Noncommutative marked surfaces (Q1705484)

The authors propose a non-commutative version of cluster algebras. They define such a non-commutative cluster algebra for every surface with marked points. The first and main step is to develop the theory for the polygon, since a general marked surfaces can be obtained from a polygon by gluing edges. For the polygon, the authors label the vertices and consider directed diagonals labeled by their starting point and endpoint. To each directed diagonal \(ij\), they associate an element \(x_{ij}\) of the cluster algebra. This is done by introducing indeterminates that correspond to the diagonals in a fixed but arbitrary triangulation, and then defining the elements \(x_{ij}\) as a sum over all paths along the triangulation that are in a certain sense compatible wit the diagonal \(ij\). It is important to notice that \(x_{ij}\) is not equal to \(x_{ji}\). The formula for the \(x_{ij}\) is a non-commutative version of a formula for the cluster variables in the commutative cluster algebra from [\textit{R. Schiffler}, Electron. J. Combin. 15 \#R64; (2008; Zbl 1184.13064)]. The \(x_{ij}\) satisfy non-commutative Plücker relations. The authors show that for every surface, the non-commutative cluster algebra exhibits the Laurent phenomenon, which in the commutative case was shown in [\textit{S. Fomin} and \textit{A. Zelevinsky}, J. Amer. Math. Soc. 15, No. 2, 497--529 (2002; Zbl 1021.16017)]. As a consequence, they obtain proofs for the Laurentness of certain discrete non-commutative integrable systems. As by-product the authors introduce a group, called triangle group, which is generated by triangle relations, and show that this group is a topological invariant of the marked surface.