Quantum exponentials for the modular double and applications in gravity models

Abstract

In this note, we propose a decomposition of the quantum matrix group SL$_q^+(2,\mathbb{R})$ as (deformed) exponentiation of the quantum algebra generators of Faddeev's modular double of $\text{U}_q(\mathfrak{sl}(2, \mathbb{R}))$. The formula is checked by relating hyperbolic representation matrices with the Whittaker function. We interpret (or derive) it in terms of Hopf duality, and use it to explicitly construct the regular representation of the modular double, leading to the Casimir and its modular dual as the analogue of the Laplacian on the quantum group manifold. This description is important for both 2d Liouville gravity, and 3d pure gravity, since both are governed by this algebraic structure. This result builds towards a $q$-BF formulation of the amplitudes of both of these gravitational models.