The Fourier theory implements a T-duality-like self-duality. The noncommutative geometry turns out to be singular when and is therefore not visible in flat space quantum mechanics alone. Received: 28 October 1998 / Accepted: 7 March 1999     

Quantum mechanics as a matrix symplectic geometry

The main purpose of this work is to describe the quantum analog of the usual classical symplectic geometry and then to formulate quantum mechanics as a noncommutative symplectic geometry. First, we describe a discrete Weyl-Schwinger realization of the Heisenberg group and we develop a discrete version of the Weyl-Wigner-Moyal formalism. We also study the continuous limit and the case of higher degrees of freedom. In analogy with the classical case, we present the noncommutative (quantum) symplectic geometry associated with the matrix algebraM _N (C) generated by the Schwinger matrices.