1996/01/18 by N.P. Landsman, Landsman, N. P.
Mathematics · #Advanced Operator Algebra Research #Advanced Topics in Algebra #Algebraic structures and combinatorial models #Differential Geometry (math.DG) #FOS: Mathematics #FOS: Physical sciences #General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.dg-ga/9601009
openalex publication_date 1996/01/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
This is an introduction to the author's recent work on constrained systems. Firstly, a generalization of the Marsden-Weinstein reduction procedure in symplectic geometry is presented - this is a reformulation of ideas of Mikami-Weinstein and Xu. Secondly, it is shown how this procedure is quantized by Rieffel induction, a technique in operator algebra theory. The essential point is that a symplectic space with generalized moment map is quantized by a pre-(Hilbert) C^*-module. The connection with Dirac's constrained quantization method is explained. Three examples with a single constraint are discussed in some detail: the reduced space is either singular, or defined by a constraint with incomplete flow, or unproblematic but still interesting. In all cases, our quantization procedure may be carried out. Finally, we re-interpret and generalize Mackey's quantization on homogeneous spaces. This provides a double illustration of the connection between C^*-modules and the moment map.