Locality and General Vacua in Quantum Field Theory

We extend the framework of general boundary quantum field theory (GBQFT) to achieve a fully local description of realistic quantum field theories. This requires the quantization of non-Kähler polarizations which occur generically on timelike hypersurfaces in Lorentzian spacetimes as has been shown recently. We achieve this in two ways: On the one hand we replace Hilbert space states by observables localized on hypersurfaces, in the spirit of algebraic quantum field theory. On the other hand we apply the GNS construction to twisted star-structures to obtain Hilbert spaces, motivated by the notion of reflection positivity of the Euclidean approach to quantum field theory. As one consequence, the well-known representation of a vacuum state in terms of a sea of particle pairs in the Hilbert space of another vacuum admits a vast generalization to non-Kähler vacua, particularly relevant on timelike hypersurfaces.

Detecting optimality and extracting solutions in polynomial optimization with the truncated GNS construction

A basic closed semialgebraic subset of $${\mathbb {R}}^{n}$$ R n is defined by simultaneous polynomial inequalities $$p_{1}\ge 0,\ldots ,p_{m}\ge 0$$ p 1 ≥ 0 , … , p m ≥ 0 . We consider Lasserre’s relaxation hierarchy to solve the problem of minimizing a polynomial over such a set. These relaxations give an increasing sequence of lower bounds of the infimum. In this paper we provide a new certificate for the optimal value of a Lasserre relaxation to be the optimal value of the polynomial optimization problem. This certificate is to check if a certain matrix has a generalized Hankel form. This certificate is more general than the already known certificate of an optimal solution being flat. In case we have detected optimality we will extract the potential minimizers with a truncated version of the Gelfand–Naimark–Segal construction on the optimal solution of the Lasserre relaxation. We prove also that the operators of this truncated construction commute if and only if the matrix of this modified optimal solution is a generalized Hankel matrix. This generalization of flatness will enable us to prove, with the use of the GNS truncated construction, a result of Curto and Fialkow on the existence of quadrature rule if the optimal solution is flat and a result of Xu and Mysovskikh on the existence of a Gaussian quadrature rule if the modified optimal solution is a generalized Hankel matrix . At the end, we provide a numerical linear algebraic algorithm for detecting optimality and extracting solutions of a polynomial optimization problem.

From the Jordan Product to Riemannian Geometries on Classical and Quantum States

The Jordan product on the self-adjoint part of a finite-dimensional C * -algebra A is shown to give rise to Riemannian metric tensors on suitable manifolds of states on A , and the covariant derivative, the geodesics, the Riemann tensor, and the sectional curvature of all these metric tensors are explicitly computed. In particular, it is proved that the Fisher–Rao metric tensor is recovered in the Abelian case, that the Fubini–Study metric tensor is recovered when we consider pure states on the algebra B ( H ) of linear operators on a finite-dimensional Hilbert space H , and that the Bures–Helstrom metric tensors is recovered when we consider faithful states on B ( H ) . Moreover, an alternative derivation of these Riemannian metric tensors in terms of the GNS construction associated to a state is presented. In the case of pure and faithful states on B ( H ) , this alternative geometrical description clarifies the analogy between the Fubini–Study and the Bures–Helstrom metric tensor.

A GNS construction of three-dimensional abelian Dijkgraaf–Witten theories

We give a detailed account of the so-called “universal construction” that aims to extend invariants of closed manifolds, possibly with additional structure, to topological field theories and show that it amounts to a generalization of the GNS construction. We apply this construction to an invariant defined in terms of the groupoid cardinality of groupoids of bundles to recover Dijkgraaf–Witten theories, including the vector spaces obtained as a linearization of spaces of principal bundles.

The quantum holonomy-diffeomorphism algebra and quantum gravity

We introduce the quantum holonomy-diffeomorphism ∗-algebra, which is generated by holonomy-diffeomorphisms on a three-dimensional manifold and translations on a space of SU(2)-connections. We show that this algebra encodes the canonical commutation relations of canonical quantum gravity formulated in terms of Ashtekar variables. Furthermore, we show that semiclassical states exist on the holonomy-diffeomorphism part of the algebra but that these states cannot be extended to the full algebra. Via a Dirac-type operator we derive a certain class of unbounded operators that act in the GNS construction of the semiclassical states. These unbounded operators are the type of operators, which we have previously shown to entail the spatial three-dimensional Dirac operator and Dirac–Hamiltonian in a semiclassical limit. Finally, we show that the structure of the Hamilton constraint emerges from a Yang–Mills-type operator over the space of SU(2)-connections.

Classification and GNS-construction for general universal products

It is known that there are exactly five natural products, which are universal products fulfilling two normalization conditions simultaneously. We classify universal products without these extra conditions. We find a two-parameter deformation of the Boolean product, which we call (r, s)-products. Our main result states that, besides degnerate cases, these are the only new universal products. Furthermore, we introduce a GNS-construction for not necessarily positive linear functionals on algebras and study the GNS-construction for (r, s)-product functionals.

FOLDING AND UNFOLDING QUANTUM STATES

The reduction of a quantum system ("folding" a quantum system) is described as the reduction of its Lie–Jordan Banach algebra of observables with respect to Lie–Jordan Banach subalgebras and Jordan ideals. The space of states of the reduced Lie–Jordan Banach algebra is described in terms of unreduced states ("unfolding" states) as well as the GNS construction. A few examples are discussed.

On representations of Banach C*-modules associated with biweights

We introduce an order relation in the set of modular biweights on a Banach C*-module X and give a description of this order relation in terms of representation associated with each modular biweight by GNS construction. We also characterize the extreme points in the set of all biweights φ defined on X such that φ(x 0, x 0) = λ 0. Furthermore, we discuss operator representations associated with modular biweights on Banach C*-modules.