Fuzzy Surfaces of Genus Zero

A fuzzy version of the ordinary round 2-sphere has been constructed with an invariant curvature. We here consider linear connections on arbitrary fuzzy surfaces of genus zero. We shall find as before that they are more or less rigidly dependent on the differential calculus used but that a large number of the latter can be constructed which are not covariant under the action of the rotation group. For technical reasons we have been forced to limit our considerations to fuzzy surfaces which are small perturbations of the fuzzy sphere.Comment: 11 pages, Late

A Dynamical 2-dimensional Fuzzy Space

The noncommutative extension of a dynamical 2-dimensional space-time is given and some of its properties discussed. Wick rotation to euclidean signature yields a surface which has as commutative limit the doughnut but in a singular limit in which the radius of the hole tends to zero.Comment: 13 pages, accepted for publication in Phys. Lett.

Topology at the Planck Length

A basic arbitrariness in the determination of the topology of a manifold at the Planck length is discussed. An explicit example is given of a `smooth' change in topology from the 2-sphere to the 2-torus through a sequence of noncommuting geometries. Applications are considered to the theory of D-branes within the context of the proposed $M$(atrix) theory.Comment: Orsay Preprint 97/34, 17 pages, Late

Structure of the Three-dimensional Quantum Euclidean Space

As an example of a noncommutative space we discuss the quantum 3-dimensional Euclidean space $R^3_q$ together with its symmetry structure in great detail. The algebraic structure and the representation theory are clarified and discrete spectra for the coordinates are found. The q-deformed Legendre functions play a special role. A completeness relation is derived for these functions.Comment: 22 pages, late

Matrix theory compactifications on twisted tori

We study compactifications of Matrix theory on twisted tori and non-commutative versions of them. As a first step, we review the construction of multidimensional twisted tori realized as nilmanifolds based on certain nilpotent Lie algebras. Subsequently, matrix compactifications on tori are revisited and the previously known results are supplemented with a background of a non-commutative torus with non-constant non-commutativity and an underlying non-associative structure on its phase space. Next we turn our attention to 3- and 6-dimensional twisted tori and we describe consistent backgrounds of Matrix theory on them by stating and solving the conditions which describe the corresponding compactification. Both commutative and non-commutative solutions are found in all cases. Finally, we comment on the correspondence among the obtained solutions and flux compactifications of 11-dimensional supergravity, as well as on relations among themselves, such as Seiberg-Witten maps and T-duality.Comment: 1+31 pages, v2: some comments and clarifications added, accepted for publication in Physical Review

Unified Theories from Fuzzy Extra Dimensions

We combine and exploit ideas from Coset Space Dimensional Reduction (CSDR) methods and Non-commutative Geometry. We consider the dimensional reduction of gauge theories defined in high dimensions where the compact directions are a fuzzy space (matrix manifold). In the CSDR one assumes that the form of space-time is M^D=M^4 x S/R with S/R a homogeneous space. Then a gauge theory with gauge group G defined on M^D can be dimensionally reduced to M^4 in an elegant way using the symmetries of S/R, in particular the resulting four dimensional gauge is a subgroup of G. In the present work we show that one can apply the CSDR ideas in the case where the compact part of the space-time is a finite approximation of the homogeneous space S/R, i.e. a fuzzy coset. In particular we study the fuzzy sphere case.Comment: 6 pages, Invited talk given by G. Zoupanos at the 36th International Symposium Ahrenshoop, Wernsdorf, Germany, 26-30 Aug 200