We extend earlier ideas about the appearance of noncommutative geometry in string theory with a nonzero B-field. We identify a limit in which the entire string dynamics is described by a minimally coupled (supersymmetric) gauge theory on a noncommutative space, and discuss the corrections away from this limit. Our analysis leads us to an equivalence between ordinary gauge fields and noncommutative gauge fields, which is realized by a change of variables that can be described explicitly. This change of variables is checked by comparing the ordinary Dirac-Born-Infeld theory with its noncommutative counterpart. We obtain a new perspective on noncommutative gauge theory on a torus, its T-duality, and Morita equivalence. We also discuss the D0/D4 system, the relation to M-theory in DLCQ, and a possible noncommutative version of the six-dimensional (2,0) theory.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1126-6708/1999/09/032/pdf

String theory and noncommutative geometry

It is shown that 2+1 dimensional quantum Yang-Mills theory, with an action consisting purely of the Chern-Simons term, is exactly soluble and gives a natural framework for understanding the Jones polynomial of knot theory in three dimensional terms. In this version, the Jones polynomial can be generalized fromS
3 to arbitrary three manifolds, giving invariants of three manifolds that are computable from a surgery presentation. These results shed a surprising new light on conformal field theory in 1+1 dimensions.

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Quantum field theory and the Jones polynomial

Topological quantum computation has emerged as one of the most exciting approaches to constructing a fault-tolerant quantum computer. The proposal relies on the existence of topological states of matter whose quasiparticle excitations are neither bosons nor fermions, but are particles known as non-Abelian anyons, meaning that they obey non-Abelian braiding statistics. Quantum information is stored in states with multiple quasiparticles, which have a topological degeneracy. The unitary gate operations that are necessary for quantum computation are carried out by braiding quasiparticles and then measuring the multiquasiparticle states. The fault tolerance of a topological quantum computer arises from the nonlocal encoding of the quasiparticle states, which makes them immune to errors caused by local perturbations. To date, the only such topological states thought to have been found in nature are fractional quantum Hall states, most prominently the $\ensuremath{\nu}=5∕2$ state, although several other prospective candidates have been proposed in systems as disparate as ultracold atoms in optical lattices and thin-film superconductors. In this review article, current research in this field is described, focusing on the general theoretical concepts of non-Abelian statistics as it relates to topological quantum computation, on understanding non-Abelian quantum Hall states, on proposed experiments to detect non-Abelian anyons, and on proposed architectures for a topological quantum computer. Both the mathematical underpinnings of topological quantum computation and the physics of the subject are addressed, using the $\ensuremath{\nu}=5∕2$ fractional quantum Hall state as the archetype of a non-Abelian topological state enabling fault-tolerant quantum computation.

Non-Abelian Anyons and Topological Quantum Computation

Topological quantum computation has recently emerged as one of the most exciting approaches to constructing a fault-tolerant quantum computer. The proposal relies on the existence of topological states of matter whose quasiparticle excitations are neither bosons nor fermions, but are particles known as {it Non-Abelian anyons}, meaning that they obey {it non-Abelian braiding statistics}. Quantum information is stored in states with multiple quasiparticles, which have a topological degeneracy. The unitary gate operations which are necessary for quantum computation are carried out by braiding quasiparticles, and then measuring the multi-quasiparticle states. The fault-tolerance of a topological quantum computer arises from the non-local encoding of the states of the quasiparticles, which makes them immune to errors caused by local perturbations. To date, the only such topological states thought to have been found in nature are fractional quantum Hall states, most prominently the nu=5/2 state, although several other prospective candidates have been proposed in systems as disparate as ultra-cold atoms in optical lattices and thin film superconductors. In this review article, we describe current research in this field, focusing on the general theoretical concepts of non-Abelian statistics as it relates to topological quantum computation, on understanding non-Abelian quantum Hall states, on proposed experiments to detect non-Abelian anyons, and on proposed architectures for a topological quantum computer. We address both the mathematical underpinnings of topological quantum computation and the physics of the subject using the nu=5/2 fractional quantum Hall state as the archetype of a non-Abelian topological state enabling fault-tolerant quantum computation.

Quantum Geometry of Bosonic Strings

We study toroidal compactification of Matrix theory, using ideas and results of non-commutative geometry. We generalize this to compactification on the noncommutative torus, explain the classification of these backgrounds, and argue that they correspond in supergravity to tori with constant background three-form tensor field. The paper includes an introduction for mathematicians to the IKKT formulation of Matrix theory and its relation to the BFSS Matrix theory.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1126-6708/1998/02/003/pdf

Noncommutative Geometry and Matrix Theory: Compactification on Tori

In Batalin–Vilkovisky formalism, a classical mechanical system is specified by means of a solution to the classical master equation. Geometrically, such a solution can be considered as a QP-manifold, i.e. a supermanifold equipped with an odd vector field Q obeying {Q, Q} = 0 and with Q-invariant odd symplectic structure. We study geometry of QP-manifolds. In particular, we describe some construction of QP-manifolds and prove a classification theorem (under certain conditions). We apply these geometric constructions to obtain in a natural way the action functionals of two-dimensional topological sigma-models and to show that the Chern–Simons theory in BV-formalism arises as a sigma-model with target space $\Pi\mathcal{G}$. (Here $\mathcal{G}$ stands for a Lie algebra and Π denotes parity inversion.)

The Geometry of the Master Equation and Topological Quantum Field Theory

We show that the resolution of moduli space of ideal instantons parameterizes the instantons on noncommutative ℝ4. This moduli space appears to be the Higgs branch of the theory of k

 D0-branes bound to N

 D4-branes by the expectation value of the B field. It also appears as a regularized version of the target space of supersymmetric quantum mechanics arising in the light cone description of (2,0) superconformal theories in six dimensions.

https://www.kitp.ucsb.edu/sites/default/files/kitp/preprints/1998030.pdf

Instantons on Noncommutative R 4 , and (2; 0) Superconformal Six Dimensional Theory

The geometry ofP-manifolds (odd symplectic manifolds) andSP-manifolds (P-manifolds provided with a volume element) is studied. A complete classification of these manifolds is given. This classification is used to prove some results about Batalin-Vilkovisky procedure of quantization, in particular to obtain a very general result about gauge independence of this procedure.

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Geometry of Batalin-Vilkovisky quantization

In Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism a classical mechanical system is specified by means of a solution to the {\sl classical master equation}. Geometrically such a solution can be considered as a $QP$-manifold, i.e. a super\m equipped with an odd vector field $Q$ obeying $\{Q,Q\}=0$ and with $Q$-invariant odd symplectic structure. We study geometry of $QP$-manifolds. In particular, we describe some construction of $QP$-manifolds and prove a classification theorem (under certain conditions). 
We apply these geometric constructions to obtain in natural way the action functionals of two-dimensional topological sigma-models and to show that the Chern-Simons theory in BV-formalism arises as a sigma-model with target space $\Pi {\cal G}$. (Here ${\cal G}$ stands for a Lie algebra and $\Pi$ denotes parity inversion.)

Albert Schwarz

Papers

Noncommutative Geometry and Matrix Theory: Compactification on Tori

The Geometry of the Master Equation and Topological Quantum Field Theory

Instantons on Noncommutative R 4 , and (2; 0) Superconformal Six Dimensional Theory

Geometry of Batalin-Vilkovisky quantization

The Geometry of the Master Equation and Topological Quantum Field Theory