79 pages; v2: references added; v3: reference added; Final version to appear in the Special Issue of Journal of Physics A on "Noncommutative Geometry in Physics"
We give a pedagogical introduction to $L_\infty$-algebras and their uses in organising the symmetries and dynamics of classical field theories, as well as of the conventional noncommutative gauge theories that arise as low-energy effective field theories in string theory. We review recent developments which formulate field theories with braided gauge symmetries as a new means of overcoming several obstacles in the standard noncommutative theories, such as the restrictions on gauge algebras and matter fields. These theories can be constructed by using techniques from Drinfel'd twist deformation theory, which we review in some detail, and their symmetries and dynamics are controlled by a new homotopy algebraic structure called a 'braided $L_\infty$-algebra'. We expand and elaborate on several novel theoretical issues surrounding these constructions, and present three new explicit examples: the standard noncommutative scalar field theory (regarded as a braided field theory), a braided version of $BF$ theory in arbitrary dimensions (regarded as a higher gauge theory), and a new braided version of noncommutative Yang-Mills theory for arbitrary gauge algebras.
We define a new homotopy algebraic structure, that we call a braided $L_\infty$-algebra, and use it to systematically construct a new class of noncommutative field theories, that we call braided field theories. Braided field theories have gauge symmetries which realize a braided Lie algebra, whose Noether identities are inhomogeneous extensions of the classical identities, and which do not act on the solutions of the field equations. We use Drinfel'd twist deformation quantization techniques to generate new noncommutative deformations of classical field theories with braided gauge symmetries, …
We discuss the obstruction to the construction of a multiparticle field theory on a $κ$-Minkowski noncommutative spacetime: the existence of multilocal functions which respect the deformed symmetries of the problem. This construction is only possible for a light-like version of the commutation relations, if one requires invariance of the tensor product algebra under the coaction of the $κ$-Poincaré group. This necessitates a braided tensor product. We study the representations of this product, and prove that $κ$-Poincaré-invariant N-point functions belong to an Abelian subalgebra, and are ther…
We introduce the free quantum noncommutative fields as described by braided tensor products. The multiplication of such fields is decomposed into three operations, describing the multiplication in the algebra M of functions on noncommutative space-time, the product in the algebra H of deformed field oscillators, and the braiding by factor Psi_{M,H} between algebras M and H. For noncommutativity generated by the twist factor we shall employ the star-product realizations of the algebra M in terms of functions on standard Minkowski space. The covariance of single noncommutative quantum fields und…
Using the recently developed formalism of braided noncommutative field theory, we construct an explicit example of braided electrodynamics, that is, a noncommutative $U(1)$ gauge theory coupled to a Dirac fermion. We construct the braided $L_\infty$-algebra of this field theory and apply the formalism to obtain the braided equations of motion, action functional and conserved matter current. The braided deformation leads to a modification of the charge conservation. Finally, the Feynman integral appearing in the one-loop contribution to the vacuum polarization diagram is calculated. There are n…
We describe the cyclic $L_{\infty}$-algebra formulation of classical general relativity without matter fields in the Einstein-Cartan-Palatini formalism. Using Drinfel'd twist deformation techniques, we define a noncommutative version of the theory with braided gauge symmetries. We introduce a notion of braided $L_{\infty}$-algebra, and use it to encode the symmetries, field content, field equations and Noether identities of noncommutative gravity.
Braided quantum field theories proposed by Oeckl can provide a framework for defining quantum field theories having Hopf algebra symmetries. In quantum field theories, symmetries lead to non-perturbative relations among correlation functions. We discuss Hopf algebra symmetries and such relations in braided quantum field theories. We give the four algebraic conditions between Hopf algebra symmetries and braided quantum field theories, which are required for the relations to hold. As concrete examples, we apply our discussions to the Poincare symmetries of two examples of noncommutative field th…
Using the theory of noncommutative geometry in a braided monoidal category, we improve upon a previous construction of noncommutative families of instantons of arbitrary charge on the deformed sphere S^4_θ. We formulate a notion of noncommutative parameter spaces for families of instantons and we explore what it means for such families to be gauge equivalent, as well as showing how to remove gauge parameters using a noncommutative quotient construction. Although the parameter spaces are a priori noncommutative, we show that one may always recover a classical parameter space by making an approp…
We demonstrate that the covariance of the algebra of quantum NC fields under quantum-deformed Poincare symmetries implies the appearence of braided algebra of fields and the notion of braided locality in NC QFT. We briefly recall the historical development of NC QFT which was firstly formulated in the framework using classical relativistic symmetries but further it was described as generated by the quantum-deformed symmetries. We argue that consistent covariant quantum-deformed formalism requires "braiding all the way", in particular braided commutator of deformed field oscillators as well as …
We develop the idea that the particles of the standard model may arise from excitations of quantum geometry. A previously proposed topological model of preons is developed so that it incorporates an unbounded number of generations. A condition is also found on quantum gravity dynamics necessary for the interactions of the standard model to emerge.
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 $ϕ^4$-theory on the quantum 2-sphere. We find that the basic divergent diagram of the theory is regularised.
We summarise recent perspectives on symmetries of noncommutative field theories based on homotopy algebras. We show how these viewpoints naturally lead to a new class of noncommutative field theories which possess braided gauge symmetries, and explain in detail their uses in gravity. We review how these considerations lead to a new theory of noncommutative gravity in four dimensions within the Einstein-Cartan-Palatini formalism.
We study the Lie bialgebra structures that can be built on the one-dimensional central extension of the Poincaré and (A)dS algebras in (1+1) dimensions. These central extensions admit more than one interpretation, but the simplest one is that they describe the symmetries of (the noncommutative deformation of) an Abelian gauge theory, $U(1)$ or $SO(2)$ on the (1+1) dimensional Minkowski or (A)dS spacetime. We show that this highlights the possibility that the algebra of functions on the gauge bundle becomes noncommutative. This is a new way in which the Coleman-Mandula theorem could be circumve…
Domain wall solitons are the simplest topological objects in field theories. The conventional translational symmetry in a field theory is the generator of a one-parameter family of domain wall solutions, and induces a massless moduli field which propagates along a domain wall. We study similar issues in braided noncommutative field theories possessing Hopf algebraic translational symmetries. As a concrete example, we discuss a domain wall soliton in the scalar phi^4 braided noncommutative field theory in Lie-algebraic noncommutative spacetime, [x^i,x^j]=2i kappa epsilon^{ijk}x_k (i,j,k=1,2,3),…
We construct a five-parameter family of gauge-nonequivalent SU(2) instantons on a noncommutative four sphere $S_θ^4$ and of topological charge equal to -1. These instantons are critical points of a gauge functional and satisfy self-duality equations with respect to a Hodge star operator on forms on $S_θ^4$. They are obtained by acting with a twisted conformal symmetry on a basic instanton canonically associated with a noncommutative instanton bundle on the sphere. A completeness argument for this family is obtained by means of index theorems. The dimension of the ``tangent space'' to the modul…
We define a noncommutative Lorentz symmetry for canonical noncommutative spaces. The noncommutative vector fields and the derivatives transform under a deformed Lorentz transformation. We show that the star product is invariant under noncommutative Lorentz transformations. We then apply our idea to the case of actions obtained by expanding the star product and the fields taken in the enveloping algebra via the Seiberg-Witten maps and verify that these actions are invariant under these new noncommutative Lorentz transformations. We finally consider general coordinate transformations and show th…
We investigate symmetries of the scalar field theory with harmonic term on the Moyal space with euclidean scalar product and general symplectic form. The classical action is invariant under the orthogonal group if this group acts also on the symplectic structure. We find that the invariance under the orthogonal group can be restored also at the quantum level by restricting the symplectic structures to a particular orbit.
In this paper we describe how to implement symmetries on a canonical noncommutative spacetime. We focus on noncommutative Lorentz transformations. We then discuss the structure of the light cone on a canonical noncommutative spacetime and show that field theories formulated on these spaces do not violate mircocausality.
We consider a problem of the consistent deformation of physical system introducing a new features, but preserving its fundamental properties. In particular, we study how to implement the noncommutativity of space-time without violation of the rotational symmetry in quantum mechanics or the Lorentz symmetry in f{i}eld theory. Since the canonical (Moyal) noncommutativity breaks the above symmetries one should work with more general case of coordinate-dependent noncommutative spaces, when the commutator between coordinates is a function of these coordinates. F{i}rst we describe in general lines h…
We present new classes of exact solutions with noncommutative symmetries constructed in vacuum Einstein gravity (in general, with nonzero cosmological constant), five dimensional (5D) gravity and (anti) de Sitter gauge gravity. Such solutions are generated by anholonomic frame transforms and parametrized by generic off-diagonal metrics. For certain particular cases, the new classes of metrics have explicit limits with Killing symmetries but, in general, they may be characterized by certain anholonomic noncommutative matrix geometries. We argue that different classes of noncommutative symmetrie…
We show that there is a duality exchanging noncommutativity and non-trivial statistics for quantum field theory on R^d. Employing methods of quantum groups, we observe that ordinary and noncommutative R^d are related by twisting. We extend the twist to an equivalence for quantum field theory using the framework of braided quantum field theory. The twist exchanges both commutativity with noncommutativity and ordinary with non-trivial statistics. The same holds for the noncommutative torus.
We apply the modern Batalin-Vilkovisky quantization techniques of Costello and Gwilliam to noncommutative field theories in the finite-dimensional case of fuzzy spaces. We further develop a generalization of this framework to theories that are equivariant under a triangular Hopf algebra symmetry, which in particular leads to quantizations of finite-dimensional analogs of the field theories proposed recently through the notion of `braided $L_\infty$-algebras'. The techniques are illustrated by computing perturbative correlation functions for scalar and Chern-Simons theories on the fuzzy $2$-sph…
In this thesis we study different aspects of noncommutativity in quantum mechanics, field theory and gravity. We give particular emphasis on the underlying symmetries of these theories. Deformations of usual symmetries like the external space time symmetries and the internal gauge symmetry in noncommutative theories are analyzed in detail.
The aim of the present paper is to highlight the main results of common work with J. Lukierski and W. Zakrzewski on nonrelativistic particle models on the noncommutative plane and round them off by some new results.
We systematically study noncommutative and nonassociative algebras A and their bimodules as algebras and bimodules internal to the representation category of a quasitriangular quasi-Hopf algebra. We enlarge the morphisms of the monoidal category of A-bimodules by internal homomorphisms, and describe explicitly their evaluation and composition morphisms. For braided commutative algebras A the full subcategory of symmetric A-bimodule objects is a braided closed monoidal category, from which we obtain an internal tensor product operation on internal homomorphisms. We describe how these structures…
Perturbative deformations of symmetry structures on noncommutative spaces are studied in view of noncommutative quantum field theories. The rigidity of enveloping algebras of semi-simple Lie algebras with respect to formal deformations is reviewed in the context of star products. It is shown that rigidity of symmetry algebras extends to rigidity of the action of the symmetry on the space. This implies that the noncommutative spaces considered can be realized as star products by particular ordering prescriptions which are compatible with the symmetry. These symmetry preserving ordering prescrip…
We re-examine various issues surrounding the definition of twisted quantum field theories on flat noncommutative spaces. We propose an interpretation based on nonlocal commutative field redefinitions which clarifies previously observed properties such as the formal equivalence of Green's functions in the noncommutative and commutative theories, causality, and the absence of UV/IR mixing. We use these fields to define the functional integral formulation of twisted quantum field theory. We exploit techniques from braided tensor algebra to argue that the twisted Fock space states of these free fi…
In this paper, we review the progress in the analysis of magnetic monopoles as generalized states in quantum mechanics. We show that the considered model contains rich algebraic structure that generates symmetries which have been utilized in different physical contexts. Even though are we focused on quantum mechanics in noncommutative space $\textbf{R}_λ^3$, the results can be reconstructed in ordinary quantum mechanics in $\textbf{R}^3$ as well.
An overview of recent developments in the renormalization and in the implementation of spacetime symmetries of noncommutative field theory is presented, and argued to be intimately related.
We examine the structure of spacetime symmetries of toroidally compactified string theory within the framework of noncommutative geometry. Following a proposal of Frohlich and Gawedzki, we describe the noncommutative string spacetime using a detailed algebraic construction of the vertex operator algebra. We show that the spacetime duality and discrete worldsheet symmetries of the string theory are a consequence of the existence of two independent Dirac operators, arising from the chiral structure of the conformal field theory. We demonstrate that these Dirac operators are also responsible for …
We construct a modification of the Poisson bracket which is suitable for a canonical analysis of space-time noncommutative field theories. We show that this bracket satisfies the Jacobi identities and generates equations of motion. In this modified canonical formalism one can define the notion of the first-class constraints, demonstrate that they generate gauge symmetries, and derive an explicit form of these symmetry transformations.
We illustrate the various ways in which the algebraic framework of noncommutative geometry naturally captures the short-distance spacetime properties of string theory. We describe the noncommutative spacetime constructed from a vertex operator algebra and show that its algebraic properties bear a striking resemblence to some structures appearing in M Theory, such as the noncommutative torus. We classify the inner automorphisms of the space and show how they naturally imply the conventional duality symmetries of the quantum geometry of spacetime. We examine the problem of constructing a univers…
A review of the applications of noncommutative geometry to a systematic formulation of duality symmetries in string theory is presented. The spectral triples associated with a lattice vertex operator algebra and the corresponding Dirac-Ramond operators are constructed and shown to naturally incorporate target space and discrete worldsheet dualities as isometries of the noncommutative space. The target space duality and diffeomorphism symmetries are shown to act as gauge transformations of the geometry. The connections with the noncommutative torus and Matrix Theory compactifications are also d…
Spacetime geometry is twisted (deformed) into noncommutative spacetime geometry, where functions and tensors are now star-multiplied. Consistently, spacetime diffeomorhisms are twisted into noncommutative diffeomorphisms. Their deformed Lie algebra structure and that of infinitesimal Poincare' transformations is defined and explicitly constructed. This allows to construct a noncommutative theory of gravity.
After an introduction into the subject we show how one constructs a canonical formalism in space-time noncommutative theories which allows to define the notion of first-class constraints and to analyse gauge symmetries. We use this formalism to perform a noncommutative deformation of two-dimensional string gravity (also known as Witten black hole).
The concept of a noncommutative field is formulated based on the interplay between twisted Poincaré symmetry and residual symmetry of the Lorentz group. Various general dynamical results supporting this construction, such as the light-wedge causality condition and the integrability condition for Tomonaga-Schwinger equation, are presented. Based on this analysis, the claim of the identity between commutative QFT and noncommutative QFT with twisted Poincaré symmetry is refuted.
I discuss motivations for introducing Hopf algebra symmetries in noncommutative field theories and briefly describe twisting of main symmetry transformations. New results include an extended list of twisted gauge invariants (which may help to overcome the problem of inconsistency of equations of motion) and a gauge-covariant twist operator (leading to a gauge-covariant star product).
We explore the consequences of time-space noncommutativity in the quantum mechanics of atoms and molecules, focusing on the Moyal plane with just time-space noncommutativity ($[\hat{x}_μ,\hat{x}_ν]=iθ_{μν}$, $θ_{0i}\neqq 0$, $θ_{ij}=0$). Space rotations and parity are not automorphisms of this algebra and are not symmetries of quantum physics. Still, when there are spectral degeneracies of a time-independent Hamiltonian on a commutative space-time which are due to symmetries, they persist when $θ_{0i}\neqq 0$; they do not depend at all on $θ_{0i}$. They give no clue about rotation and parity v…
The star product technique translates the framework of local fields on noncommutative space-time into nonlocal fields on standard space-time. We consider the example of fields on $κ$- deformed Minkowski space, transforming under $κ$-deformed Poincaré group with noncommutative parameters. By extending the star product to the tensor product of functions on $κ$-deformed Minkowski space and $κ$-deformed Poincaré group we represent the algebra of noncommutative parameters of deformed relativistic symmetries by functions on classical Poincaré group.
I give a brief summary of the results reported in hep-th 0306013 in collaboration with G. Amelino-Camelia and F. D'Andrea. I focus on the analysis of the symmetries of $κ$-Minkowski noncommutative space-time, described in terms of a Weyl map. The commutative space-time notion of Lie-algebra symmetries must be replaced by the one of Hopf-algebra symmetries. However, in the Hopf algebra sense, it is possible to construct an action in $κ$-Minkowski which is invariant under a 10-generators Poincaré-like symmetry algebra.
Noncommutative Chern-Simons gauge theory coupled to nonrelativistic scalars or spinors is shown to admit the ``exotic'' two-parameter-centrally extended Galilean symmetry, realized in a unique way consistent with the Seiberg-Witten map. Nontopological spinor vortices and topological external-field vortices are constructed by reducing the problem to previously solved self-dual equations.
We perform a Noether analysis for a description of translation transformations in 4D kappa-Minkowski noncommutative spacetime which is based on the structure of a 5D differential calculus. Taking properly into account the properties of the differential calculus we arrive at an explicit formula for the conserved charges. We also propose a choice of basis for the 5D calculus which leads to an intuitive description of time derivatives.
We study the general deformed conformal-Poincare (Galilean) symmetries consistent with relativistic (nonrelativistic) canonical noncommutative spaces. In either case we obtain deformed generators, containing arbitrary free parameters, which close to yield new algebraic structures. We show that a particular choice of these parameters reproduces the undeformed algebra. The modified coproduct rules and the associated Hopf algebra are also obtained. Finally, we show that for the choice of parameters leading to the undeformed algebra, the deformations are represented by twist functions.
Noncommutative algebra which is rotationally invariant, time reversal invariant and equivalent to noncommutative algebra of canonical type is considered. Perihelion shift of orbit of a particle in Coulomb potential in the rotationally-invariant noncommutative phase space is found up to the second order in the parameters of noncommutativity. Applying the result to the case of Mercury planet and using observable results for precession of its orbit we find upper bounds on the parameters of noncommutativity in the rotationally-invariant noncommutative phase space. The obtained upper bound for the …
We discuss the effects that a noncommutative geometry induced by a Drinfeld twist has on physical theories. We systematically deform all products and symmetries of the theory. We discuss noncommutative classical mechanics, in particular its deformed Poisson bracket and hence time evolution and symmetries. The twisting is then extended to classical fields, and then to the main interest of this work: quantum fields. This leads to a geometric formulation of quantization on noncommutative spacetime, i.e. we establish a noncommutative correspondence principle from *-Poisson brackets to *-commutator…
We present a unified approach to representations of quantum mechanics on noncommutative spaces with general constant commutators of phase-space variables. We find two phases and duality relations among them in arbitrary dimensions. Conditions for physical equivalence of different representations of a given system are analysed. Symmetries and classification of phase spaces are discussed. Specially, the dynamical symmetry of a physical system is investigated. Finally, we apply our analyses to the two-dimesional harmonic oscillator and the Landau problem.
We show that flavor 't Hooft anomalies automatically vanish in noncommutative field theories which are obtained from string theory in the decoupling limit. We claim that this is because the flavor symmetries are secretly local, because of coupling to closed string bulk modes. An example is the SU(4) R-symmetry of N=4 D=4 NCSYM. The gauge fields, along with all closed string bulk modes, are not on-shell external states but do appear as off-shell intermediate states in non-planar processes; these closed string modes are thereby holographically encoded in the NCFT.
We clarify the relation between noncommutative spacetimes and multifractional geometries, two quantum-gravity-related approaches where the fundamental description of spacetime is not given by a classical smooth geometry. Despite their different conceptual premises and mathematical formalisms, both research programs allow for the spacetime dimension to vary with the probed scale. This feature and other similarities led to ask whether there is a duality between these two independent proposals. In the absence of curvature and comparing the symmetries of both position and momentum space, we show t…
