We study some generalized instanton algebras which are required to describe `instantonic complex rank 2 bundles'. The spaces on which the bundles are defined are not prescribed from the beginning but rather are obtained from some natural requirements on the instantons. They turn out to be quantum 4-spheres $S^4_q$, with $q\in\IC$, and the instantons are described by self-adjoint idempotents e. We shall also clarify some issues related to the vanishing of the first Chern-Connes class $ch_1(e)$ and on the use of the second Chern-Connes class $ch_2(e)$ as a volume form.
We build an SU(2)-Hopf bundle over a quantum toric four-sphere whose radius is non central. The construction is carried out using local methods in terms of sheaves of Hopf-Galois extensions. The associated instanton bundle is presented and endowed with a connection with anti-selfdual curvature.
We introduce noncommutative algebras $A_q$ of quantum 4-spheres $S^4_q$, with $q\in\IR$, defined via a suspension of the quantum group $SU_q(2)$, and a quantum instanton bundle described by a selfadjoint idempotent $e\in \Mat_4(A_q)$, $e^2=e=e^*$. Contrary to what happens for the classical case or for the noncommutative instanton constructed in Connes-Landi, the first Chern-Connes class $ch_1(e)$ does not vanish thus signaling a dimension drop. The second Chern-Connes class $ch_2(e)$ does not vanish as well and the couple $(ch_1(e), ch_2(e))$ defines a cycle in the $(b,B)$ bicomplex of cyclic …
We describe an approach to the noncommutative instantons on the 4-sphere based on quantum group theory. We quantize the Hopf bundle S^7 --> S^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 Sigma^4_q as the algebra of coinvariants in S_q^7. We show that the quantum vector bundle associated to the fundamental corepresentation of …
These notes aim at a pedagogical introduction to recent work on deformation of spaces and deformation of vector bundles over them, which are relevant both in mathematics and in physics, notably monopole and instanton bundles. We first decribe toric noncommutative manifolds (also known as isospectral deformations) and give a detailed introduction to gauge theories on a toric four-sphere. This includes a Yang-Mills action functional with associated equations of motion and self-duality equations. We construct a particular class of instanton solutions on a SU(2) bundle with a suitable use of twist…
Various constructions of the affine Lie algebra action on the homology group of moduli spaces of instantons on 4-manifolds are discussed. The analogy between the local-global principle and the role of mass is also explained. The detailed proofs are given in separated papers \cite{Na-algebra,Na-Hilbert}.
We give a θ-deformed version of the ADHM construction of SU(2) instantons with arbitrary topological charge on the sphere S^4. Classically the instanton gauge fields are constructed from suitable monad data; we show that in the deformed case the set of monads is itself a noncommutative space. We use these monads to construct noncommutative `families' of SU(2) instantons on the deformed sphere S^4_θ. We also compute the topological charge of each of the families. Finally we discuss what it means for such families to be gauge equivalent.
We define an action of the (double of) Cohomological Hall algebra of Kontsevich and Soibelman on the cohomology of the moduli space of spiked instantons of Nekrasov. We identify this action with the one of the affine Yangian of $\mathfrak{gl}(1)$. Based on that we derive the vertex algebra at the corner $\mathcal{W}_{r_1,r_2,r_3}$ of Gaiotto and Rapcak. We conjecture that our approach works for a big class of Calabi-Yau categories, including those associated with toric Calabi-Yau $3$-folds.
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 construct a representation of the affine W-algebra of gl_r on the equivariant homology space of the moduli space of U_r-instantons on A^2, and identify the corresponding module. As a corollary we give a proof of a version of the AGT conjecture concerning pure N=2 gauge theory for the group SU(r). Another proof has been announced by Maulik and Okounkov. Our approach uses a suitable deformation of the universal enveloping algebra of the Witt algebra W_{1+\infty}, which is shown to act on the above homology spaces (for any r) and which specializes to all W(gl_r). This deformation is in turn co…
Through techniques afforded by $C^*$-algebras and Hilbert modules, we study the topology of spaces which parametrize families of instanton gauge fields on noncommutative Euclidean four-spheres $S^4_σ$. By deforming the ADHM construction of instantons on the classical sphere $S^4$, we obtain families of instantons on the quantum sphere which are naturally parametrized by noncommutative topological spaces. Using the internal gauge theory of $S^4_σ$ determined by the inner automorphisms of its function algebra, we find that one may always recover a classical parameter space by making a suitable c…
We report on some recent work on deformation of spaces, notably deformation of spheres, describing two classes of examples. The first class of examples consists of noncommutative manifolds associated with the so called $θ$-deformations which were introduced out of a simple analysis in terms of cycles in the $(b,B)$-complex of cyclic homology. These examples have non-trivial global features and can be endowed with a structure of noncommutative manifolds, in terms of a spectral triple $(\ca, \ch, D)$. In particular, noncommutative spheres $S^{N}_θ$ are isospectral deformations of usual spherical…
We give new examples of noncommutative manifolds that are less standard than the NC-torus or Moyal deformations of $\Rb^n$. They arise naturally from basic considerations of noncommutative differential topology and have non-trivial global features. The new examples include the instanton algebra and the NC-4-spheres $S^4_θ$. The noncommutative algebras $\Ac=C^{\ify} (S^{4}_θ)$ of functions on NC-spheres are solutions to the vanishing, $ {\rm ch}_j (e) = 0, j < 2 $, of the Chern character in the cyclic homology of $\Ac$ of an idempotent $e \in M_4 (\Ac), e^2 = e, e = e^*$. The universal noncommu…
We describe the (equivariant) intersection cohomology of certain moduli spaces ("framed Uhlenbeck spaces") together with some structures on them (such as e.g.\ the Poincaré pairing) in terms of representation theory of some vertex operator algebras ("$\mathscr W$-algebras").
The aim of this memoir for "Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches" is to present quantum geometric and algebraic aspects of supersymmetric gauge theory, which emerge from non-perturbative nature of the vacuum structure induced by instantons. We start with a brief summary of the equivariant localization of the instanton moduli space, and show how to obtain the instanton partition function and its generalization to quiver gauge theory and supergroup gauge theory in three ways: the equivariant index formula, the contour integral formula, and the combinatorial formula. We then explore the geometri…
Quantum toroidal algebras are obtained from quantum affine algebras by a further affinization, and, like the latter, can be used to construct integrable systems. These algebras also describe the symmetries of instanton partition functions for 5D $\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric quiver gauge theories. We consider here the gauge theories defined on an orbifold $S^1\times\mathbb{C}^2/\mathbb{Z}_p$ where the action of $\mathbb{Z}_p$ is determined by two integer parameters $(ν_1,ν_2)$. The corresponding quantum toroidal algebra is introduced as a deformation of the quantum toroidal algebra of $\mathf…
We extend equivariant dimensional reduction techniques to the case of quantum spaces which are the product of a Kaehler manifold M with the quantum two-sphere. We work out the reduction of bundles which are equivariant under the natural action of the quantum group SU_q(2), and also of invariant gauge connections on these bundles. The reduction of Yang-Mills gauge theory on the product space leads to a q-deformation of the usual quiver gauge theories on M. We formulate generalized instanton equations on the quantum space and show that they correspond to q-deformations of the usual holomorphic q…
We survey some of the AGT relations between N=2 gauge theories in four dimensions and geometric representations of symmetry algebras of two-dimensional conformal field theory on the equivariant cohomology of their instanton moduli spaces. We treat the cases of gauge theories on both flat space and ALE spaces in some detail, and with emphasis on the implications arising from embedding them into supersymmetric theories in six dimensions. Along the way we construct new toric noncommutative ALE spaces using the general theory of complex algebraic deformations of toric varieties, and indicate how t…
