Quantum Field Theory in a Non-Commutative Space: Theoretical Predictions and Numerical Results on the Fuzzy Sphere

Abstract

We review some recent progress in quantum field theory in non-commutative space, focusing onto the fuzzy sphere as a non-perturbative regularisation scheme. We first introduce the basic formalism, and discuss the limits corresponding to different commutative or non-commutative spaces. We present some of the theories which have been investigated in this framework, with a particular attention to the scalar model. Then we comment on the results recently obtained from Monte Carlo simulations, and show a preview of new numerical data, which are consistent with the expected transition between two phases characterised by the topology of the support of a matrix eigenvalue distribution.Comment: This is a contribution to the Proc. of the O'Raifeartaigh Symposium on Non-Perturbative and Symmetry Methods in Field Theory (June 2006, Budapest, Hungary), published in SIGMA (Symmetry, Integrability and Geometry: Methods and Applications) at http://www.emis.de/journals/SIGMA