Poisson sigma model on the sphere

We evaluate the path integral of the Poisson sigma model on sphere and study the correlators of quantum observables. We argue that for the path integral to be well-defined the corresponding Poisson structure should be unimodular. The construction of the finite dimensional BV theory is presented and we argue that it is responsible for the leading semiclassical contribution. For a (twisted) generalized Kahler manifold we discuss the gauge fixed action for the Poisson sigma model. Using the localization we prove that for the holomorphic Poisson structure the semiclassical result for the correlators is indeed the full quantum result.Comment: 38 page

Symmetry, Gravity and Noncommutativity

We review some aspects of the implementation of spacetime symmetries in noncommutative field theories, emphasizing their origin in string theory and how they may be used to construct theories of gravitation. The geometry of canonical noncommutative gauge transformations is analysed in detail and it is shown how noncommutative Yang-Mills theory can be related to a gravity theory. The construction of twisted spacetime symmetries and their role in constructing a noncommutative extension of general relativity is described. We also analyse certain generic features of noncommutative gauge theories on D-branes in curved spaces, treating several explicit examples of superstring backgrounds.Comment: 52 pages; Invited review article to be published in Classical and Quantum Gravity; v2: references adde

Formal Lagrangian Operad

Given a symplectic manifold M, we may define an operad structure on the the spaces Ok of the Lagrangian submanifolds of Mk × M via symplectic reduction. If M is also a symplectic groupoid, then its multiplication space is an associative product in this operad. Following this idea, we provide a deformation theory for symplectic groupoids analog to the deformation theory of algebras. It turns out that the semiclassical part of Kontsevich’s deformation of C∞d is a deformation of the trivial symplectic groupoid structure of T∗d