From Monge to Higgs: a survey of distance computations in noncommutative geometry

Abstract

This is a review of explicit computations of Connes distance in noncommutative geometry, covering finite dimensional spectral triples, almost-commutative geometries, and spectral triples on the algebra of compact operators. Several applications to physics are covered, like the metric interpretation of the Higgs field, and the comparison of Connes distance with the minimal length that emerges in various models of quantum spacetime. Links with other areas of mathematics are studied, in particular the horizontal distance in sub-Riemannian geometry. The interpretation of Connes distance as a noncommutative version of the Monge-Kantorovich metric in optimal transport is also discussed.