In mathematics, an associative algebraA over a commutative ring K is a ring A together with a ring homomorphism from K into the center of A. This is thus an algebraic structure with an addition, a multiplication, and a scalar multiplication. The addition and multiplication operations together give A the structure of a ring; the addition and scalar multiplication operations together give A the structure of a module or vector space over K. In this article we will also use the term K-algebra to mean an associative algebra over K. A standard first example of a K-algebra is a ring of square matrices over a commutative ring K, with the usual matrix multiplication.
In physics, quantisation is the systematic transition procedure from a classical understanding of physical phenomena to a newer understanding known as quantum mechanics. It is a procedure for constructing quantum mechanics from classical mechanics. A generalization involving infinite degrees of freedom is field quantization, as in the "quantization of the electromagnetic field", referring to photons as field "quanta". This procedure is basic to theories of atomic physics, chemistry, particle physics, nuclear physics, condensed matter physics, and quantum optics.
In mathematics and classical mechanics, the Poisson bracket is an important binary operation in Hamiltonian mechanics, playing a central role in Hamilton's equations of motion, which govern the time evolution of a Hamiltonian dynamical system. The Poisson bracket also distinguishes a certain class of coordinate transformations, called canonical transformations, which map canonical coordinate systems into canonical coordinate systems. A "canonical coordinate system" consists of canonical position and momentum variables that satisfy canonical Poisson bracket relations. The set of possible canonical transformations is always very rich. For instance, it is often possible to choose the Hamiltonian itself as one of the new canonical momentum coordinates.
Noncommutative geometry (NCG) is a branch of mathematics concerned with a geometric approach to noncommutative algebras, and with the construction of spaces that are locally presented by noncommutative algebras of functions, possibly in some generalized sense. A noncommutative algebra is an associative algebra in which the multiplication is not commutative, that is, for which does not always equal ; or more generally an algebraic structure in which one of the principal binary operations is not commutative; one also allows additional structures, e.g. topology or norm, to be possibly carried by the noncommutative algebra of functions.
In mathematics, a Lie superalgebra is a generalisation of a Lie algebra to include a ‑grading. Lie superalgebras are important in theoretical physics where they are used to describe the mathematics of supersymmetry.
In mathematics, a Poisson algebra is an associative algebra together with a Lie bracket that also satisfies Leibniz's law; that is, the bracket is also a derivation. Poisson algebras appear naturally in Hamiltonian mechanics, and are also central in the study of quantum groups. Manifolds with a Poisson algebra structure are known as Poisson manifolds, of which the symplectic manifolds and the Poisson–Lie groups are a special case. The algebra is named in honour of Siméon Denis Poisson.
In mathematics, the universal enveloping algebra of a Lie algebra is the unital associative algebra whose representations correspond precisely to the representations of that Lie algebra.
In mathematics and theoretical physics, a superalgebra is a Z2-graded algebra. That is, it is an algebra over a commutative ring or field with a decomposition into "even" and "odd" pieces and a multiplication operator that respects the grading.
In theoretical physics, the Batalin–Vilkovisky (BV) formalism was developed as a method for determining the ghost structure for Lagrangian gauge theories, such as gravity and supergravity, whose corresponding Hamiltonian formulation has constraints not related to a Lie algebra. The BV formalism, based on an action that contains both fields and "antifields", can be thought of as a vast generalization of the original BRST formalism for pure Yang–Mills theory to an arbitrary Lagrangian gauge theory. Other names for the Batalin–Vilkovisky formalism are field-antifield formalism, Lagrangian BRST formalism, or BV–BRST formalism. It should not be confused with the Batalin–Fradkin–Vilkovisky (BFV) formalism, which is the Hamiltonian counterpart.
In mathematics, a Poisson superalgebra is a Z2-graded generalization of a Poisson algebra. Specifically, a Poisson superalgebra is an (associative) superalgebra A together with a second product, a Lie superbracket
In differential geometry, a field in mathematics, a Poisson manifold is a smooth manifold endowed with a Poisson structure. The notion of Poisson manifold generalises that of symplectic manifold, which in turn generalises the phase space from Hamiltonian mechanics.
In physics and mathematics, supermanifolds are generalizations of the manifold concept based on ideas coming from supersymmetry. Several definitions are in use, some of which are described below.
In mathematics, a graded Lie algebra is a Lie algebra endowed with a gradation which is compatible with the Lie bracket. In other words, a graded Lie algebra is a Lie algebra which is also a nonassociative graded algebra under the bracket operation. A choice of Cartan decomposition endows any semisimple Lie algebra with the structure of a graded Lie algebra. Any parabolic Lie algebra is also a graded Lie algebra.
In theoretical physics, the BRST formalism, or BRST quantization denotes a relatively rigorous mathematical approach to quantizing a field theory with a gauge symmetry. Quantization rules in earlier quantum field theory (QFT) frameworks resembled "prescriptions" or "heuristics" more than proofs, especially in non-abelian QFT, where the use of "ghost fields" with superficially bizarre properties is almost unavoidable for technical reasons related to renormalization and anomaly cancellation.
In mathematics, secondary calculus is a proposed expansion of classical differential calculus on manifolds, to the "space" of solutions of a (nonlinear) partial differential equation. It is a sophisticated theory at the level of jet spaces and employing algebraic methods.
In differential geometry, the Schouten–Nijenhuis bracket, also known as the Schouten bracket, is a type of graded Lie bracket defined on multivector fields on a smooth manifold extending the Lie bracket of vector fields. There are two different versions, both rather confusingly called by the same name. The most common version is defined on alternating multivector fields and makes them into a Gerstenhaber algebra, but there is also another version defined on symmetric multivector fields, which is more or less the same as the Poisson bracket on the cotangent bundle. It was invented by Jan Arnoldus Schouten and its properties were investigated by his student Albert Nijenhuis (1955). It is related to but not the same as the Nijenhuis–Richardson bracket and the Frölicher–Nijenhuis bracket.
String topology, a branch of mathematics, is the study of algebraic structures on the homology of free loop spaces. The field was started by Moira Chas and Dennis Sullivan.
In mathematical physics, the De Donder–Weyl theory is a generalization of the Hamiltonian formalism in the calculus of variations and classical field theory over spacetime which treats the space and time coordinates on equal footing. In this framework, the Hamiltonian formalism in mechanics is generalized to field theory in the way that a field is represented as a system that varies both in space and in time. This generalization is different from the canonical Hamiltonian formalism in field theory which treats space and time variables differently and describes classical fields as infinite-dimensional systems evolving in time.
In mathematics, in particular abstract algebra and topology, a homotopy Lie algebra is a generalisation of the concept of a differential graded Lie algebra. To be a little more specific, the Jacobi identity only holds up to homotopy. Therefore, a differential graded Lie algebra can be seen as a homotopy Lie algebra where the Jacobi identity holds on the nose. These homotopy algebras are useful in classifying deformation problems over characteristic 0 in deformation theory because deformation functors are classified by quasi-isomorphism classes of -algebras. This was later extended to all characteristics by Jonathan Pridham.
Alexandre Mikhailovich Vinogradov was a Russian and Italian mathematician. He made important contributions to the areas of differential calculus over commutative algebras, the algebraic theory of differential operators, homological algebra, differential geometry and algebraic topology, mechanics and mathematical physics, the geometrical theory of nonlinear partial differential equations and secondary calculus.
