We construct compact quantum metric spaces starting from a C*-algebra extension with a positive splitting. As special cases, we discuss Toeplitz algebras, quantum SU(2) and Podleś spheres.

Algebras associated with quantum electrodynamics and other gauge theories share some mathematical features with T-duality. Exploiting this different perspective and some category theory, the full algebra of fermions and bosons can be regarded as a braided Clifford algebra over a braided commutative boson algebra, sharing much of the structure of ordinary Clifford algebras.

In this paper, we review the parametrized strict deformation quantization of C*-bundles obtained in a previous paper, and give more examples and applications of this theory. In particular, it is used here to classify H3-twisted noncommutative torus bundles over a locally compact space. This is extended to the case of general torus bundles and their parametrized strict deformation quantization. Rieffel’s basic construction of an algebra deformation can be mimicked to deform a monoidal category, which deforms not only algebras but also modules. As a special case, we consider the parametrized strict deformation quantization of Hilbert C*-modules over C*-bundles with fibrewise torus action.

We compare two influential ways of defining a generalized notion of space. The first, inspired by Gelfand duality, states that the category of ‘noncommutative spaces’ is the opposite of the category of C*-algebras. The second, loosely generalizing Stone duality, maintains that the category of ‘point-free spaces’ is the opposite of the category of frames (that is, complete lattices in which the meet distributes over arbitrary joins). Earlier work by the first three authors shows how a noncommutative C*-algebra gives rise to a commutative one internal to a certain sheaf topos. The latter, then, has a constructive Gelfand spectrum, also internal to the topos in question. After a brief review of this work, we compute the so-called external description of this internal spectrum, which in principle is a fibred point-free space in the familiar topos of sets and functions. However, we obtain the external spectrum as a fibred topological space in the usual sense. This leads to an explicit Gelfand transform, as well as to a topological reinterpretation of the Kochen–Specker theorem of quantum mechanics.

We show that the residue density of the logarithm of a generalized Laplacian on a closed manifold defines an invariant polynomial-valued differential form. We express it in terms of a finite sum of residues of classical pseudodifferential symbols. In the case of the square of a Dirac operator, these formulas provide a pedestrian proof of the Atiyah–Singer formula for a pure Dirac operator in four dimensions and for a twisted Dirac operator on a flat space of any dimension. These correspond to special cases of a more general formula by Scott and Zagier. In our approach, which is of perturbative nature, we use either a Campbell–Hausdorff formula derived by Okikiolu or a noncommutative Taylor-type formula.

Let (P,Y ) be a bundle gerbe over a fibre bundle Y →M. We show that if M is simply connected and the fibres of Y →M are connected and finite-dimensional, then the Dixmier–Douady class of (P,Y ) is torsion. This corrects and extends an earlier result of the first author.

The actions, anomalies and quantization conditions allow the M2-brane and the M5-brane to support, in a natural way, structures beyond spin on their world-volumes. The main examples are twisted string structures. This also extends to twisted stringc structures which we introduce and relate to twisted string structures. The relation of the C-field to Chern–Simons theory suggests the use of the string cobordism category to describe the M2-brane.

We give a classifying theory for LG-bundles, where LG is the loop group of a compact Lie group G, and present a calculation for the string class of the universal LG-bundle. We show that this class is in fact an equivariant cohomology class and give an equivariant differential form representing it. We then use the caloron correspondence to define (higher) characteristic classes for LG-bundles and to prove a result for characteristic classes for based loop groups for the free loop group. These classes have a natural interpretation in equivariant cohomology and we give equivariant differential form representatives for the universal case in all odd dimensions.

We review and then combine two aspects of the theory of bundle gerbes. The first concerns lifting bundle gerbes and connections on those, developed by Murray and by Gomi. Lifting gerbes represent obstructions against extending the structure group of a principal bundle. The second is the transgression of gerbes to loop spaces, initiated by Brylinski and McLaughlin and with recent contributions of the author. Combining these two aspects, we obtain a new formulation of lifting problems in terms of geometry on the loop space. Most prominently, our formulation explains the relation between (complex) spin structures on a Riemannian manifold and orientations of its loop space.