superalgebra and (synthetic ) supergeometry
spin geometry, string geometry, fivebrane geometry …
rotation groups in low dimensions:
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Given a commutative ring and -modules and , an -quadratic function on with values in is a map such that the following properties hold:
(cube relation) For any , we have
(homogeneous of degree 2) For any and any , we have
A quadratic -module is an -module equipped with a quadratic form: an -quadratic function on with values in .
The Clifford algebra of a quadratic -module can be defined as the quotient of the tensor algebra by the ideal generated by the relations for all .
Equivalently, it is the initial object in the category whose objects are pairs where is an associative unital -algebra, and is an -linear map satisfying for all , and whose morphisms are the associative -algebra maps such that .
Examples in low rank can be calculated easily. If is freely generated by a single element , with quadratic form , then . Note that the opposite sign convention is often used in the differential geometry literature, so one may see the assertion that the Clifford algebra of the real line with a positive definite metric is isomorphic to the complex numbers . Similarly, the Clifford algebra of a negative definite two dimensional real vector space is isomorphic to the (non-split) quaternions in our convention, but one may see the assertion that it is isomorphic to . Complexification removes the difference between positive definite and negative definite, and the two complexified algebras are isomorphic.
Let for projective of rank over , and the dual module. One can define the canonical quadratic form for and . In this case, . In general, the Clifford algebra arising from a nondegenerate form is flat-locally (on ) isomorphic to a matrix algebra (when rank is even) or a direct sum of two matrix algebras (when rank is odd).
If is a projective -module of rank , then independently of , the Clifford algebra is projective of rank , and is (noncanonically) isomorphic to as an -module equipped with a map from . The Clifford algebra is isomorphic to the exterior algebra (as algebras equipped with -module maps from ) if and only if .
If is the ring of smooth functions on a pseudo-Riemannian manifold , and is the -module of sections of the tangent bundle, then the metric endows with a quadratic structure, and one can form the Clifford algebra of the tangent bundle.
Let be the vector space over the complex numbers of complex dimension , equipped with non-degenerate bilinear form, unique up to isomorphism. The Clifford algebra
is isomorphic, as a complex associative algebra to a matrix algebra as follows:
This is one of the incarnations of Bott periodicity.
We discuss the classification of Clifford algebras over the real numbers and their relation to matrix algebras over the real numbers. A key statement is that of the mod-8 Bott periodicity of this classification (prop. below).
In the following we write
for the Clifford algebra of a vector space over the real numbers with
generators squaring to -1
generators squaring to +1
for the complex numbers regarded as an associative algebra over ;
for the quaternions regarded as an associative algebra over ;
for the matrix algebra of matrices with coefficients in .
For low dimensions of real Clifford algebras, there are the following isomorphisms of associative algebras over
(e. g. Figueroa-O’Farrill, lemma32)
For then there are the following isomorphisms of associative algebras over :
(e.g. Lawson-Michelsohn 89, theorem 4.1, Figueroa-O’Farrill, lemma 2)
(e.g. Lawson-Michelsohn 89, proposition 4.2)
Now the incarnation in Clifford algebras of Bott periodicity over the real numbers is the following:
(e.g. Lawson-Michelsohn 89, theorem 4.3)
While the tensor algebra of an -module has a natural integer grading, the quadratic relation collapses this to a natural -grading on .
When is projective of rank , each homogeneous piece is projective of rank . When is nondegenerate, the even part of the Clifford algebra is also flat-locally isomorphic to a matrix ring or a sum of two matrix rings.
One can view the Clifford algebra multiplication as a quantization of the commutative super algebra .
Let be the generators of an -dimensional Clifford algebra over the real numbers corresponding to an inner product/metric , hence with this anti-commutator:
Then:
(special orthogonal Lie algebra via Clifford algebra)
The elements of the Clifford algera (1) given by
for all ,
and equipped with the commutator bracket
span a Lie algebra which is isomorphic to the special orthogonal Lie algebra with respect to , in that their commutator Lie bracket is:
First observe that
Here the first step may be thought of as the graded Jacobi identity in the Clifford super Lie algebra, but it is also immediately verified by inspection. The second step evaluates the defining anti-commutators (3).
With this we compute as follows, assuming, without restriction of generality, that and :
Here the first step is again the graded Jacobi identity (and is again also immediely checked by inspection), while the second step uses (3).
Let be a projective -module of finite rank, and let be nondegenerate. Write for the group of units of the Clifford algebra .
The Clifford group is the subgroup of elements for which twisted conjugation stabilizes the submodule . Here, twisted conjugation is defined by , where is the automorphism of induced by the map on . Since twisted conjugation by -stabilizing elements amounts to reflection , there is a canonical map , and the Clifford group is in fact a central extension of the orthogonal group by .
The Clifford group is made of homogeneous elements in the -grading, and the subgroup of even elements is a normal subgroup of index two. One also has a spinor norm on the Clifford group, defined by , where is the anti-involution of the Clifford algebra defined by opposite multiplication in the tensor algebra.
The Pin group is the group elements of the Clifford group with spinor norm 1. The Spin group is the group of elements in the even subgroup of the Clifford group with spinor norm 1.
The restriction of the map to the Pin group may not be surjective, but it is for positive definite real vector spaces. The kernel is the group of elements of that square to 1. Similarly, the Spin group has a map to the special orthogonal group with kernel , but it may not be surjective in general.
One can use base change to define the groups given above as functors on commutative -algebras.
For an inner product space, the symbol map (see there) constitutes an isomorphism of the underlying super vector spaces of the Clifford algebra with the exterior algebra on .
One may understand the Clifford algebra as the quantization Grassmann algebra induced from the inner product regarded as an odd symplectic form.
For nondegenerate quadratic forms on real vector spaces, spinors/spin representations are distinguished linear representations of Spin groups that are not pulled back from the corresponding special orthogonal groups. In other words, the central element acts nontrivially. They can be realized as restrictions of representations of the even parts of Clifford algebras. Since even parts of Clifford algebras are (up to complexification) the sum of one or two matrix rings, their representation theory is quite simple.
The specific nature of spinor representations possible depends on the signature of the vector space modulo 8. This is a manifestation of Bott periodicity. One always has a Dirac spinor - the fundamental (spin) representation of the complexified Clifford algebra. In even dimensions, this splits into two Weyl spinors (called half-spin representations). One may also have real representations called Majorana spinors, and these may decompose into Majorana-Weyl spinors.
There are infinite dimensional Clifford algebra constructions that appear in conformal field theory. One may extend the above discussion to topological -modules and continuous quadratic forms, and one obtains canonical central extensions of infinite dimensional groups and algebras by a relative determinant construction. Semi-infinite wedge spaces are spinor modules for Clifford algebras of quadratic Tate -modules.
There is a difference of sign convention between differential geometers (following Atiyah) and everyone else.
Clifford algebras are often defined using bilinear forms instead of quadratic forms (and one often sees incorrect definitions of quadratic forms in terms of bilinear forms). Such definitions will yield wrong (or boring) objects when 2 is not invertible.
Special orthogonal groups are often defined as the kernel of the determinant map on the corresponding orthogonal groups, but in characteristic 2, the determinant is trivial, while the Clifford grading (called the Dickson invariant) is not.
The Clifford group is sometimes defined without the twist in the conjugation, and this means the map to the orthogonal group may not be a surjection, and the action on is by negative reflections.
The spinor norm is sometimes defined with the opposite sign.
Special orthogonal groups over the reals are sometimes defined to be the connected component of the identity in the orthogonal group. In indefinite signature, this defines an index two subgroup of the special orthogonal group.
Spin groups in signature for have fundamental groups of order two. They are simply connected when or is at most one.
The notion of Clifford algebra is due to
William Clifford, Applications of Grassmann’s extensive algebra, American Journal of Mathematics 1 4 (1878) 350-358 [doi:10.2307/2369379, jstor:2369379]
(referring to Hermann Grassmann‘s Ausdehnungslehre)
Further early discussion:
Emil Artin, §V.4 in: Geometric Algebra, Wiley 1957 (1988) [ISBN:978-1-118-16454-9, Wikipedia entry, ark:/13960/t4nk37034]
Élie Cartan, Theory of Spinors, Dover, (1966)
Brief introductions:
Leonardo Castellani, Riccardo D'Auria, Pietro Fré, Ch II.7 in: Supergravity and Superstrings - A Geometric Perspective, World Scientific (1991) [doi:10.1142/0224, toc: pdf, chII.7: pdf]
Jean Gallier, Clifford Algebras, Clifford Groups, and a Generalization of the Quaternions (arXiv:0805.0311)
Marc Lachieze-Rey, Spin and Clifford algebras, an introduction (arXiv:1007.2481)
Standard textbook accounts:
H. Blaine Lawson, Marie-Louise Michelsohn, Spin geometry, Princeton University Press (1989) [ISBN 9780691085425]
Pertti Lounesto, Clifford Algebras and Spinors, London Mathematical Society 286, Cambridge University Press (2001) [doi:10.1017/CBO9780511526022]
See also:
For a program that promotes the use of Clifford algebra as a good expositional tool in introductory mechanics see Geometric Algebra.
See also the discussion of Majorana spinors
On subgroups of Clifford algebras reminiscent of gauge groups of relevance in the standard model of particle physics and grand unified theories thereof:
Robert A. Wilson, A group-theorist’s perspective on symmetry groups in physics (arXiv:2009.14613)
Robert A. Wilson, On the Problem of Choosing Subgroups of Clifford Algebras for Applications in Fundamental Physics, Adv. Appl. Clifford Algebras 31, 59 (2021) (doi:10.1007/s00006-021-01160-5)
(For similar investigations, see also here at Albert algebra.)
Last revised on September 11, 2024 at 09:43:17. See the history of this page for a list of all contributions to it.