Scalar field theory on kappa-Minkowski spacetime and translation and Lorentz invariance

TL;DR

This paper explores the properties of kappa-Minkowski spacetime using a Lorentz covariant approach, constructing a star product with trace properties, and analyzing translation and Lorentz invariance in noncommutative scalar field theory.

Contribution

It introduces a Lorentz covariant method to construct a star product on kappa-Minkowski spacetime with specific integral properties and examines the implications for translation and Lorentz invariance.

Findings

The star product is not translationally invariant.

Scalar field theory remains effectively translation invariant despite noncommutativity.

The approach preserves Lorentz covariance and avoids nonlocal or tachyonic modes.

Abstract

We investigate the properties of kappa-Minkowski spacetime by using representations of the corresponding deformed algebra in terms of undeformed Heisenberg-Weyl algebra. The deformed algebra consists of kappa-Poincare algebra extended with the generators of the deformed Weyl algebra. The part of deformed algebra, generated by rotation, boost and momentum generators, is described by the Hopf algebra structure. The approach used in our considerations is completely Lorentz covariant. We further use an adventages of this approach to consistently construct a star product which has a property that under integration sign it can be replaced by a standard pointwise multiplication, a property that was since known to hold for Moyal, but not also for kappa-Minkowski spacetime. This star product also has generalized trace and cyclic properties and the construction alone is accomplished by considering a classical Dirac operator representation of deformed algebra and by requiring it to be hermitian. We find that the obtained star product is not translationally invariant, leading to a conclusion that the classical Dirac operator representation is the one where translation invariance cannot simultaneously be implemented along with hermiticity. However, due to the integral property satisfied by the star product, noncommutative free scalar field theory does not have a problem with translation symmetry breaking and can be shown to reduce to an ordinary free scalar field theory without nonlocal features and tachionic modes and basicaly of the very same form. The issue of Lorentz invariance of the theory is also discussed.