Weak associativity and deformation quantization

Non-commutativity and non-associativity are quite natural in string theory. For open strings it appear due to the presence of non-vanishing background two-form in the world volume of Dirichlet brane, while in closed string theory the flux compactifications with non-vanishing three-form also lead to non-geometric backgrounds. In this paper, working in the framework of deformation quantization, we study the violation of associativity imposing the condition that the associator of three elements should vanish whenever each two of them are equal. The corresponding star products are called alternative and satisfy an important for physical applications properties like the Moufang identities, alternative identities, Artin's theorem, etc. The condition of alternativity is invariant under the gauge transformations, just like it happens in the associative case. The price to pay is the restriction on the non-associative algebra which can be represented by the alternative star product, it should satisfy the Malcev identity. The example of nontrivial Malcev algebra is the algebra of imaginary octonions. For this case we construct an explicit expression of the non-associative and alternative star product. We also discuss the quantization of Malcev-Poisson algebras of general form, study its properties and provide the lower order expression for the alternative star product. To conclude we define the integration on the algebra of the alternative star products and show that the integrated associator vanishes.Comment: 24 pages, V2, examples corrected, discussion extended, refferences adde

Dirac equation on coordinate dependent noncommutative space-time

We consider the consistent deformation of the relativistic quantum mechanics introducing the noncommutativity of the space-time and preserving the Lorentz symmetry. The relativistic wave equation describing the spinning particle on coordinate dependent noncommutative space-time (noncommutative Dirac equation) is proposed. The fundamental properties of this equation, like the Lorentz covariance and the continuity equation for the probability density are verified. To this end using the properties of the star product we derive the corresponding probability current density and prove its conservation. The energy-momentum tensor for the free noncommutative spinor field is calculated. We solve the free noncommutative Dirac equation and show that the standard energy-momentum dispersion relation remains valid in the noncommutative case.Comment: Published versio

Nonassociative Weyl star products

Deformation quantization is a formal deformation of the algebra of smooth functions on some manifold. In the classical setting, the Poisson bracket serves as an initial conditions, while the associativity allows to proceed to higher orders. Some applications to string theory require deformation in the direction of a quasi-Poisson bracket (that does not satisfy the Jacobi identity). This initial condition is incompatible with associativity, it is quite unclear which restrictions can be imposed on the deformation. We show that for any quasi-Poisson bracket the deformation quantization exists and is essentially unique if one requires (weak) hermiticity and the Weyl condition. We also propose an iterative procedure that allows to compute the star product up to any desired order.Comment: discussion extended, tipos corrected, published versio

Position-dependent noncommutativity in quantum mechanics

The model of the position-dependent noncommutativety in quantum mechanics is proposed. We start with a given commutation relations between the operators of coordinates [x^{i},x^{j}]=\omega^{ij}(x), and construct the complete algebra of commutation relations, including the operators of momenta. The constructed algebra is a deformation of a standard Heisenberg algebra and obey the Jacobi identity. The key point of our construction is a proposed first-order Lagrangian, which after quantization reproduces the desired commutation relations. Also we study the possibility to localize the noncommutativety.Comment: published version, references adde

Noncommutative RdR^d via closed star product

We consider linear star products on $R^d$ of Lie algebra type. First we derive the closed formula for the polydifferential representation of the corresponding Lie algebra generators. Using this representation we define the Weyl star product on the dual of the Lie algebra. Then we construct a gauge operator relating the Weyl star product with the one which is closed with respect to some trace functional, $Tr( f\star g)= Tr( f\cdot g)$. We introduce the derivative operator on the algebra of the closed star product and show that the corresponding Leibnitz rule holds true up to a total derivative. As a particular example we study the space $R^3_\theta$ with $\mathfrak{su}(2)$ type noncommutativity and show that in this case the closed star product is the one obtained from the Duflo quantization map. As a result a Laplacian can be defined such that its commutative limit reproduces the ordinary commutative one. The deformed Leibnitz rule is applied to scalar field theory to derive conservation laws and the corresponding noncommutative currents.Comment: published versio

Gauge invariance and classical dynamics of noncommutative particle theory

We consider a model of classical noncommutative particle in an external electromagnetic field. For this model, we prove the existence of generalized gauge transformations. Classical dynamics in Hamiltonian and Lagrangian form is discussed, in particular, the motion in the constant magnetic field is studied in detail.Comment: 10 page

Noncommutativity due to spin

Using the Berezin-Marinov pseudoclassical formulation of spin particle we propose a classical model of spin noncommutativity. In the nonrelativistic case, the Poisson brackets between the coordinates are proportional to the spin angular momentum. The quantization of the model leads to the noncommutativity with mixed spacial and spin degrees of freedom. A modified Pauli equation, describing a spin half particle in an external e.m. field is obtained. We show that nonlocality caused by the spin noncommutativity depends on the spin of the particle; for spin zero, nonlocality does not appear, for spin half, $\Delta x\Delta y\geq\theta^{2}/2$, etc. In the relativistic case the noncommutative Dirac equation was derived. For that we introduce a new star product. The advantage of our model is that in spite of the presence of noncommutativity and nonlocality, it is Lorentz invariant. Also, in the quasiclassical approximation it gives noncommutativity with a nilpotent parameter.Comment: 11 pages, references adda