56,043 research outputs found
The local functors of points of Supermanifolds
We study the local functor of points (which we call the Weil-Berezin functor)
for smooth supermanifolds, providing a characterization, representability
theorems and applications to differential calculus
Is there a Jordan geometry underlying quantum physics?
There have been several propositions for a geometric and essentially
non-linear formulation of quantum mechanics. From a purely mathematical point
of view, the point of view of Jordan algebra theory might give new strength to
such approaches: there is a ``Jordan geometry'' belonging to the Jordan part of
the algebra of observables, in the same way as Lie groups belong to the Lie
part. Both the Lie geometry and the Jordan geometry are well-adapted to
describe certain features of quantum theory. We concentrate here on the
mathematical description of the Jordan geometry and raise some questions
concerning possible relations with foundational issues of quantum theory.Comment: 30 page
Loop Spaces and Connections
We examine the geometry of loop spaces in derived algebraic geometry and
extend in several directions the well known connection between rotation of
loops and the de Rham differential. Our main result, a categorification of the
geometric description of cyclic homology, relates S^1-equivariant quasicoherent
sheaves on the loop space of a smooth scheme or geometric stack X in
characteristic zero with sheaves on X with flat connection, or equivalently
D_X-modules. By deducing the Hodge filtration on de Rham modules from the
formality of cochains on the circle, we are able to recover D_X-modules
precisely rather than a periodic version. More generally, we consider the
rotated Hopf fibration Omega S^3 --> Omega S^2 --> S^1, and relate Omega
S^2-equivariant sheaves on the loop space with sheaves on X with arbitrary
connection, with curvature given by their Omega S^3-equivariance.Comment: Revised versio
Can Computer Algebra be Liberated from its Algebraic Yoke ?
So far, the scope of computer algebra has been needlessly restricted to exact
algebraic methods. Its possible extension to approximate analytical methods is
discussed. The entangled roles of functional analysis and symbolic programming,
especially the functional and transformational paradigms, are put forward. In
the future, algebraic algorithms could constitute the core of extended symbolic
manipulation systems including primitives for symbolic approximations.Comment: 8 pages, 2-column presentation, 2 figure
Bohrification of operator algebras and quantum logic
Following Birkhoff and von Neumann, quantum logic has traditionally been
based on the lattice of closed linear subspaces of some Hilbert space, or, more
generally, on the lattice of projections in a von Neumann algebra A.
Unfortunately, the logical interpretation of these lattices is impaired by
their nondistributivity and by various other problems. We show that a possible
resolution of these difficulties, suggested by the ideas of Bohr, emerges if
instead of single projections one considers elementary propositions to be
families of projections indexed by a partially ordered set C(A) of appropriate
commutative subalgebras of A. In fact, to achieve both maximal generality and
ease of use within topos theory, we assume that A is a so-called Rickart
C*-algebra and that C(A) consists of all unital commutative Rickart
C*-subalgebras of A. Such families of projections form a Heyting algebra in a
natural way, so that the associated propositional logic is intuitionistic:
distributivity is recovered at the expense of the law of the excluded middle.
Subsequently, generalizing an earlier computation for n-by-n matrices, we
prove that the Heyting algebra thus associated to A arises as a basis for the
internal Gelfand spectrum (in the sense of Banaschewski-Mulvey) of the
"Bohrification" of A, which is a commutative Rickart C*-algebra in the topos of
functors from C(A) to the category of sets. We explain the relationship of this
construction to partial Boolean algebras and Bruns-Lakser completions. Finally,
we establish a connection between probability measure on the lattice of
projections on a Hilbert space H and probability valuations on the internal
Gelfand spectrum of A for A = B(H).Comment: 31 page
Schwinger's Picture of Quantum Mechanics I: Groupoids
A new picture of Quantum Mechanics based on the theory of groupoids is
presented. This picture provides the mathematical background for Schwinger's
algebra of selective measurements and helps to understand its scope and
eventual applications. In this first paper, the kinematical background is
described using elementary notions from category theory, in particular the
notion of 2-groupoids as well as their representations. Some basic results are
presented, and the relation with the standard Dirac-Schr\"odinger and
Born-Jordan-Heisenberg pictures are succinctly discussed.Comment: 32 pages. Comments are welcome
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