Laguerre semigroup and Dunkl operators

We construct a two-parameter family of actions \omega_{k,a} of the Lie algebra sl(2,R) by differential-difference operators on R^N \setminus {0}. Here, k is a multiplicity-function for the Dunkl operators, and a>0 arises from the interpolation of the Weil representation of Mp(N,R) and the minimal unitary representation of O(N+1,2) keeping smaller symmetries. We prove that this action \omega_{k,a} lifts to a unitary representation of the universal covering of SL(2,R), and can even be extended to a holomorphic semigroup \Omega_{k,a}. In the k\equiv 0 case, our semigroup generalizes the Hermite semigroup studied by R. Howe (a=2) and the Laguerre semigroup by the second author with G. Mano (a=1). One boundary value of our semigroup \Omega_{k,a} provides us with (k,a)-generalized Fourier transforms F_{k,a}, which includes the Dunkl transform D_k (a=2) and a new unitary operator H_k (a=1), namely a Dunkl-Hankel transform. We establish the inversion formula, and a generalization of the Plancherel theorem, the Hecke identity, the Bochner identity, and a Heisenberg uncertainty inequality for F_{k,a}. We also find kernel functions for \Omega_{k,a} and F_{k,a} for a=1,2 in terms of Bessel functions and the Dunkl intertwining operator.Comment: final version (some few typos, updated references

Noncommutative Geometry

Noncommutative Geometry applies ideas from geometry to mathematical structures determined by noncommuting variables. This meeting emphasized the connections of Noncommutative Geometry to number theory and ergodic theory

Arithmetic and Hyperbolic Structures in String Theory

This monograph is an updated and extended version of the author's PhD thesis. It consists of an introductory text followed by two separate parts which are loosely related but may be read independently of each other. In Part I we analyze certain hyperbolic structures arising when studying gravity in the vicinity of a spacelike singularity (the "BKL-limit"). In this limit, spatial points decouple and the dynamics exhibits ultralocal behaviour which may be described in terms of a (possibly chaotic) hyperbolic billiard. In all supergravities arising as low-energy limits of string theory or M-theory, the billiard dynamics takes place within the fundamental Weyl chambers of certain hyperbolic Kac-Moody algebras, suggesting that these algebras generate hidden infinite-dimensional symmetries of the theory. Part II of the thesis is devoted to a study of how (U-)dualities in string theory provide powerful constraints on perturbative and non-perturbative quantum corrections. These dualities are described by certain arithmetic groups G(Z) which are conjectured to be preserved in the effective action. The exact couplings are given by automorphic forms on the double quotient G(Z)\G/K. We discuss in detail various methods of constructing automorphic forms, with particular emphasis on non-holomorphic Eisenstein series. We provide detailed examples for the physically relevant cases of SL(2,Z) and SL(3,Z), for which we construct their respective Eisenstein series and compute their (non-abelian) Fourier expansions. We also show how these techniques can be applied to hypermultiplet moduli spaces in type II Calabi-Yau compactifications, and we provide a detailed analysis for the universal hypermultiplet.Comment: 346 pages, updated and extended version of the author's PhD thesi

C*-algebraic results in the search for quantum gauge fields

This thesis consists of two parts, both situated in operator theory, and both motivated by the quest for rigorous quantizations of gauge theories. The first part is based on [Skripka,vN - JST 2022], [van Suijlekom,vN - JNCG 2021], and [van Suijlekom,vN - JHEP 2022], and concerns the spectral action of noncommutative geometry and its perturbative expansions. We prove the existence of a higher-order spectral shift function under the relative Schatten class assumption, give a converging series expansion of the spectral action in terms of Chern--Simons and Yang--Mills forms, and show one-loop renormalizability of the spectral action in a generalized sense. The second part is based on [Stienstra,vN 2020] and [vN - LMP 2022] and concerns a non-perturbative approach to quantum gauge theory by means of Hamiltonian lattice gauge theory and strict quantization. We construct C*-algebras of U(1)^n-gauge observables on the lattice, show that they are conserved under the relevant time evolutions, construct continuum limit C*-algebras, and show that the result constitutes a strict deformation quantization.Comment: PhD thesis. 149 pages, 3 figure