Fuzzy, Non Commutative SpaceTime: A New Paradigm for a New Century

Abstract

Much of twentieth century physics, whether it be Classical or Quantum, has been based on the concept of spacetime as a differentiable manifold. While this work has culminated in the standard model, it is now generally accepted that in the light of recent experimental results, we have to go beyond the standard model. On the other hand Quantum SuperString Theory and a recent model of Quantized Spacetime in which, for example, an electron can be meaningfully described by the Kerr-Newman metric, have shown promise. They lead to mathematically identical spacetime-energy-momenta commutation relations, and infact an identical non commutative geometry which is a departure from the usual concept of spacetime. This could well be a new paradigm for the new century.