Braided Quantum Field Theory

We develop a general framework for quantum field theory on noncommutative spaces, i.e., spaces with quantum group symmetry. We use the path integral approach to obtain expressions for n-point functions. Perturbation theory leads us to generalised Feynman diagrams which are braided, i.e., they have non-trivial over- and under-crossings. We demonstrate the power of our approach by applying it to φ⁴-theory on the quantum 2-sphere. We find that the basic divergent diagram of the theory is regularised. Received: 3 July 1999 / Accepted: 10 November 2000     

Generalizations of Quantum Mechanics Induced by Classical Statistical Field Theory

No Heading We show that the Dirac-von Neumann formalism for quantum mechanics can be obtained as an approximation of classical statistical field theory. This approximation is based on the Taylor expansion (up to terms of the second order) of classical physical variables – maps f : Ω → R, where Ω is the infinite-dimensional Hilbert space. The space of classical statistical states consists of Gaussian measures ρ on Ω having zero mean value and dispersion σ²(ρ) ≈ h. This viewpoint to the conventional quantum formalism gives the possibility to create generalized quantum formalisms based on expansions of classical physical variables in the Taylor series up to terms of nth order and considering statistical states ρ having dispersion σ²(ρ) = hⁿ (for n = 2 we obtain the conventional quantum formalism).     

Noncommutative Instantons on the 4-Sphere¶from Quantum Groups

We describe an approach to the noncommutative instantons on the 4-sphere based on quantum group theory. We quantize the Hopf bundle ?⁷→?⁴ making use of the concept of quantum coisotropic subgroups. The analysis of the semiclassical Poisson–Lie structure of U(4) shows that the diagonal SU(2) must be conjugated to be properly quantized. The quantum coisotropic subgroup we obtain is the standard SU _q (2); it determines a new deformation of the 4-sphere ∑⁴ _q as the algebra of coinvariants in ? _q ⁷. We show that the quantum vector bundle associated to the fundamental corepresentation of SU _q (2) is finitely generated and projective and we compute the explicit projector. We give the unitary representations of ∑⁴ _q , we define two 0-summable Fredholm modules and we compute the Chern–Connes pairing between the projector and their characters. It comes out that even the zero class in cyclic homology is non-trivial. Received: 3 January 2001 / Accepted: 14 November 2001     

Quantum Chains of Hopf Algebras with Quantum Double Cosymmetry

Given a finite dimensional C ^*-Hopf algebra H and its dual Ĥ we construct the infinite crossed product and study its superselection sectors in the framework of algebraic quantum field theory. is the observable algebra of a generalized quantum spin chain with H-order and Ĥ-disorder symmetries, where by a duality transformation the role of order and disorder may also appear interchanged. If is a group algebra then becomes an ordinary G-spin model. We classify all DHR-sectors of – relative to some Haag dual vacuum representation – and prove that their symmetry is described by the Drinfeld double . To achieve this we construct localized coactions and use a certain compressibility property to prove that they are universal amplimorphisms on . In this way the double can be recovered from the observable algebra as a universal cosymmetry. Received: 4 September 1995\,/\,Accepted: 3 December 1996     

Equivariant <Emphasis Type="Italic">K</Emphasis>-Theory,Generalized Symmetric Products,and Twisted Heisenberg Algebra

 For a space X acted on by a finite group Γ, the product space X ⁿ affords a natural action of the wreath product Γ _n =Γ ⁿ ⋊S _n . The direct sum of equivariant K-groups were shown earlier by the author to carry several interesting algebraic structures. In this paper we study the K-groups of Γ _n -equivariant Clifford supermodules on X ⁿ . We show that is a Hopf algebra and it is isomorphic to the Fock space of a twisted Heisenberg algebra. Twisted vertex operators make a natural appearance. The algebraic structures on ℱ⁻ _Γ(X), when Γ is trivial and X is a point, specialize to those on a ring of symmetric functions with the Schur Q-functions as a linear basis. As a by-product, we present a novel construction of K-theory operations using the spin representations of the hyperoctahedral groups. Received: 3 February 2001 / Accepted: 17 August 2002 Published online: 10 January 2003     

Four-Vertex Theorems, Sturm Theory and Lagrangian Singularities

We prove that the vertices of a curve γ⊂R ⁿ are critical points of the radius of the osculating hypersphere. Using Sturm theory, we give a new proof of the (2k+2)-vertex theorem for convex curves in the Euclidean space R ^2k . We obtain a very practical formula to calculate the vertices of a curve in R ⁿ . We apply our formula and Sturm theory to calculate the number of vertices of the generalized ellipses in R ^2k . Moreover, we explain the relations between vertices of curves in Euclidean n-space, singularities of caustics and Sturm theory (for the fundamental systems of solutions of disconjugate homogeneous linear differential operators L:C ^∞(S ¹)→C ^∞(S ¹)).     

String Geometry and the Noncommutative Torus

We construct a new gauge theory on a pair of d-dimensional noncommutative tori. The latter comes from an intimate relationship between the noncommutative geometry associated with a lattice vertex operator algebra ? and the noncommutative torus. We show that the tachyon algebra of ? is naturally isomorphic to a class of twisted modules representing quantum deformations of the algebra of functions on the torus. We construct the corresponding real spectral triples and determine their Morita equivalence classes using string duality arguments. These constructions yield simple proofs of the O(d,d;ℤ) Morita equivalences between d-dimensional noncommutative tori and give a natural physical interpretation of them in terms of the target space duality group of toroidally compactified string theory. We classify the automorphisms of the twisted modules and construct the most general gauge theory which is invariant under the automorphism group. We compute bosonic and fermionic actions associated with these gauge theories and show that they are explicitly duality-symmetric. The duality-invariant gauge theory is manifestly covariant but contains highly non-local interactions. We show that it also admits a new sort of particle-antiparticle duality which enables the construction of instanton field configurations in any dimension. The duality non-symmetric on-shell projection of the field theory is shown to coincide with the standard non-abelian Yang–Mills gauge theory minimally coupled to massive Dirac fermion fields. Received: 26 October 1998/ Accepted: 9 April 1999     

Quantum Field Theory on Spacetimes with a Compactly Generated Cauchy Horizon

We prove two theorems which concern difficulties in the formulation of the quantum theory of a linear scalar field on a spacetime, , with a compactly generated Cauchy horizon. These theorems demonstrate the breakdown of the theory at certain base points of the Cauchy horizon, which are defined as ‘past terminal accumulation points’ of the horizon generators. Thus, the theorems may be interpreted as giving support to Hawking's ‘Chronology Protection Conjecture’, according to which the laws of physics prevent one from manufacturing a ’time machine‘. Specifically, we prove: Theorem 1. There is no extension to of the usual field algebra on the initial globally hyperbolic region which satisfies the condition of F-locality at any base point. In other words, any extension of the field algebra must, in any globally hyperbolic neighbourhood of any base point, differ from the algebra one would define on that neighbourhood according to the rules for globally hyperbolic spacetimes. Theorem 2. The two-point distribution for any Hadamard state defined on the initial globally hyperbolic region must (when extended to a distributional bisolution of the covariant Klein-Gordon equation on the full spacetime) be singular at every base point x in the sense that the difference between this two point distribution and a local Hadamard distribution cannot be given by a bounded function in any neighbourhood (in M × M) of (x,x). In consequence of Theorem 2, quantities such as the renormalized expectation value of φ² or of the stress-energy tensor are necessarily ill-defined or singular at any base point. The proof of these theorems relies on the ‘Propagation of Singularities’ theorems of Duistermaat and H?rmander. Received: 14 March 1996/Accepted: 11 June 1996     

Quantum Invariants

In earlier work, we derived an expression for a partition function ?^(λ), and gave a set of analytic hypotheses under which ?^(λ) does not depend on a parameter λ. The proof that ?^(λ) is invariant involved entire cyclic cohomology and K-theory. Here we give a direct proof that . The considerations apply to non-commutative geometry, to super-symmetric quantum theory, to string theory, and to generalizations of these theories to underlying quantum spaces. Received: 12 January 1998 / Accepted: 1 May 1999     

Wavefront Sets in Algebraic Quantum Field Theory

The investigation of wavefront sets of n-point distributions in quantum field theory has recently acquired some attention stimulated by results obtained with the help of concepts from microlocal analysis in quantum field theory in curved spacetime. In the present paper, the notion of wavefront set of a distribution is generalized so as to be applicable to states and linear functionals on nets of operator algebras carrying a covariant action of the translation group in arbitrary dimension. In the case where one is given a quantum field theory in the operator algebraic framework, this generalized notion of wavefront set, called “asymptotic correlation spectrum”, is further investigated and several of its properties for physical states are derived. We also investigate the connection between the asymptotic correlation spectrum of a physical state and the wavefront sets of the corresponding Wightman distributions if there is a Wightman field affiliated to the local operator algebras. Finally we present a new result (generalizing known facts) which shows that certain spacetime points must be contained in the singular supports of the 2n-point distributions of a non-trivial Wightman field. Received: 27 July 1998 / Accepted: 3 March 1999     

Quantum Open-Closed Homotopy Algebra and String Field Theory

We reformulate the algebraic structure of Zwiebach’s quantum open-closed string field theory in terms of homotopy algebras. We call it the quantum open-closed homotopy algebra (QOCHA) which is the generalization of the open-closed homotopy algebra (OCHA) of Kajiura and Stasheff. The homotopy formulation reveals new insights about deformations of open string field theory by closed string backgrounds. In particular, deformations by Maurer Cartan elements of the quantum closed homotopy algebra define consistent quantum open string field theories.     

Nahm Transform for Periodic Monopoles¶and ?=2 Super Yang–Mills Theory

We study Bogomolny equations on ℝ²×?¹. Although they do not admit nontrivial finite-energy solutions, we show that there are interesting infinite-energy solutions with Higgs field growing logarithmically at infinity. We call these solutions periodic monopoles. Using the Nahm transform, we show that periodic monopoles are in one-to-one correspondence with solutions of Hitchin equations on a cylinder with Higgs field growing exponentially at infinity. The moduli spaces of periodic monopoles belong to a novel class of hyperk?hler manifolds and have applications to quantum gauge theory and string theory. For example, we show that the moduli space of k periodic monopoles provides the exact solution of ?=2 super Yang–Mills theory with gauge group SU(k) compactified on a circle of arbitrary radius. Received: 20 July 2000 / Accepted: 29 November 2000     

Modular Categories and Orbifold Models

In this paper, we try to answer the following question: given a modular tensor category ? with an action of a compact group G, is it possible to describe in a suitable sense the “quotient” category ?/G? We give a full answer in the case when ?=?ℯ? is the category of vector spaces; in this case, ?ℯ?/G turns out to be the category of representation of Drinfeld's double D(G). This should be considered as the category theory analog of the topological identity {pt}/G=BG. This implies a conjecture of Dijkgraaf, Vafa, E. Verlinde and H. Verlinde regarding so-called orbifold conformal field theories: if ? is a vertex operator algebra which has a unique irreducible module, ? itself, and G is a compact group of automorphisms of ?, and some not too restrictive technical conditions are satisfied, then G is finite, and the category of representations of the algebra of invariants, ? ^G , is equivalent as a tensor category to the category of representations of Drinfeld's double D(G). We also get some partial results in the non-holomorphic case, i.e. when ? has more than one simple module. Received: 27 August 2001 / Accepted: 1 March 2002     

The nonstandardq-deformation of enveloping algebraU(so n ): results and problems

We describe properties of the nonstandardq-deformationU _q ^/′ (so _n ) of the universal enveloping algebraU(so _n ) of the Lie algebra so _n which does not coincide with the Drinfeld-Jimbo quantum algebraU _q(so _n ) and is important for quantum gravity. Many unsolved problems are formulated. Some of these problems are solved in special cases. The research of this paper was made possible in part by Award UP1-2115 of U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation. Presented at DI-CRM Workshop held in Prague, 18–21 June 2000.     

Vertex Algebras,Mirror Symmetry,and D-Branes: The Case of Complex Tori

 A vertex algebra is an algebraic counterpart of a two-dimensional conformal field theory. We give a new definition of a vertex algebra which includes chiral algebras as a special case, but allows for fields which are neither meromorphic nor anti-meromorphic. To any complex torus equipped with a flat K?hler metric and a closed 2-form we associate an N=2 superconformal vertex algebra (N=2 SCVA) in the sense of our definition. We find a criterion for two different tori to produce isomorphic N=2 SCVA's. We show that for algebraic tori the isomorphism of N=2 SCVA's implies the equivalence of the derived categories of coherent sheaves corresponding to the tori or their noncommutative generalizations (Azumaya algebras over tori). We also find a criterion for two different tori to produce N=2 SCVA's related by a mirror morphism. If the 2-form is of type (1,1), this condition is identical to the one proposed by Golyshev, Lunts, and Orlov, who used an entirely different approach inspired by the Homological Mirror Symmetry Conjecture of Kontsevich. Our results suggest that Kontsevich's conjecture must be modified: coherent sheaves must be replaced with modules over Azumaya algebras, and the Fukaya category must be ``twisted' by a closed 2-form. We also describe the implications of our results for BPS D-branes on Calabi-Yau manifolds. Received: 3 May 2001 / Accepted: 17 August 2002 Published online: 8 January 2003     

Towards Cohomology of Renormalization: Bigrading the Combinatorial Hopf Algebra of Rooted Trees

The renormalization of quantum field theory twists the antipode of a noncocommutative Hopf algebra of rooted trees, decorated by an infinite set of primitive divergences. The Hopf algebra of undecorated rooted trees, ℋ _R , generated by a single primitive divergence, solves a universal problem in Hochschild cohomology. It has two nontrivial closed Hopf subalgebras: the cocommutative subalgebra ℋ_ladder of pure ladder diagrams and the Connes–Moscovici noncocommutative subalgebra ℋ_CM of noncommutative geometry. These three Hopf algebras admit a bigrading by n, the number of nodes, and an index k that specifies the degree of primitivity. In each case, we use iterations of the relevant coproduct to compute the dimensions of subspaces with modest values of n and k and infer a simple generating procedure for the remainder. The results for ℋ_ladder are familiar from the theory of partitions, while those for ℋ_CM involve novel transforms of partitions. Most beautiful is the bigrading of ℋ _R , the largest of the three. Thanks to Sloane's superseeker, we discovered that it saturates all possible inequalities. We prove this by using the universal Hochschild-closed one-cocycle B ₊, which plugs one set of divergences into another, and by generalizing the concept of natural growth beyond that entailed by the Connes–Moscovici case. We emphasize the yet greater challenge of handling the infinite set of decorations of realistic quantum field theory. Received: 31 January 2000 / Accepted: 7 July 2000     

Crystal algebra

We define the crystal algebra, an algebra which has a base of elements of crystal bases of a quantum group. The multiplication is defined by the tensor product rule of crystal bases. A universal n-colored crystal algebra is defined. We study the relation between those algebras and the tensor algebras of the crystal algebra of U _q (sl(2)) and give a presentation by generators and relations for the case of U _q (sl(n)).     

Young Wall Realization of Crystal Graphs for U q (C n (1) )

We give a realization of crystal graphs for basic representations of the quantum affine algebra U _q (C _n ⁽¹⁾ ) using combinatorics of Young walls. The notion of splitting blocks plays a crucial role in the construction of crystal graphs. This work was supported by KOSEF Grant #98-0701-01-5-L and the Young Scientist Award, Korean Academy of Science and Technology. This work was supported by BK21 Project, Mathematical Sciences Division, Seoul National University.     

Warped Convolutions,Rieffel Deformations and the Construction of Quantum Field Theories

Warped convolutions of operators were recently introduced in the algebraic framework of quantum physics as a new constructive tool. It is shown here that these convolutions provide isometric representations of Rieffel’s strict deformations of C ^*–dynamical systems with automorphic actions of \mathbb Rⁿ{\mathbb R^n} , whenever the latter are presented in a covariant representation. Moreover, the device can be used for the deformation of relativistic quantum field theories by adjusting the convolutions to the geometry of Minkowski space. The resulting deformed theories still comply with pertinent physical principles and their Tomita–Takesaki modular data coincide with those of the undeformed theory; but they are in general inequivalent to the undeformed theory and exhibit different physical interpretations.