Classical and quantum representation theory

Abstract

These notes present an introduction to an analytic version of deformation quantization. The central point is to study algebras of physical observables and their irreducible representations. In classical mechanics one deals with real Poisson algebras, whereas in quantum mechanics the observables have the structure of a real non-associative Jordan-Lie algebra. The non-associativity is proportional to $\pl^2$, hence for $\pl\raw 0$ one recovers a real Poisson algebra. This observation lies at the basis of `strict' deformation quantization, where one deforms a given Poisson algebra into a $C^*$-algebra, in such a way that the basic algebraic structures are preserved. Our main interest lies in degenerate Poisson algebras and their quantization by non-simple Jordan-Lie algebras. The traditional symplectic manifolds of classical mechanics, and their quantum counterparts (Hilbert spaces and operator algebras which act irreducibly) emerge from a generalized representation theory. This two-step procedure sheds considerable light on the subject. We discuss a large class of examples, in which the Poisson algebra canonically associated to an (integrable) Lie algebroid is deformed into the Jordan-Lie algebra of the corresponding Lie groupoid. A special case of this construction, which involves the gauge groupoid of a principal fibre bundle, describes the classical and quantum mechanics of a particle moving in an external gravitational and Yang-Mills field.