Kontsevich's Universal Formula for Deformation Quantization and the Campbell-Baker-Hausdorff Formula, I

We relate a universal formula for the deformation quantization of arbitrary Poisson structures proposed by Maxim Kontsevich to the Campbell-Baker-Hausdorff formula. Our basic thesis is that exponentiating a suitable deformation of the Poisson structure provides a prototype for such universal formulae.Comment: 48 pages, over 90 (small) epsf figures, uses some ams-latex package

Formal symplectic groupoid

The multiplicative structure of the trivial symplectic groupoid over $\mathbb R^d$ associated to the zero Poisson structure can be expressed in terms of a generating function. We address the problem of deforming such a generating function in the direction of a non-trivial Poisson structure so that the multiplication remains associative. We prove that such a deformation is unique under some reasonable conditions and we give the explicit formula for it. This formula turns out to be the semi-classical approximation of Kontsevich's deformation formula. For the case of a linear Poisson structure, the deformed generating function reduces exactly to the CBH formula of the associated Lie algebra. The methods used to prove existence are interesting in their own right as they come from an at first sight unrelated domain of mathematics: the Runge--Kutta theory of the numeric integration of ODE's.Comment: 28 pages, 4 figure

Aesthetical entanglements in mathematics education

In this study, we develop a perspective on the diverse aesthetics historically associated with mathematics, inspired by Rancière's approach to aesthetics and politics. We call “Silencing Aesthetics” a dominant aesthetic that Rota has characterized as a “copout (…) intended to keep our formal description of mathematics as close as possible to the description of a mechanism”. The challenge this study attempts to explore is how to question silencing aesthetics to make space for inclusive ones. Our efforts have focused on setting up and studying inclusive and pluralist “Studios”, gathering craftworkers, anthropologists, mathematics educators, and mathematics enthusiasts. We include here a case study based on a conversation amongst basket weavers, anthropologists, and mathematics educators focused on the artisanal and mathematical nature of knots. We discuss the implications of aesthetical entanglements, such as those in our case study, for mathematics learning

Heisenberg double versus deformed derivatives

Two approaches to the tangent space of a noncommutative space whose coordinate algebra is the enveloping algebra of a Lie algebra are known: the Heisenberg double construction and the approach via deformed derivatives, usually defined by procedures involving orderings among noncommutative coordinates or equivalently involving realizations via formal differential operators. In an earlier work, we rephrased the deformed derivative approach introducing certain smash product algebra twisting a semicompleted Weyl algebra. We show here that the Heisenberg double in the Lie algebra case, is isomorphic to that product in a nontrivial way, involving a datum $\phi$ parametrizing the orderings or realizations in other approaches. This way, we show that the two different formalisms, used by different communities, for introducing the noncommutative phase space for the Lie algebra type noncommutative spaces are mathematically equivalent

Gauge theories and non-commutative geometry

It is shown that a $d$-dimensional classical SU(N) Yang-Mills theory can be formulated in a $d+2$-dimensional space, with the extra two dimensions forming a surface with non-commutative geometry. In this paper we present an explicit proof for the case of the torus and the sphere.Comment: 12 page

New realizations of Lie algebra kappa-deformed Euclidean space

We study Lie algebra $\kappa$-deformed Euclidean space with undeformed rotation algebra $SO_a(n)$ and commuting vectorlike derivatives. Infinitely many realizations in terms of commuting coordinates are constructed and a corresponding star product is found for each of them. The $\kappa$-deformed noncommutative space of the Lie algebra type with undeformed Poincar{\'e} algebra and with the corresponding deformed coalgebra is constructed in a unified way.Comment: 30 pages, Latex, accepted for publication in Eur.Phys.J.C, some typos correcte

Star Product and Invariant Integration for Lie type Noncommutative Spacetimes

We present a star product for noncommutative spaces of Lie type, including the so called ``canonical'' case by introducing a central generator, which is compatible with translations and admits a simple, manageable definition of an invariant integral. A quasi-cyclicity property for the latter is shown to hold, which reduces to exact cyclicity when the adjoint representation of the underlying Lie algebra is traceless. Several explicit examples illuminate the formalism, dealing with kappa-Minkowski spacetime and the Heisenberg algebra (``canonical'' noncommutative 2-plane).Comment: 21 page

Aesthetical Entanglements in Mathematics Learning

In this paper we develop a perspective on the diverse aesthetics historically associated with mathematics, inspired by Rancière’s approach to aesthetics and politics. We call ‘Silencing Aesthetics’ a dominant aesthetic that Rota has characterized as a “copout (...) intended to keep our formal description of mathematics as close as possible to the description of a mechanism.” The challenge this paper attempts to explore is how to question silencing aesthetics to make space for generative ones. Our efforts have focused on setting up and studying inclusive and pluralist ‘Studios’, gathering craftworkers, anthropologists, mathematics educators and mathematics enthusiasts. We include here a case study based on a conversation among basket weavers, anthropologists, and mathematics educators, focused on the artisanal and mathematical nature of knots

Just mathematics? Fostering empowering and inclusive mathematics classrooms with Realistic Mathematics Education

This paper considers how Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) can serve as a platform for developing socially just and inclusive mathematics classrooms, and examines how teachers new to RME interpret and enact this potential. Drawing on exit interviews from a large RME trial in England, we explore teachers’ interpretations of RME’s potential for transforming students’ access to mathematics, and their understanding of the role of the “realistic” element of RME in inclusion. We also study one teacher’s classroom practice and reflections to investigate how he endeavours to build on his students’ “real life” starting points. Our analysis of how he appropriates RME to achieve his aims underlines the need to identify inclusion as an object of reflection in continuing professional development