Arithmetical Investigations: Representation Theory, Orthogonal Polynomials, and Quantum Interpolations

In this volume the author further develops his philosophy of quantum interpolation between the real numbers and the p-adic numbers. The p-adic numbers contain the p-adic integers Z_p which are the inverse limit of the finite rings Z/pⁿ. This gives rise to a tree, and probability measures w on Z_p correspond to Markov chains on this tree. From the tree structure one obtains special basis for the Hilbert space L₂(Z_p, w). The real analogue of the p-adic integers is the interval [-1,1], and a probability measure w on it gives rise to a special basis for L₂([-1,1], w) - the orthogonal polynomials, and to a Markov chain on "finite approximations" of [-1,1]. For special (gamma and beta) measures there is a "quantum" or "q-analogue" Markov chain, and a special basis, that within certain limits yield the real and the p-adic theories. This idea can be generalized variously. In representation theory, it is the quantum general linear group GL_n(q)that interpolates between the p-adic group GL_n(Z_p), and between its real (and complex) analogue -the orthogonal O_n (and unitary U_n )groups. There is a similar quantum interpolation between the real and p-adic Fourier transform and between the real and p-adic (local unramified part of) Tate thesis, and Weil explicit sums.