We give a quantum field theory interpretation of Kontsevich's deformation quantization formula for Poisson manifolds. We show that it is given by the perturbative expansion of the path integral of a simple topological bosonic open string theory. Its Batalin-Vilkovisky quantization yields a superconformal field theory. The associativity of the star product, and more generally the formality conjecture can then be understood by field theory methods. As an application, we compute the center of the deformed algebra in terms of the center of the Poisson algebra.
We relate a universal formula for the deformation quantization of arbitrary Poisson structures proposed by Maxim Kontsevich to the Campbell-Baker-Hausdorff formula. Our basic thesis is that exponentiating a suitable deformation of the Poisson structure provides a prototype for such universal formulae.
We propose the following receipt to obtain the quantization of the Poisson submanifold $N$ defined by the equations $f_i=0$ (where $f_i$ are Casimirs) from the known quantization of the manifold $M$: one should consider factor algebra of the quantized functions on $M$ by the images of $D(f_i)$, where $D: Fun(M) \to Fun(M)\otimes \CC[\hbar]$ is Duflo-Kirillov-Kontsevich map. We conjecture that this algebra is isomorphic to quantization of $Fun(N)$ with Poisson structure inherited from $M$. Analogous conjecture concerning the Hamiltonian reduction saying that "deformation quantization commutes w…
One way of reconciling classical and quantum mechanics is deformation quantization, which involves deforming the commutative algebra of functions on a Poisson manifold to a non-commutative, associative algebra, reminiscent of the space of quantum observables. This depends on a formal parameter $\hbar$, so that the original pointwise product is recovered when $\hbar=0$. In 1997 Kontsevich showed that a deformation quantization exists for every Poisson manifold. He furthermore gave a simple, combinatorial formula for producing a quantization of any Poisson structure on $\mathbb{R}^n$. The primar…
We generalize the notion of trace to the Kontsevich quantization algebra and show that for all Poisson manifolds representable by quotients of a symplectic manifold by a Hamiltonian action of a nilpotent Lie group, the trace is given by integration with respect to a unimodular volume form.
The Kontsevich deformation quantization combines Poisson dynamics, noncommutative geometry, number theory, and calculus of oriented graphs. To manage the algebra and differential calculus of series of weighted graphs, we present software modules: these allow generating the Kontsevich graphs, expanding the noncommutative $\star$-product by using a priori undetermined coefficients, and deriving linear relations between the weights of graphs. Throughout this text we illustrate the assembly of the Kontsevich $\star$-product up to order 4 in the deformation parameter $\hbar$. Already at this stage,…
We express the difference between Poisson bracket and deformed bracket for Kontsevich deformation quantization on any Poisson manifold by means of second derivative of the formality quasi-isomorphism. The counterpart on star products of the action of formal diffeomorphisms on Poisson formal bivector fields is also investigated.
These are lecture notes for the course "Poisson geometry and deformation quantization" given by the author during the fall semester 2020 at the University of Zurich. The first chapter is an introduction to differential geometry, where we cover manifolds, tensor fields, integration on manifolds, Stokes' theorem, de Rham's theorem and Frobenius' theorem. The second chapter covers the most important notions of symplectic geometry such as Lagrangian submanifolds, Weinstein's tubular neighborhood theorem, Hamiltonian mechanics, moment maps and symplectic reduction. The third chapter gives an introd…
Let $α$ be a quadratic Poisson bivector on a vector space $V$. Then one can also consider $α$ as a quadratic Poisson bivector on the vector space $V^*[1]$. Fixed a universal deformation quantization (prediction some weights to all Kontsevich graphs [K97]), we have deformation quantization of the both algebras $S(V^*)$ and $Λ(V)$. These are graded quadratic algebras, and therefore Koszul algebras. We prove that for some universal deformation quantization, independent on $α$, these two algebras are Koszul dual. We characterize some deformation quantizations for which this theorem is true in the …
Kontsevich's 1997 formula for the deformation quantization of Poisson brackets is a Feynman expansion involving volume integrals over moduli spaces of marked disks. We develop a systematic theory of integration on these moduli spaces via suitable algebras of polylogarithms, and use it to prove that Kontsevich's integrals can be expressed as integer-linear combinations of multiple zeta values. Our proof gives a concrete algorithm for calculating the integrals, which we have used to produce the first software package for the symbolic calculation of Kontsevich's formula.
We study Kontsevich's deformation quantization for the dual of a finite-dimensional real Lie algebra (or superalgebra) g. In this case the Kontsevich star-product defines a new convolution on S(g), regarded as the space of distributions supported at 0 in g. For p in S(g), we show that the convolution operator f->f*p is a differential operator with analytic germ. We use this fact to prove a conjecture of Kashiwara and Vergne on invariant distributions on a Lie group. This yields a new proof of Duflo's result on local solvability of bi-invariant differential operators on a Lie group. Moreover, t…
We study algebraic aspects of Kontsevich integrals as generating functions for intersection theory over moduli space and review the derivation of Virasoro and KdV constraints. 1. Intersection numbers 2. The Kontsevich integral 2.1. The main theorem 2.2 Expansion of Z on characters and Schur functions 2.3 Proof of the first part of the Theorem 3. From Grassmannians to KdV 4. Matrix Airy equation and Virasoro highest weight conditions 5. Genus expansion 6. Singular behaviour and Painlev'e equation. 7. Generalization to higher degree potentials
We prove a version of Kontsevich's formality theorem for two subspaces (branes) of a vector space $X$. The result implies in particular that the Kontsevich deformation quantizations of $\mathrm{S}(X^*)$ and $\wedge(X)$ associated with a quadratic Poisson structure are Koszul dual. This answers an open question in Shoikhet's recent paper on Koszul duality in deformation quantization.
We prove that the Kontsevich integrals (in the sense of the formality theorem) of all even wheels are equal to zero. We deduce this theorem from the result of \cite{FSh} on the deformation quantization with traces.
This paper is an exposition of heuristics related to Witten's functional integral, relating it to Vassiliev invariants and to the Kontsevich integrals that can be used to produce Vassiliev invariants of knots and links.In particular, we give a simplified version of the appearance of the Kontsevich integrals in the perturbation expansion of the functional integral.
Recently M. Kontsevich found a combinatorial formula defining a star-product of deformation quantization for any Poisson manifold. Kontsevich's formula has been reinterpreted physically as quantum correlation functions of a topological sigma model for open strings as well as in the context of D-branes in flat backgrounds with a Neveu-Schwarz B-field. Here the corresponding Kontsevich's formula for the dual of a Lie algebra is derived in terms of the formalism of D-branes on group manifolds. In particular we show that that formula is encoded at the two-point correlation functions of the Wess-Zu…
For the Kirillov-Poisson structure on the vector space $\g^*$, where $\g$ is a finite-dimensional Lie algebra, it is known at least two canonical deformations quantization of this structure: they are the M. Kontsevich universal formula [K], and the formula, arising from the classical Campbell-Baker-Hausdorff formula [Ka]. It was proved in [Ka] that the last formula is exactly the part of Kontsevich's formula consisting of all the admissible graphs without (oriented) cycles between the vertices of the first type. It follows from the CBH-theorem that this part of Kontsevich's formula defines an …
In arXiv:math/0105152, the second author used the Kontsevich deformation quantization technique to define a natural connection ω_n on the compactified configuration spaces of n points on the upper half-plane. This connection takes values in the Lie algebra of derivations of the free Lie algebra with n generators. In this paper, we show that ω_n is flat. The configuration space contains a boundary stratum at infinity which coincides with the (compactified) configuration space of n points on the complex plane. When restricted to this stratum, ω_n gives rise to a flat connection ω_n^\infty. We sh…
An invariant of knots is constructed from an integral for geometric braids due to Kohno and Kontsevich. It takes values in a quotient by a certain ideal of the algebra generated by chord diagrams over the circle.
We give a generalization of the Reshetikhin-Turaev functor for tangles to get a combinatorial formula for the universal Vassiliev-Kontsevich invariant of framed oriented links which is coincident with the Kontsevich integral. The universal Vassiliev-Kontsevich invariant is constructed using the Drinfeld associator. We prove the uniqueness of the Drinfeld associator. As a corollary one gets the rationality of the Kontsevich integral. Many properties of the universal Vassiliev-Kontsevich invariant are established. Connections to quantum group invariants and to multiple zeta values are discussed.
These notes are based on the course given at the School of Geometry, University Kasdi Merbah (Ouargla) 2012. The aim of the course was the deformation quantization of Poisson Lie groups. In these notes we only review Kontsevich's formality theorem.
Whenever a given Poisson manifold is equipped with discrete symmetries the corresponding algebra of invariant functions or the algebra of functions twisted by the symmetry group can have new deformations, which are not captured by Kontsevich Formality. We consider the simplest example of this situation: $\mathbb{R}^2$ with the reflection symmetry $\mathbb{Z}_2$. The usual quantization leads to the Weyl algebra. While Weyl algebra is rigid, the algebra of even or twisted by $\mathbb{Z}_2$ functions has one more deformation, which was identified by Wigner and is related to Feigin's $gl_λ$ and to…
The integrality of the Kontsevich integral and perturbative invariants is discussed. We show that the denominator of the degree $n$ part of the Kontsevich integral of any knot or link is a divisor of $(2!3!... n!)^4(n+1)!$. We also show that the denominator of of the degree $n$ part of the universal perturbative invariant of homology 3-spheres is not divisible by any prime greater than $2n+1$.
We construct an extension of the Kontsevich integral of knots to knotted trivalent graphs, which commutes with orientation switches, edge deletions, edge unzips, and connected sums. In 1997 Murakami and Ohtsuki [MO] first constructed such an extension, building on Drinfel'd's theory of associators. We construct a step by step definition, using elementary Kontsevich integral methods, to get a one-parameter family of corrections that all yield invariants well behaved under the graph operations above.
We introduce an algebra bundle of chord diagrams over the configuration space of N points in the complex plane on which we put the Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov connection. For that particular connection, the holonomy along a loop in the base is shown to be generating the Kontsevich integral for that loop's associated braid.
This is a substantially revised version. The Kontsevich integral of a knot is a graph-valued invariant which (when graded by the Vassiliev degree of graphs) is characterized by a universal property; namely it is a universal Vassiliev invariant of knots. We introduce a second grading of the Kontsevich integral, the Euler degree, and a geometric null-move on the set of knots. We explain the relation of the null-move to S-equivalence, and the relation to the Euler grading of the Kontsevich integral. The null move leads in a natural way to the introduction of trivalent graphs with beads, and to a …
We review and extend the Alexandrov-Kontsevich-Schwarz-Zaboronsky construction of solutions of the Batalin-Vilkovisky classical master equation. In particular, we study the case of sigma models on manifolds with boundary. We show that a special case of this construction yields the Batalin-Vilkovisky action functional of the Poisson sigma model on a disk. As we have shown in a previous paper, the perturbative quantization of this model is related to Kontsevich's deformation quantization of Poisson manifolds and to his formality theorem. We also discuss the action of diffeomorphisms of the targe…
We analyse the structure of the perturbative series expansion of Chern-Simons gauge theory in the light-cone gauge. After introducing a regularization prescription that entails the consideration of framed knots, we present the general form of the vacuum expectation value of a Wilson loop. The resulting expression turns out to give the same framing dependence as the one obtained using non-perturbative methods and perturbative methods in covariant gauges. It also contains the Kontsevich integral for Vassiliev invariants of framed knots.
Kontsevich's formality theorem and the consequent star-product formula rely on the construction of an $L_\infty$-morphism between the DGLA of polyvector fields and the DGLA of polydifferential operators. This construction uses a version of graphical calculus. In this article we present the details of this graphical calculus with emphasis on its algebraic features. It is a morphism of differential graded Lie algebras between the Kontsevich DGLA of admissible graphs and the Chevalley-Eilenberg DGLA of linear homomorphisms between polyvector fields and polydifferential operators. Kontsevich's pro…
We quantize the Poisson-Lie group SL(2,R)^* as a bialgebra using the product of Kontsevich. The coproduct is a deformation of the coproduct that comes from the group structure. The resulting bialgebra structure is isomorphic to the quantum universal enveloping algebra U_hsl(2,R).
We conjecture an exact formula for the Kontsevich integral of the unknot, and also conjecture a formula (also conjectured independently by Deligne) for the relation between the two natural products on the space of Chinese characters. The two formulas use the related notions of "Wheels" and "Wheeling". We prove these formulas "on the level of Lie algebras" using standard techniques from the theory of Vassiliev invariants and the theory of Lie algebras.
We formulate a conjecture (already proven by A. Kricker) about the structure of Kontsevich integral of a knot. We describe its value in terms of the generating functions for the numbers of external edges attached to closed 3-valent diagrams. We conjecture that these functions are rational functions of the exponentials of their arguments, their denominators being the powers of the Alexander-Conway polynomial. This conjecture implies the existence of an expansion of a colored Jones (HOMFLY) polynomial in powers of q-1 whose coefficients are rational functions of q^color. We show how to derive th…
This work develops some technology for accessing the loop expansion of the Kontsevich integral of a knot. The setting is an application of the LMO invariant to certain surgery presentations of knots by framed links in the solid torus. A consequence of this technology is a certain recent conjecture of Rozansky's. Rozansky conjectured that the Kontsevich integral could be organised into a series of ``lines'' which could be represented by finite $\Qset$-linear combinations of diagrams whose edges were labelled, in an appropriate sense, with rational functions. Furthermore, the conjecture requires…
We give an explicit construction of a deformation quantization of the algebra of functions on a Poisson manifolds, based on Kontsevich's local formula. The deformed algebra of functions is realized as the algebra of horizontal sections of a vector bundle with flat connection.
In this note, we calculate the leading term of the rational lift of the Kontsevich integral, introduced by Garoufalidis and Kricker, on the boundary of an embedded grope of class 2n. We observe that it lies in the subspace spanned by connected diagrams of Euler degree 2n-2 which have a bead t-1 on a single edge. This places severe algebraic restrictions on the sort of knots that can bound gropes, and in particular implies the two main results of the author's thesis, at least over the rationals.
The deformation quantization by Kontsevich [arXiv:q-alg/9709040] is a way to construct an associative noncommutative star-product $\star=\times+\hbar \{\ ,\ \}_{P}+\bar{o}(\hbar)$ in the algebra of formal power series in $\hbar$ on a given finite-dimensional affine Poisson manifold: here $\times$ is the usual multiplication, $\{\ ,\ \}_{P}\neq0$ is the Poisson bracket, and $\hbar$ is the deformation parameter. The product $\star$ is assembled at all powers $\hbar^{k\geq0}$ via summation over a certain set of weighted graphs with $k+2$ vertices; for each $k>0$, every such graph connects the two…
We develop quantization techniques for describing the nonassociative geometry probed by closed strings in flat non-geometric R-flux backgrounds M. Starting from a suitable Courant sigma-model on an open membrane with target space M, regarded as a topological sector of closed string dynamics in R-space, we derive a twisted Poisson sigma-model on the boundary of the membrane whose target space is the cotangent bundle T^*M and whose quasi-Poisson structure coincides with those previously proposed. We argue that from the membrane perspective the path integral over multivalued closed string fields …
Given a Lie algebra with a scalar product, one may consider the latter as a symplectic structure on a $dg$-scheme, which is the spectrum of the Chevalley--Eilenberg algebra. In the first section we explicitly calculate the first order deformation of the differential on the Hochschild complex of the Chevalley--Eilenberg algebra. The answer contains the Duflo character. This calculation is used in the last section. There we sketch the definition of the Wilson loop invariant of knots, which is hopefully equal to the Kontsevich integral, and show that for unknot they coincide. As a byproduct we ge…
We show that the zeroth cohomology of M. Kontsevich's graph complex is isomorphic to the Grothendieck-Teichmueller Lie algebra grt_1. The map is explicitly described. This result has applications to deformation quantization and Duflo theory. We also compute the homotopy derivations of the Gerstenhaber operad. They are parameterized by grt_1, up to one class (or two, depending on the definitions). More generally, the homotopy derivations of the (non-unital) E_n operads may be expressed through the cohomology of a suitable graph complex. Our methods also give a second proof of a result of H. Fur…
The Kontsevich integral of a knot is a powerful invariant which takes values in an algebra of trivalent graphs with legs. Given a Lie algebra, the Kontsevich integral determines an invariant of knots (the so-called colored Jones function) with values in the symmetric algebra of the Lie algebra. Recently A. Kricker and the author constructed a rational form of the Kontsevich integral which takes values in an algebra of trivalent graphs with beads. After replacing beads by an exponential legs, this rational form recovers the Kontsevich integral. The goal of the paper is to explain the relation b…
In the present paper we prove a statement closely related to the cyclic formality conjecture. In particular, we prove that for a divergence-free Poisson bivector field on R^d, the Kontsevich star-product with the harmonic angle function is cyclic. We also prove a globalization of this theorem in the case of arbitrary Poisson manifolds and prove a generalization of the Connes-Flato-Sternheimer conjecture on closed star-products in the Poisson case.
Graph cocycles for star-products are investigated from the combinatorial point of view, using Connes-Kreimer renormalization techniques. The Hochschild complex, controlling the deformation theory of associative algebras, is the ``Kontsevich representation'' of a DGLA of graphs coming from a pre-Lie algebra structure defined by graph insertions. Properties of the dual of its UEA (an odd parity analog of Connes-Kreimer Hopf algebra), are investigated in order to find solutions of the deformation equation. The solution of the initial value deformation problem, at tree-level, is unique. For linear…
Using an extension of the Kontsevich integral to tangles in handlebodies similar to a construction given by Andersen, Mattes and Reshetikhin, we construct a functor $Z:\mathcal{B}\to \widehat{\mathbb{A}}$, where $\mathcal{B}$ is the category of bottom tangles in handlebodies and $\widehat{\mathbb{A}}$ is the degree-completion of the category $\mathbb{A}$ of Jacobi diagrams in handlebodies. As a symmetric monoidal linear category, $\mathbb{A}$ is the linear PROP governing "Casimir Hopf algebras", which are cocommutative Hopf algebras equipped with a primitive invariant symmetric 2-tensor. The f…
We describe a deformation quantization of a modification of Poisson geometry by a closed 3-form. Under suitable conditions it gives rise to a stack of algebras. The basic object used for this aim is a kind of families of Poisson structures given by a Maurer-Cartan equation; they are easily quantized using Kontsevich's Formality theorem.
This is a review aimed at a physics audience on the relation between Poisson sigma models on surfaces with boundary and deformation quantization. These models are topological open string theories. In the classical Hamiltonian approach, we describe the reduced phase space and its structures (symplectic groupoid), explaining in particular the classical origin of the non-commutativity of the string end-point coordinates. We also review the perturbative Lagrangian approach and its connection with Kontsevich's star product. Finally we comment on the relation between the two approaches.
We develop a theory of short star-products for filtered quantizations of graded Poisson algebras, introduced in 2016 by Beem, Peelaers and Rastelli for algebras of regular functions on hyperKähler cones in the context of 3-dimensional $N=4$ superconformal field theories [Beem C., Peelaers W., Rastelli L., Comm. Math. Phys. 354 (2017), 345-392, arXiv:1601.05378]. This appears to be a new structure in representation theory, which is an algebraic incarnation of the non-holomorphic ${\rm SU}(2)$-symmetry of such cones. Using the technique of twisted traces on quantizations (an idea due to Kontsevi…
As a detailed application of the BV-BFV formalism for the quantization of field theories on manifolds with boundary, this note describes a quantization of the relational symplectic groupoid for a constant Poisson structure. The presence of mixed boundary conditions and the globalization of results is also addressed. In particular, the paper includes an extension to space-times with boundary of some formal geometry considerations in the BV-BFV formalism, and specifically introduces into the BV-BFV framework a "differential" version of the classical and quantum master equations. The quantization…
The aim of the note is to provide an introduction to the algebraic, geometric and quantum field theoretic ideas that lie behind the Kontsevich-Cattaneo-Felder formula for the quantization of Poisson structures. We show how the quantization formula itself naturally arises when one imposes the following two requirements to a Feynman integral: on the one side it has to reproduce the given Poisson structure as the first order term of its perturbative expansion; on the other side its three-point functions should describe an associative algebra. It is further shown how the Magri-Koszul brackets on 1…
Let X be a smooth algebraic variety over a field K containing the real numbers. We introduce the notion of twisted associative (resp. Poisson) deformation of the structure sheaf of X. These are stack-like versions of usual deformations. We prove that there is a twisted quantization operation from twisted Poisson deformations to twisted associative deformations, which is canonical and bijective on gauge equivalence classes. This result extends work of Kontsevich, and our own earlier work, on deformation quantization of algebraic varieties.
We compute the stable homology of necklace Lie algebras associated with quivers and give a construction of stable homology classes from certain $A_\infty$-categories. Our construction is a generalization of the construction of homology classes of moduli spaces of curves due to M. Kontsevich. In the second part of the paper we produce a Moyal-type quantization of the symmetric algebra of a necklace Lie algebra. The resulting quantized algebra has natural representations in the usual Moyal quantization of polynomial algebras.
We prove Bergman's theorem on centralizers by using generic matrices and Kontsevich's quantization method. For any field $\textbf{k} $ of positive characteristics, set $A=\textbf{k} \langle x_1,\dots,x_s\rangle$ be a free associative algebra, then any centralizer $\mathcal{C}(f)$ of nontrivial element $f\in A\backslash \textbf{k}$ is a ring of polynomials on a single variable. We also prove that there is no commutative subalgebra with transcendent degree $\geq 2$ of $A$.
