Physical models from noncommutative causality

We introduced few years ago a new notion of causality for noncommutative spacetimes directly related to the Dirac operator and the concept of Lorentzian spectral triple. In this paper, we review in a non-technical way the noncommutative causal structure of many toy models as almost commutative spacetimes and the Moyal-Weyl spacetime. We show that those models present some unexpected physical interpretations as a geometrical explanation of the Zitterbewegung trembling motion of a fermion as well as some geometrical constraints on translations and energy jumps of wave packets on the Moyal spacetime.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, proceedings of ICNFP 201

Global Eikonal Condition for Lorentzian Distance Function in Noncommutative Geometry

Connes' noncommutative Riemannian distance formula is constructed in two steps, the first one being the construction of a path-independent geometrical functional using a global constraint on continuous functions. This paper generalizes this first step to Lorentzian geometry. We show that, in a globally hyperbolic spacetime, a single global timelike eikonal condition is sufficient to construct a path-independent Lorentzian distance function.Comment: Special Issue on Noncommutative Spaces and Fiel

Towards a noncommutative version of Gravitation

Alain Connes' noncommutative theory led to an interesting model including both Standard Model of particle physics and Euclidean Gravity. Nevertheless, an hyperbolic version of the gravitational part would be necessary to make physical predictions, but it is still under research. We shall present the difficulties to generalize the model from Riemannian to Lorentzian Geometry and discuss key ideas and current attempts.Comment: 7 pages, to appear in the AIP proceedings of the "Invisible Universe International Conference", UNESCO-Paris, June 29-July 3, 200

Temporal Lorentzian Spectral Triples

We present the notion of temporal Lorentzian spectral triple which is an extension of the notion of pseudo-Riemannian spectral triple with a way to ensure that the signature of the metric is Lorentzian. A temporal Lorentzian spectral triple corresponds to a specific 3+1 decomposition of a possibly noncommutative Lorentzian space. This structure introduces a notion of global time in noncommutative geometry. As an example, we construct a temporal Lorentzian spectral triple over a Moyal--Minkowski spacetime. We show that, when time is commutative, the algebra can be extended to unbounded elements. Using such an extension, it is possible to define a Lorentzian distance formula between pure states with a well-defined noncommutative formulation.Comment: 25 pages, a proposition has been added (Prop. 11) concerning the recovering of the Lorentzian signature, final versio

An algebraic formulation of causality for noncommutative geometry

We propose an algebraic formulation of the notion of causality for spectral triples corresponding to globally hyperbolic manifolds with a well defined noncommutative generalization. The causality is given by a specific cone of Hermitian elements respecting an algebraic condition based on the Dirac operator and a fundamental symmetry. We prove that in the commutative case the usual notion of causality is recovered. We show that, when the dimension of the manifold is even, the result can be extended in order to have an algebraic constraint suitable for a Lorentzian distance formula.Comment: 24 pages, minor changes from v2, to appear in Classical and Quantum Gravit

Causality in noncommutative two-sheeted space-times

We investigate the causal structure of two-sheeted space-times using the tools of Lorentzian spectral triples. We show that the noncommutative geometry of these spaces allows for causal relations between the two sheets. The computation is given in details when the sheet is a 2- or 4-dimensional globally hyperbolic spin manifold. The conclusions are then generalised to a point-dependent distance between the two sheets resulting from the fluctuations of the Dirac operator.Comment: 26 pages, 2 figure

Noncommutative geometry, Lorentzian structures and causality

The theory of noncommutative geometry provides an interesting mathematical background for developing new physical models. In particular, it allows one to describe the classical Standard Model coupled to Euclidean gravity. However, noncommutative geometry has mainly been developed using the Euclidean signature, and the typical Lorentzian aspects of space-time, the causal structure in particular, are not taken into account. We present an extension of noncommutative geometry \`a la Connes suitable the for accommodation of Lorentzian structures. In this context, we show that it is possible to recover the notion of causality from purely algebraic data. We explore the causal structure of a simple toy model based on an almost commutative geometry and we show that the coupling between the space-time and an internal noncommutative space establishes a new `speed of light constraint'.Comment: 24 pages, review article. in `Mathematical Structures of the Universe', eds. M. Eckstein, M. Heller, S.J. Szybka, CCPress 201

Metrics and causality on Moyal planes

Metrics structures stemming from the Connes distance promote Moyal planes to the status of quantum metric spaces. We discuss this aspect in the light of recent developments, emphasizing the role of Moyal planes as representative examples of a recently introduced notion of quantum (noncommutative) locally compact space. We move then to the framework of Lorentzian noncommutative geometry and we examine the possibility of defining a notion of causality on Moyal plane, which is somewhat controversial in the area of mathematical physics. We show the actual existence of causal relations between the elements of a particular class of pure (coherent) states on Moyal plane with related causal structure similar to the one of the usual Minkowski space, up to the notion of locality.Comment: 33 pages. Improved version; a summary added at the end of the introduction, misprints corrected. Version to appear in Contemporary Mathematic

Covid-19 Belgium: Extended SEIR-QD model with nursing homes and long-term scenarios-based forecasts

We model the evolution of the covid-19 epidemic in Belgium with an age-structured extended SEIR-QD epidemic model with separated consideration for nursing homes. All parameters of the model are estimated using a MCMC method, except integrated data on social contacts. The model is calibrated on hospitals' data, number of deaths, nursing homes' tests and serological tests. We present the current situation in November 2020 as well as long-term scenarios-based forecasts concerning the second wave and subsequent lifting of measures.Comment: 20 pages, 13 figures, revised presentation. Updated version of the model with estimation of reimportations from travellers during the holidays period. New calibration and forecasts from October 31, 202