Metaplectic-c quantomorphisms (Q2339264)

The classical geometric quantization programme of Kostant and Souriau provides a morphism from the Poisson algebra \(C^{\infty}(M)\) of functions of a symplectic manifold \((M,\omega)\) to operators on the algebra of sections of the prequantizing circle bundle \(Y\) (when the latter exists). This morphism can be understood better by realizing the algebra \(C^{\infty}(M)\) as the space of infinitesimal quantomorphisms, namely those vector fields on \(Y\) whose flows preserve the connection 1-form of \(Y\) whose curvature realizes the symplectic form \(\omega\). On the other hand, Robinson and Rawnsley managed to extend geometric quantization to a larger class of manifolds by replacing the prequantizing circle bundle by a metaplectic-\(c\) prequantization. Very roughly, this method makes use of the metaplectic group \(\mathrm{Mp}(2n)\), namely the unique double cover of the symplectic group \(\mathrm{Sp}(2n)\), in particular the group \(\mathrm{Mp}(2n)^c=\mathrm{Mp}(2n)\times_{\mathbb Z_2}U(1)\). The paper under review starts with a useful account of the use of infinitesimal quantomorphisms in geometric quantization. The author then discusses the extension of this to a Robinson-Rawnsley metaplectic-\(c\) prequantization. Explicitly, the latter is a triple \((P,\Sigma,\gamma)\), where \(P\) is a principal \(\mathrm{Mp}(2n)^c\)-bundle and \(\Sigma\) is a map from \(P\) to the symplectic frame bundle \(\mathrm{Sp}(M,\omega)\) consisting of isomorphisms \(\mathbb R^{2n} \to T_m M\) pulling back \(\omega_m\) to the standard symplectic form of \(\mathbb R^{2n}\), for all \(m \in M\). Here, \(\gamma\) is a suitable connection 1-form. The author develops a notion of metaplectic-\(c\) quantomorphism which takes into account the extra data \(\Sigma\) and shows that the Poisson algebra \(C^{\infty}(M)\) can be realized as the space of metaplectic-c quantomorphisms as such. Finally, the author shows that the operator representation of \(C^{\infty}(M)\) given by Robinson and Rawnsley can be recovered using the space of metaplectic-\(c\) quantomorphisms.