Perspectives On Quantization

This book presents the proceedings of a 1996 Joint Summer Research Conference sponsored by AMS-IMS-SIAM on "Quantization" held at Mount Holyoke College (Northampton, MA). The purpose of this conference was to bring together researchers focusing on various mathematical aspects of quantization. In the early work of Weyl and von Neumann at the beginning of the quantum era, the setting for this enterprise was operators on Hilbert space. This setting has been expanded, especially over the past decade, to involve C*-algebras - noncommutative differential geometry and noncommutative harmonic analysis - as well as more general algebras and infinite-dimensional manifolds. The applications now include quantum field theory, notable conformal and topological field theories related to quantization of moduli spaces, and constructive quantum field theory of supersymmetric models and condensed matter physics (the fractional quantum Hall effect in particular). The spectrum of research interests which significantly intersects the topic of quantization is unusually broad including, for example, pseudodifferential analysis, the representation theory of Lie groups and algebras (including infinite-dimensional ones), operator algebras and algebraic deformation theory. The papers in this collection originated with talks by the authors at the conference and represent a strong cross-section of the interests described above.

​A unified quantum theory incorporating the four fundamental forces of nature is one of the major open problems in physics. The Standard Model combines electro-magnetism, the strong force and the weak force, but ignores gravity. The quantization of gravity is therefore a necessary first step to achieve a unified quantum theory. In this monograph a canonical quantization of gravity has been achieved by quantizing a geometric evolution equation resulting in a gravitational wave equation in a globally hyperbolic spacetime. Applying the technique of separation of variables we obtain eigenvalue problems for temporal and spatial self-adjoint operators where the temporal operator has a pure point spectrum with eigenvalues $\lambda_i$ and related eigenfunctions, while, for the spatial operator, it is possible to find corresponding eigendistributions for each of the eigenvalues $\lambda_i$, if the Cauchy hypersurface is asymptotically Euclidean or if the quantized spacetime is a black hole with a negative cosmological constant. The hyperbolic equation then has a sequence of smooth solutions which are products of temporal eigenfunctions and spatial eigendistributions. Due to this "spectral resolution" of the wave equation quantum statistics can also be applied to the quantized systems. These quantum statistical results could help to explain the nature of dark matter and dark energy.

Within the last three decades, interest in the psychological experience of human faces has drawn together cognitive science researchers from diverse backgrounds. Computer scientists talk to neural scientists who draw on the work of mathematicians who explicitly influence those conducting behavioral experiments. The chapters in this volume illustrate the breadth of the research on facial perception and memory, with the emphasis being on mathematical and computational approaches. In pulling together these chapters, the editors sought to do much more than illustrate breadth. They endeavored as well to illustrate the synergies and tensions that inevitably result from adopting a broad view, one consistent with the emerging discipline of cognitive science.

This book employs nonequilibrium quantum transport, based on the use of mixed Hilbert space representations and real time quantum superfield transport theory, to explain various topological phases of systems with entangled chiral degrees of freedom. It presents an entirely new perspective on topological systems, entanglement-induced localization and delocalization, integer quantum Hall effect (IQHE), fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE), and its respective spectral zones in the Hofstadter butterfly spectrum. A simple and powerful, intuitive, and wide-ranging perspective on chiral transport dynamics.

This pioneering book addresses the question: Are the standard procedures of canonical quantization fully satisfactory, or is there more to learn about assigning a proper quantum system to a given classical system? As shown in this book, the answer to this question is: The standard procedures of canonical quantization are not the whole story! This book offers alternative quantization procedures that complete the story of quantization. The initial chapters are designed to present the new procedures in a clear and simple manner for general readers. As is necessary, systems that exhibit acceptable results with conventional quantization lead to the same results when the new procedures are used for them. However, later chapters examine selected models that lead to unacceptable results when quantized conventionally. Fortunately, these same models lead to acceptable results when the new quantization procedures are used. Contents:Introduction and OverviewSelected Topics in Classical and Quantum Mechanics:Selected Topics in Classical MechanicsSelected Topics in Quantum MechanicsEnhanced Quantization of Simple Systems:Essentials of Enhanced QuantizationEnhanced Affine Quantization and the Initial Cosmological SingularityEnhanced Quantization of Some Complex Systems:Examples of Enhanced Quantization: Bosons, Fermions, and AnyonsEnhanced Quantization of Rotationally Invariant ModelsEnhanced Quantization of Ultralocal Field Theories:Enhanced Quantization of Ultralocal ModelsEnhanced Quantization of Covariant Scalars and Gravity:Enhanced Quantization of Covariant Scalar Field ModelsEnhanced Quantization of Gravity Readership: Graduate students and researchers in quantum mechanics. Key Features:Solutions for previously insoluble problemsNontrivial behavior for scalar fieldsNovel quantization proceduresKeywords:Affine Quantization;Weak Correspondence Principle;Triviality of Scalar Fields;Affine Quantum Gravity;Coherent States

This invaluable book provides a broad and comprehensive introduction to the fascinating and beautiful subject of timeless approaches in physics, focusing the attention in particular on significant models developed recently by the author. It presents relevant and novel perspectives in 21st century theoretical physics as regards the arena of physical processes and its geometry (both in special relativity, quantum mechanics, the quantum gravity domain and about the quantum vacuum). The timeless approach may be used as a source of reference by researchers in theoretical physics and at the same time it is also suitable for graduate students in physics who wish to have an extend view of some of the classic and fundamental models in the subject.