Holonomy and (stated) skein algebras in combinatorial quantization (Q7009795)

With proper care one can identify the moduli space of flat \(G\)-connections on \(\Sigma_{g,n}\), a Riemann surface with genus \(g\) and \(n\) punctures, \(G\) being a Lie group, with the quotient, by \(G\), of the group of \(G\)-valued homomorphisms from the first homotopy group of the same Riemann surface. This space, called a character variety, carries a Poisson structure. As such, it can be quantized (Kontsevich) since finite-dimensional Poisson manifolds can be canonically quantized, in the sense of deformation quantization. Informally, it means that the set of equivalence classes of associative algebras close to algebras of functions on manifolds is in one-to-one correspondence with the set of equivalence classes of Poisson manifolds modulo diffeomorphisms.\N\NThe purpose of the present paper, by Matthieu Faitg, is to construct a quantization of the character variety, by using the combinatorial quantization method due to \textit{Y. Arike} [Osaka J. Math. 47, No. 2, 535--557 (2010; Zbl 1201.16030)], Alekseev, Grosse and Schomerus [\textit{A. Yu. Alekseev} et al., Commun. Math. Phys. 172, No. 2, 317--358 (1995; Zbl 0842.58037) and ibid. 174, No. 3, 561--604 (1996; Zbl 0842.58038)], and \textit{E. Buffenoir} and \textit{Ph. Roche} [ibid. 170, No. 3, 669--698 (1995; Zbl 0843.17030)]. The starting point is a combinatorial description of the Poisson structure in terms of classical \(r\) matrices (Atiyah-Bott-Goldman, Fock-Rosly). The idea of combinatorial quantization is to replace the Lie group \(G\) by the quantum group \(U_q(G)\) and the classical \(r\)-matrix by the quantum \(R\)-matrix, modulo non-trivial commutation relations governed by \(R\). Let \(D\) be an open disk distinct from the punctures and call \(\Sigma_{g,n}^\circ = \Sigma_{g,n} \backslash D\). Quantization of the character variety amounts to defining a non commutative associative algebra \({\mathcal L}_{g,n}\) that replaces the commutative algebra of functions on \({\mathcal A}_{g,n}=Hom(\pi_1(\Sigma_{g,n}^\circ),G)\). This \({\mathcal L}_{g,n}\) is not only an algebra but a module-algebra over \(U_q(G)\), which corresponds to the quantized version of the action of \(G\) on \(C({\mathcal A}_{g,n})\) by conjugation. The construction of the algebra \({\mathcal L}_{g,n}\) is actually valid in a more general context, where \(U_q(G)\) is replaced by any ribbon Hopf algebra \(H\), the obtained algebra, called \({\mathcal L}_{g,n}(H)\), is used in several parts of the paper.\N\NThe author defines a holonomy map in that quantized setting, associating a tensor with components in \({\mathcal L}_{g,n}(H)\) to tangles in \(\Sigma_{g,n} \backslash D \times [0,1]\). When specialized to links this notion defines a generalized Wilson loop map and provides a geometric interpretation of the vacuum representation of \({\mathcal L}_{g,0}(H)\) on \({\mathcal L}_{0,g}(H)\). Finally, the general results are applied to the case where \(H\) is \(U_{q^2}(sl(2))\), in relation to skein theory, and the most important consequence is that the stated skein algebra of a compact oriented surface with just one boundary edge is isomorphic to \({\mathcal L}_{g,n}(H)\).\N\NThe paper is divided into 7 sections, with the preliminary geometric and algebraic material recalled in Section 2 -- this makes the paper almost self-contained. Throughout the article, the author uses a graphical calculus (defined in Section 3) for tensors with coefficients in \({\mathcal L}_{g,n}(H)\), which makes the computations and definitions rather intuitive.