A Scalar Curvature Formula For the Noncommutative 3-Torus

Abstract

We compute the scalar curvature of a curved noncommutative 3-torus. To perturb the flat metric, the standard volume form on the noncommutative 3-torus is conformally perturbed and the corresponding perturbed Laplacian is analyzed. Using Connes' pseudodifferential calculus for the noncommutative 3-torus, we explicitly compute the first three terms of the small time heat kernel expansion for the perturbed Laplacian. The third term of the expansion gives a local formula for the scalar curvature. Finally, we show that in the classical limit when the deformation parameters vanish, our formula coincides with the formula for the commutative case.