Quantization

P. Deligne

School of Mathematics
Institute for Advanced Study
Princeton, NJ 08540
e-mail: deligne@math.ias.edu

The present notes do not pretend to any originality. We have tried to present dierent
aspects of what quantization can mean, including the case of odd variables. Complex
polarizations are not considered.

1. Let (M; !) be a symplectic manifold of dimension 2d. We will use vague words \big"
and \small". For this, we need some notion of size  1 on M . For instance M could carry
a Riemannian metric, with curvature of size at most  1 and injectivity radius of size at
least  1. The symplectic form should be of size  1, and } is a small number. The 2-form
which really matters is !=}.
Our sign convention for the Poisson bracket corresponding to ! is the following: the
Hamiltonian vector eld X (f ) dened by a function f is given by X (f )g = ff; gg, and
df = iX (f )!. If M = R2 with coordinates p, q and if ! = dp^dq, then fp; qg = 1.
A quantization of M consists in a complex Hilbert space H and in a rule to attach to
functions f on M operators f ^ acting on H. The rule f 7! f ^ should be C -linear, for f
real, f ^ should be hermitian and, in a sense I will not try to make precise, f 7! f ^ should
almost be an homomorphism: 1^ should be the identity and for slowly varying functions
f and g,

(1.1) (fg)^  f ^ g^ mod O(}):

1
If (1:1) did hold exactly, the f ^ would commute the one with the other. The symplectic
structure controls the failure of commutativity
(1.2) [ f ^ ; g^]  i}ff; gg^ mod O(}2 ):
Formula (1.2) can be rewritten
(1:2)0 (X (f )g)^  i=}[ f ^ ; g^] mod O(}):
The symplectic vector eld X (f ), if it is well behaved at innity, exponentiates to an
automorphism exp(X (f )) of (M; !), with Taylor's formula reading
exp(X (f )) g = exp(derivation X (f ))(g):
Formula (1:2)0 should hold in its integrated form
(1.3) (exp(X (f )) g)^  exp(i=}f ^ )g^ exp( i=}f ^ ) mod O(}):
We don't care about the exact rule f 7! f ^. It matters mainly mod O(}).
In the deformation quantization point of view, (1:1) is the rst term in an expansion
(-product)
(1:1)0 f ^ g^ = (fg)^ + c1(f; g)^} + c2(f; g)^}2 +


;
with ci(f; g) given by a C -bilinear dierential operator in f and g. The formula (1.2)
becomes c1(f; g) c1(g; f ) = iff; gg. If one disposes of quantizations H(}),with } tending
to 0, (1; 1)0 can be an asymptotic expansion in }. if one redenes f 7! f ^ to be f ^ +
d1(f )^ } +


with di (f ) a linear dierential operator in f , (1:1)0 changes to an equivalent
-product.
Assumption (1:1) means that H almost localizes on M : an element h of H can be
P
decomposed as a sum hi of elements localized in small regions Ui of M : if x 2 Ui , f ^ hi
is about f (x):hi . Because of the non commutativity (1:2), localization does not make sense
for regions smaller than expressed by the uncertainty principle
p
q  2}.
If we were only to assume (1:1) and (1:2), a multiple Hn of a quantization H of M
would again be a quantization. A \nite multiplicity" assumption is that if f is a C 1
2
function with compact support on M , the operator f ^ is of trace class. If this holds, I
would expect that for some integer m (rather: one for each connected component of M ),
one has Z
Tr(f )  m f (x)dx
^

where, in Darboux local coordinates, dx is the product of the dpi dqi =2} (Liouville mea-
sure). We want m = 1:
Z
(1.4) Tr(f ) 
^
f (x)dx
2. Example: cotangent bundles.
The basic example of almost localization, in the sense meant above, is when M is a
cotangent bundle T  V and H the space of half densities on V . If f is peaked at x, say in a
gaussian fashion, and if g is a real function, with dg slowly varying, then feig=} is localized
around (x; dgx) in M . If f is slowly varying, then f:eig=} is localized around the section
x 7! dgx of M ! V , above the support of f .
The operator f ^ has a natural denition when f is ane linear on the bers of T  V
over V . If f is the pull back of a function on V , f ^ is multiplication by f . If f is linear
on each cotangent space, hence identied with a vector eld F on V , f ^ = i}LF . For
those f , (1.2) holds exactly. To dene f ^ for more complicated functions requires auxiliary
choices.
On T  V , we have a canonical 1-form : in local coordinates qi on V , giving local
coordinates (pi ; qi) on T  V ,  is pi dqi. The trivial unitary line bundle L, with the
P

connection i=}: rf = df i=}f , is a prequantization line bundle: its curvature is

i!=}, for ! the symplectic form d. A real function g on V denes the lagrangian section
L(g): x 7! (dg)x of T  V . The pull back to L(g) of eig=} is an horizontal section of L.
For any symplectic manifold M , let M or simply  be the ber space over M whose
ber m at m 2 M is the space of lagrangian (= maximal isotropic) subspace of the
tangent space Tm of M at m. To take into account the Maslov index story, it is best to
take prequantization line bundles as living on . They should verify (a) (b) below.
(a) The curvature 2-form R is the pull back from M of i!=}:
r2 = i!=}:
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In particular, on each ber m of  ! M , (L; r) is at. One has 1 (m ) = Z and
(b) the monodromy of (Lr) on m is multiplication by i.
Remarks: (i) In the same way that an hamiltonian vector eld X (f ) acts on a prequanti-
zation line bundle, with the action depending on f , and not only on X (f ), it also acts on
(L; r) as above: X (f ) is symplectic, hence lifts to , the question is local on , and locally
on  (L; r) is the inverse image of a prequantization line bundle on M . If we exponentiate,
we see that exp(X (f )) acts by an automorphism of (M; !; L; r). The innitesimal action
on sections of L is given by
(2.1) @X (f ) = rX (f ) if=}

(ii) To make sense of (b), we should make precise our sign convention identifying 1 (m )
with Z. For the symplectic vector space R2, form dp^dq, the generator is given by the path
 7 ! line spanned by (q; p) = (cos ; sin ) (0    ):

(iii) Let V be a symplectic vector space, and 0 be the space of lagrangian linear subspaces
of V . If S1 and S2 in 0 intersect transversally, one denes as follows a preferred homotopy
class of path from S1 to S2. Identify S2 to S1_ by s2 7! !(s2 ; s1 ). Choose a basis ei of S1
and let e01 be the dual basis of S2. The path is
 7 ! subspace spanned by the cos ei + sin e0i (0    =2):
It depends only on the quadratic form for which the basis (ei ) is orthonormal. The choice
of this quadratic form running over a contractible set, the homotopy class of the path
does not depend on the choice. If V is of dimension 2d, the preferred path from S1 to S2,
followed by the preferred path from S2 to S1, is d times the preferred generator of 1(0 ).
We now come back to the case where M is a cotangent bundle T  V . Let 0   be the
subbundle, with 0m  m consisting of those lagrangian subspaces L of Tm intersecting
transversally the vertical subspace of Tm (tangent to the ber of T  V ! V ). If we pull back
the prequantization line bundle on T  V to 0, it extends uniquely to L on  satisfying
the conditions (a) (b).
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 Let L be a lagrangian subvariety of M . Let s be the section of  over L: x 7! tangent
space of L at x. The section s is with values in 0 if and only if L is locally of the form
L(g). As L is lagrangian, s L is at and it makes sense ot speak of a slowly varying
section of s L on L. Generalizing the f:eig=} considered previously, to a slowly varying
half density u on L, with values in s L, corresponds [u] in H, with
Z
(2.2) k[u]k2  hu; ui :
S
It is localized near Supp(u)  S  M = T  V .
A function f denes an automorphism exp(X (f ))of (M; L; r) (Remark (ii) above),
and an automorphism exp( i=}f ^) of H. Those automorphisms should (almost) preserve
the construction u 7! [u]:

(2.3) [exp(X (f )) u]  exp(i=}f ^)[u]:

Inner products are given as follows. Fix (Si; ui ) (i = 1; 2) as above, and assume that
S1 and S2 intersect transversally. Let x be an intersection point. The lagrangian subspaces
s1 (x) and s2(x) of TxM intersect transversally, and the preferred class of path from s1 (x)
to s2 (x) (Remark (iii) above) gives an isomorphism  : Ls2(x) ! Ls1(x). The symplectic
structure puts s1(x) and s2 (x) in duality, identifying the line of half densities of S1 at x
with the dual of the similar line for S2. The inner product hu1(x);  u2(x)i is hence just a
number. The stationary phase gives
X
(2.4) h[u1]; [u2]i  (2i})d=2 hu1(x);  u2(x)i
x2S1 \S2
for M of dimension 2d.
Our convention for inner products ha; bi is: antilinear in a, linear in b.
3. The at case is when M is an ane space, with a translation invariant symplectic form.
In the at case, one can dene a quantization as the data of f 7! f ^, just for f a linear
function, with (1.2) holding exactly. The purely imaginary linear functions form a Lie
algebra, for i}ff; gg, and we want a unitary representation f 7! f ^ of this Lie aglebra,
with i^ = i:Id. It is more convenient to ask for a unitary representation of the corresponding
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Lie group. Formula (1.4) becomes a request for irreducibility. Weyl's quantization f 7! f ^,
for a general f , is given by
(3.1) exp(`)^ = exp(`^)
for ` a purely imaginary linear function, a generalf ^ being deduced from (3.1) by consider-
ing f as a superposition of exp(`), by Fourier transform. For Weyl's quantization, formula
(1.4) holds exactly.
Understood in those terms, quantization in the at case is unique, up to isomorphisms.
If M is the cotangent bundle to an ane space V , 2. gives its Schrodinger model as L2(V ):
if V0 is the vector space of translations of V , one has M = V0_  V ; for f (the pull back
of) a function on V , f ^ is multiplication by f . For ` a linear form on V0_ , identied with
a vector v 2 V0, `^ is i}@v , and exp(i`)^ is (x) 7! (x + }v).
This unicity assertion depends on the assumption that the at symplectic variety M
is of nite dimension.
Remark. In the at case, the data on M of a prequantization line bundle denes a quan-
tization H, as dened above, up to unique isomorphism. This is made plausible by the fact
that the group of automorphisms of
(ane symplectic space M; L; r)
and of
(ane symplectic space M; H; f 7! f ^)
are the same extension of the ane symplectic group (Sp n translations) by U 1 .
The relation between L and the quantization H can be xed as follows. Let H1 be
the C 1-vectors in H, for the action of the Heisenberg group. In the Schroedinger model:
the Schwartz functions on V . Let H 1  H be the dual of H1. Then, a linear lagrangian
subspace L of M , given with u on L of the form (translation invariant half density). ( at
section s L), dene [u] in H 1, and the inner product formula (2.4) holds exactly, to
give the inner product of continuous superpositions of [u]. Formula (2.3) holds exactly,
for f quadratic and u as above. In particular, if a linear form ` vanishes on L, one has
`^[u] = 0.

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4. We now go over to the superworld. A super Hilbert space is a mod 2 graded complex
vector space H , with an even sesquilinear form (u; v), antilinear in u and linear in v, for
which
(v; u) = ( 1)p(u)p(v)(u; v) ;
with a positivity and a completeness condition. As positivity condition, we take
(u; u) > 0 for u even; u 6= 0
(4.1)
i(u; u) > 0 for u odd; u 6= 0:
This positivity condition is stable by tensor product, if ( ; ) for H 0
H 00 is dened by
(u0
u00 ; v0
v00 ) = ( 1)p(u00 )p(v0)(u0 ; v0 )(u00 ; v00 );
in accordance with the sign rule. The adjoint T y of an operator T is dened by
(4.2) (Tu; v) = ( 1)p(T )p(u)(u; T y v):
The physicist don't like (4.1), and prefer to work with the ordinary mod 2 graded
Hilbert space with the inner product h ; i dened by
(u; v) = hu; vi for u; v even
(4.3)
(u; v) = i hu; vi for u; v odd:
The adjoint T y is related to the corresponding ordinary adjoint T  by
T y = T  for T even
(4.4)
T y = iT  for T odd:
The denition (4.2) has the unsettling eect that the eigenvalues of an odd self adjoint
operator are in i1=2 :R. However, the eigen spaces being neither even nor odd, there is not
much wish to consider them.
In a quantization of a supermanifold M , to functions f on M should correspond
operators f ^, acting on a super Hilbert space H, with f ^ of the same parity as f . If f is
real, one should have f ^ = f ^y . Because of (3.4), if M is a supermanifold, the physicists
will declare to be \real" the real even f , and the i 1=2  for  real. With this rule, if 1
and 2 are odd and \real", i12 is \real" (as well as real, being even). Example: on R1;1,
with coordinates (x; ), if we put  = i 1=2 , the vector eld @ + i@x is a multiple of a
real vector eld:
@ + i@x = i1=2 (@ + @x):

7
5. Let now M be a super ane space, with a translation invariant symplectic form. In
imitation of 3., we dene a quantization as the data of a super Hilbert space H, and of
` 7! `^ attaching to a linear function on M an operator on H, with ` and `^ of the same
parity. The quantization ` 7! `^ should be linear, real: `^ = (`^)y for ` real, map 1 to Id,
and obey
(5.1) [`^; m^] = i}ff; gg^:
One should also require some irreducibility.
The condition (5.1) requires that for real linear odd functions `, the Poisson bracket
f`; `g (a constant) be negative:
(5.2) f`; `g  0:
Indeed, [`^; `^] = 2`^2 = `^y `^ must be i}f`; `g. The sign in (5.2) is due to the choices
of sign in (4.1) and (5.1), the latter repeating (1.2).
As in 3., one extends ` 7! `^ to polynomial functions by requiring that for a product
of even or odd linear functions, one has
X
(`1 : : : `n)^ = 1=n!  `^(1) : : : `^(n) ( 2 Sn)

with  given by the sign rule. In particular,  is + if the `i are all even, and "() if they
are all odd.
6. Let W be a real vector space with a positive dened symmetric bilinear form B. Let
M be the ane space dened by W : it is of dimension (0; dim W ), and linear forms on
W are odd functions on M . Dene a Poisson bracket by
(6.1) f`; mg = B 1 (`; m)
for `; m 2 W _.
If ei is an orthonormal basis of W , with dual basis ei, and if ei is veiwed as an odd
function on M , the Poisson bracket (6.1) is given by the super symplectic form
X
(6.2) ! = 12 dei dei :
8
 One W  , let Q be the quadratic form 21 B 1 (`; `). If H is a mod 2 graded module
over the (mod 2 graded) Cliord algebra C (W ; Q), with the module structure written
c`(`) for ` 2 W  , (5.1) holds for

(6.3) `^ = (i})1=2 c`(`):

 p 
For dim W = 1, one can take H = (C even)  (C odd), with c`(e1) = 1=0p2 1=0 2 .
For the obvious Hilbert space structure of H, and the corresponding super Hilbert space
structure, one has then c`(e1 ) = c`(e1) and for any ` in V  ,

(6.4) `^ = (`^)y :

A general W can be written as an orthogonal direct sum of lines, and the corresponding
tensor product of super Hilbert spaces is a Cliord module for which (6.4) holds, if `^ is
dened by (6.3). If H1 is a graded submodule with the induced Hilbert space structure,
(6.4) continues to hold for H1. This proves the existence of a super Hilbert space H with
a Cliord module structure, irreducible as a graded module, for which (6.4) holds when `^
is dened by (6.3).
We now assume W of even dimension. They are the two isomorphy classes of H as
above, exchanged by the parity change H 7! H
L, for L a (0; 1)-dimensional super
Hilbert space. Let (e1 ; : : : ; en) be an orthonormal basis (for B 1 ), and [e1; : : : ; en] be
the corresponding density on M . Another orthonormal basis would give the same, or the
opposite density. The choice of the density [e1; : : : ; en] picks out one of the two isomorphy
classes of H: the one for which the following analogue of (1.4) holds. For any f on M , the
supertrace Tr(f ^) is given by
Z
(6.5) Tr(f ^) = }n=2 [e1; : : : ; en ]f

Justication: writing H as a tensor product, one reduces to the case n = 2. For n = 2,
c`(e1 )c`(e2 ) has square 1=4 and eigenvalues i=2. It follows that (e1e2 )^ = 21 (e^1 e^2
e^2 e^1 ) = e^1 e^2 = i}c`(e1 )c`(e2 ) has eigenvalues }=2, hence supertrace }.

9
7. A super symplectic at space M as in 5. can be decomposed as M +  M , with M +
even and M odd, as in 6. The tensor product of quantizations of M + and M gives one
for M . If M + is the cotangent bundle of an ane space V , and if M is obtained as in 6.
from an even dimensional quadratic vector space W , this tensor product can be realized
as the space of L2-density on V with values in a Cliord module for W _, and an analogue
of 1.4, 6.5 holds.
8. Let V be a manifold and W be an orthogonal vector bundle on V , with a connection r
respecting the structural symmetric bilinear form B. We take M to be the ber product
over V of T  V and W . Over any basis B, a section of M over V is the data of an even
section p of T  V and of an odd section of W . A section e of W _ denes an odd function
7! e( ) on M . A local coordinate system (qi ) on V and a local basis (e ) of W give a
local coordinate system (qi ; pi ; ) on M .
We assume that W is even dimensional, oriented and Spin. It gives rise to a bundle
of super Hilbert spaces HV on V , reproducing point by point what we got in 6., and the
connection r on W gives one on HV .
Let H be the super Hilbert space of half densities on V with values in HV . To any
function f on M , of degree  1 on the bers of M=V , when pi is viewed as of degree 1 and
 as of degree 1=2, one attaches an operator f ^ as follows.

(a) For (the pull back of) a function f on V , f ^ is multiplication by f .

(b) For the odd function dened by a section e of W _,

e^ = (i})1=2 c`(e)

as in 6.3. This is extended as in 5. to dene f ^ for any function f on W .

(c) If f is a function on T  V , linear on each ber of T  V=V and identied with a vector
eld F ,
f ^ = i}rF :

In (c), if x in H is the product of a section h of HV by a half density v, rF (x) :=

rF (h):v + h:LF (v).
10
 The super vector space of operators f ^, for f of degree  1 on the bers of M=V ,
is stable by bracket. By (1.2), the bracket of operators corresponds to a Poisson bracket,
which we now compute.
For functions on W , it is as in 6.: functions on V commute with functions on W
and for `, m odd linear functions, identied with sections of W _, one has
f`; mg = B 1(`; m):
For f a function on T  V , linear on the bers and corresponding to a vector eld F on V ,
ff; g is rF on functions on W .
It remains to compute [f ^; g^] as being of the form i}ff; gg^ when f and g are linear
functions on T  V , corresponding to vector elds F and G. We have


[f ^; g^] = [ i}rF ; i}rG] = ( i})2 r[F;G] + R(F; G)
 
= i} ff; gg^T  V i}R(F; G)
for f ; gT  V the Poisson bracket on T  V and F the curvature 2-form of W , with values in
SO(W ) (which acts on HV ).
Let S   be the matrix of S 2 SO(W ), relatively to a local basis e of W : S is
(x ) 7! (S   x ). Let e be the dual basis, and move the indices up and down using B.
The action of S on HV is then the Cliord multiplication by S e e (sum on  and  )
in the Cliord algebra. This follows from
[S e e ; e ] = S (e [e ; e ] [e; e ]e ) (superbrackets)
= 21 S (e b; b; e ) = S b e = S e = S (e )
for the Lie algbra action.
If we apply this to the curvature, and if  are the odd functions on M corresponding
to the e, this gives [f ^; g^] = i}ff; gg^ for
ff; gg = ff; ggT V R(F; G);  

This Poisson bracket corresponds to the following symplectic 2-form

. Let T  V be
the canonical 1-form pdq on T  V , as well as its pull back to M . Let W be the 1-form
11
on W whose inverse image by a section is 12 ( ; r ). If (e) is a local basis of W , and
if the connection is given by the endomorphism valued 1-form  :

r(x e) = (dx +  x )e ;
one has
W = 12 (d  +    ):

With those notations,

= dT V + dV :
If (e ) is an orthonormal basis, one has
X X
dV = 21 (d  +   )2 + R    :
 ;

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