Space and time dimensions of algebras with applications to Lorentzian noncommutative geometry and quantum electrodynamics

Abstract: An analogy with real Clifford algebras on even-dimensional vector spaces suggests to assign a couple of space and time dimensions modulo 8 to any algebra (represented over a complex Hilbert space) containing two self-adjoint involutions and an anti-unitary operator with specific commutation relations. It is shown that this assignment is compatible with the tensor product: the space and time dimensions of the tensor product are the sums of the space and time dimensions of its factors. This could provide an interpretation of the presence of such algebras in PT-symmetric Hamiltonians or the description of topological matter. This construction is used to build an indefinite (i.e. pseudo-Riemannian) version of the spectral triples of noncommutative geometry, defined over Krein spaces instead of Hilbert spaces. Within this framework, we can express the Lagrangian (both bosonic and fermionic) of a Lorentzian almost-commutative spectral triple. We exhibit a space of physical states that solves the fermion-doubling problem. The example of quantum electrodynamics is described.