Geometric Quantization

Andrea Carosso

Published 2018-01-08Version 1

Geometric quantization is an attempt at using the differential-geometric ingredients of classical phase spaces regarded as symplectic manifolds in order to define a corresponding quantum theory. Generally, the process of geometric quantization is applicable to other symplectic manifolds, not only cotangent spaces. The resulting formalism provides a way of looking at quantum theory that is distinct from conventional approaches to the subject, e.g., the Dirac bra-ket formalism. In particular, such familiar features as the quantization of spin, the canonical quantization of position and momentum, and the Schr\"{o}dinger equation all emerge from geometric quantization. This paper serves as a review of the subject written in an informal style, often taking an example-based approach to exposition, and attempts to present the material without assuming the reader is an expert in differential geometry.