C^*-algebraic quantization and the origin of topological quantum effects

Aharonov-Bohm effect configuration space convolution product crossed product irreducible representations locally compact group magnetic monopole quantization semidirect product bundle symmetric space

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Noncommutative dynamical systems (46L55) Applications of selfadjoint operator algebras to physics (46L60) Applications of functional analysis in quantum physics (46N50)

Review text

The author considers a configuration space \(Q\) which is a symmetric space \(G/H\) for a locally compact group \(G\) and its closed subgroup \(H\). Following Segal-Haag-Kastler, the quantization amounts to specifying a \(C^*\)-algebra \({\mathcal A}\), where the selfadjoint elements will be the observables. In Section 2 the algebra \({\mathcal A}\) is defined as the crossed product \(C_ 0(Q)\times_ \alpha G\) introduced as follows. First there is defined the semidirect product bundle \({\mathcal S}\), whose base space is \(G\) and whose fibers are isomorphic to the \(C^*\)-algebra \(C_ 0(Q)\) on which \(G\) acts via *-automorphisms \(\alpha_ x\), \(\alpha_ x[\varphi](q)=\varphi(x^{-1}q)\), where \(\varphi\in C_ 0(Q)\), and \(x\to xq\) denotes the action of \(G\) on \(Q\). Elements of the bundle are pairs \(\langle A, x\rangle\), \(A\in C_ 0(Q)\), \(x\in G\), with multiplication \(\langle A,x\rangle \langle B,y\rangle=\langle A\alpha_ x[B],xy\rangle\) and the adjoint \(\langle A,x\rangle^*=\langle \alpha_{x^{-1}}[A^*],x^{-1}\rangle\). Then the crossed product is the canonical \(C^*\)-completion of the \(L^ 1\)-cross-sectional algebra of \({\mathcal S}\) equipped with the usual convolution product and the involution \(f^*(x)=\Delta(x^{-1})f(x^{-1})^*\), \(\Delta\)=the modular function on \(G\). The irreducible representations of the crossed product are in one-to-one correspondence with irreducible unitary representations of \(H\) --- this point is further elaborated, sections \(f\) of \({\mathcal S}\) being identified with functions on \(Q\times G\). Section 3 deals with examples: \(Q=\mathbb{R}\), \(\mathbb{R}^ 3\), \(\mathbb{R}^ 3-\{0\}=S^ 2\times\mathbb{R}\), \(\mathbb{R}\times\mathbb{R}\times S^ 1\) with appropriately adjusted \(G\)-s and \(H\)-s. The dynamics and topological actions are discussed in Section 4, and the magnetic monopole and the Aharonov-Bohm effect in Sections 5 and 6 respectively.

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