On a causal quantum stochastic double product integral related to Lévy area (Q1621270)

The paper under review is concerned with a rigorous analysis of the `causal double product integral operator' \[ \prod_{a\leq x\leq y b} \left(1+\frac{i\lambda}{2}(dP_x dQ_y - dQ_x dP_y) +\frac{i\mu}{2}(dP_x dP_y - dQ_x dQ_y) \right), \] where $\lambda,\mu \in \mathbb{R}$ and $(P_x, Q_x), (P_y,Q_y)$ denote two independent pairs of canonical (noncommuting!) quantum Brownian motions, so that the above operator acts on the symmetric Fock space $\mathcal{F}(L^2(a,b) \otimes\mathbb{C}^2)$. \par The operator in question is strongly related to a quantum version of the Lévy area, studied in the earlier work of the authors. Here they first construct certain discrete approximations, replacing the continuous product by a product of (finer and finer) increments. The resulting approximants turn out to be related to second quantisations of some particular product of unitary matrices on $\mathbb{C}^N$ (where $N$ is the `size' of the approximation). These matrices are later embedded into $L^2(a,b)$ in a manner reflecting the approximation, with resulting unitaries denoted $W_N$. \par The main aim achieved in the paper is proving that the operators $W_N$ converge weakly as $N$ tends to infinity to a unitary operator $W$, whose form -- in particular the integral kernel of $W-I$ -- is described explicitly. \par The method of the proof is mostly combinatorial, exploiting a deep interplay between causal type products and counting paths in a certain lattice model.