Deformation quantization: genesis, developments and metamorphoses∗ Giuseppe Dito and Daniel Sternheimer Laboratoire Gevrey de Mathematique´ Physique, CNRS UMR 5029 Departement´ de Mathematiques,´ Universite´ de Bourgogne BP 47870, F-21078 Dijon Cedex, France.
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[email protected] November 27, 2001 Abstract We start with a short exposition of developments in physics and mathematics that pre- ceded, formed the basis for, or accompanied, the birth of deformation quantization in the seventies. We indicate how the latter is at least a viable alternative, autonomous and concep- tually more satisfactory, to conventional quantum mechanics and mention related questions, including covariance and star representations of Lie groups. We sketch Fedosov’s geometric presentation, based on ideas coming from index theorems, which provided a beautiful frame for developing existence and classification of star-products on symplectic manifolds. We present Kontsevich’s formality, a major metamorphosis of deformation quantization, which implies existence and classification of star-products on general Poisson manifolds and has numerous ramifications. Its alternate proof using operads gave a new metamorphosis which in particular showed that the proper context is that of deformations of algebras over operads, while still another is provided by the extension from differential to algebraic geometry. In this panorama some important aspects are highlighted by a more detailed account. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classifications: 53D55 (53-02,81S10,81T70,53D17,18D50,22Exx) arXiv:math/0201168v1 [math.QA] 18 Jan 2002 1 Introduction: the background and around The passage from commutative to noncommutative structures is a staple in frontier physics and mathematics. The advent of quantum mechanics is of course an important example but it is now becoming increasingly clear that the appearance, 25 years ago [FLSq, BFFLS], of deformation quantization, followed by numerous developments and metamorphoses, has been a major factor in the present trend.