Butterflies II: Torsors for 2-group stacks

We study torsors over 2-groups and their morphisms. In particular, we study the first non-abelian cohomology group with values in a 2-group. Butterfly diagrams encode morphisms of 2-groups and we employ them to examine the functorial behavior of non-abelian cohomology under change of coefficients. We re-interpret the first non-abelian cohomology with coefficients in a 2-group in terms of gerbes bound by a crossed module. Our main result is to provide a geometric version of the change of coefficients map by lifting a gerbe along the “fraction” (weak morphism) determined by a butterfly. As a practical byproduct, we show how butterflies can be used to obtain explicit maps at the cocycle level. In addition, we discuss various commutativity conditions on cohomology induced by various degrees of commutativity on the coefficient 2-groups, as well as specific features pertaining to group extensions.     

Non-abelian differentiable gerbes

We study non-abelian differentiable gerbes over stacks using the theory of Lie groupoids. More precisely, we develop the theory of connections on Lie groupoid G-extensions, which we call “connections on gerbes”, and study the induced connections on various associated bundles. We also prove analogues of the Bianchi identities. In particular, we develop a cohomology theory which measures the existence of connections and curvings for G-gerbes over stacks. We also introduce G-central extensions of groupoids, generalizing the standard groupoid S¹-central extensions. As an example, we apply our theory to study the differential geometry of G-gerbes over a manifold.     

On the localization formula in equivariant cohomology

We give a generalization of the Atiyah-Bott-Berline-Vergne localization theorem for the equivariant cohomology of a torus action. We replace the manifold having a torus action by an equivariant map of manifolds having a compact connected Lie group action. This provides a systematic method for calculating the Gysin homomorphism in ordinary cohomology of an equivariant map. As an example, we recover a formula of Akyildiz-Carrell for the Gysin homomorphism of flag manifolds.     

On the string topology category of compact Lie groups

We answer a question of Blumberg, Cohen and Teleman, showing that the Chas–Sullivan loop homology is the Hochschild cohomology of any object in the rational string topology category of a compact, simply connected, Lie group G. Moreover, we show that the answer follows from the classification of the localizing subcategories of the derived category of chains on the based loops of G, which we achieve using the stratification machinery of Benson, Iyengar and Krause. For integral coefficients we get similar results for G a simply-connected special unitary group.     

On the cohomology of free and twisted loop spaces

A natural extension of the cohomology suspension to a free loop space is constructed from the evaluation map and is shown to have good properties in cohomology calculation. This map is generalized to a twisted loop space which is a space of paths twisted by a given self-map of the underlying space. As an application, the cohomology of free and twisted loop spaces of classifying spaces of compact Lie groups, including some finite Chevalley groups, is calculated.     

New polytope decompositions and Euler-Maclaurin formulas for simple integral polytopes

We give new weighted decompositions for simple polytopes, generalizing previous results of Lawrence-Varchenko and Brianchon-Gram. We start with Witten's non-abelian localization principle in equivariant cohomology for the norm-square of the moment map in the context of toric varieties to obtain a decomposition for Delzant polytopes. Then, by a purely combinatorial argument, we show that this formula holds for any simple polytope. As an application, we study Euler-Maclaurin formulas.     

Non-abelian GKM theory

We describe a generalization of GKM theory for actions of arbitrary compact connected Lie groups. To an action satisfying the non-abelian GKM conditions we attach a graph encoding the structure of the non-abelian 1-skeleton, i.e., the subspace of points with isotopy rank at most one less than the rank of the acting group. We show that the algebra structure of the equivariant cohomology can be read off from this graph. In comparison with ordinary abelian GKM theory, there are some special features due to the more complicated structure of the non-abelian 1-skeleton.     

Twistor spaces and spinors over loop spaces

In this paper two natural twistor spaces over the loop space of a Riemannian manifold are constructed and their equivalence is shown in the Kählerian case. This relies on a detailed study of frame bundles of loop spaces on the one hand and, on the other hand, on an explicit local trivialization of the Atiyah operator family [defined in Atiyah (SMF 131:43–59, 1985)] associated to a loop space. We relate these constructions to the Dixmier-Douady obstruction class against the existence of a string structure, as well as to pseudo - line bundle gerbes in the sense of Brylinski (Loop spaces, characteristic classes and geometric quantization. Birkhäuser, Basel, 1993).     

Categorified central extensions, étale Lie 2-groups and Lie?s Third Theorem for locally exponential Lie algebras

Lie?s Third Theorem, asserting that each finite-dimensional Lie algebra is the Lie algebra of a Lie group, fails in infinite dimensions. The modern account on this phenomenon is the integration problem for central extensions of infinite-dimensional Lie algebras, which in turn is phrased in terms of an integration procedure for Lie algebra cocycles.This paper remedies the obstructions for integrating cocycles and central extensions from Lie algebras to Lie groups by generalising the integrating objects. Those objects obey the maximal coherence that one can expect. Moreover, we show that they are the universal ones for the integration problem.The main application of this result is that a Mackey-complete locally exponential Lie algebra (e.g., a Banach–Lie algebra) integrates to a Lie 2-group in the sense that there is a natural Lie functor from certain Lie 2-groups to Lie algebras, sending the integrating Lie 2-group to an isomorphic Lie algebra.     

Homology stability for classical regular semisimple varieties

We use techniques from homotopy theory, in particular the connection between configuration spaces and iterated loop spaces, to give geometric explanations of stability results for the cohomology of the varieties of regular semisimple elements in the simple complex Lie algebras of classical type A, B or C, as well as in the group . We show that the cohomology spaces of stable versions of these varieties have an algebraic stucture, which identifies them as “free Poisson algebras” with suitable degree shifts. Using this, we are able to give explicit formulae for the corresponding Poincaré series, which lead to power series identities by comparison with earlier work. The cases of type B and C involve ideas from equivariant homotopy theory. Our results may be interpreted in terms of the actions of a Weyl group on its coinvariant algebra (i.e. the coordinate ring of the affine space on which it acts, modulo the invariants of positive degree; this space coincides with the cohomology ring of the flag variety of the associated Lie group) and on the cohomology of its associated complex discriminant variety. Received August 31, 1998; in final form August 1, 1999 / Published online October 30, 2000     

The derivative of global surface-holonomy for a non-abelian gerbe

Starting with a non-abelian gerbe represented by a non-abelian differential cocycle, with values in a given crossed-module, this paper explicitly calculates a formula for the derivative of the associated surface holonomy of squares mapped into the base manifold; with spheres later considered as a special case. While the definitions in this paper used for gerbes, their connections, and the induced holonomy will initially be simplicial, translations into a cubical setting will be provided to aide in explicit coordinate-based calculations. While there are many previously published results on the properties of these non-abelian gerbes, including some calculations of the derivative over a single open set, this paper endeavors to take these local calculations and glue them together across multiple open sets in order to obtain a single expression for the change in surface holonomy with respect to a one-parameter family of squares.     

Cheeger–Chern–Simons Theory and Differential String Classes

We construct new concrete examples of relative differential characters, which we call Cheeger–Chern–Simons characters. They combine the well-known Cheeger–Simons characters with Chern–Simons forms. In the same way as Cheeger–Simons characters generalize Chern–Simons invariants of oriented closed manifolds, Cheeger–Chern–Simons characters generalize Chern–Simons invariants of oriented manifolds with boundary. We study the differential cohomology of compact Lie groups G and their classifying spaces BG. We show that the even degree differential cohomology of BG canonically splits into Cheeger–Simons characters and topologically trivial characters. We discuss the transgression in principal G-bundles and in the universal bundle. We introduce two methods to lift the universal transgression to a differential cohomology valued map. They generalize the Dijkgraaf–Witten correspondence between 3-dimensional Chern–Simons theories and Wess–Zumino–Witten terms to fully extended higher-order Chern–Simons theories. Using these lifts, we also prove two versions of a differential Hopf theorem. Using Cheeger–Chern–Simons characters and transgression, we introduce the notion of differential trivializations of universal characteristic classes. It generalizes well-established notions of differential String classes to arbitrary degree. Specializing to the class \({\frac{1}{2} p_1 \in H^4(B{\rm Spin}_n;\mathbb{Z})}\), we recover isomorphism classes of geometric string structures on Spin _n -bundles with connection and the corresponding spin structures on the free loop space. The Cheeger–Chern–Simons character associated with the class \({\frac{1}{2} p_1}\) together with its transgressions to loop space and higher mapping spaces defines a Chern–Simons theory, extended down to points. Differential String classes provide trivializations of this extended Chern–Simons theory. This setting immediately generalizes to arbitrary degree: for any universal characteristic class of principal G-bundles, we have an associated Cheeger–Chern–Simons character and extended Chern–Simons theory. Differential trivialization classes yield trivializations of this extended Chern–Simons theory.     

Lie algebroid fibrations

A degree 1 non-negative graded super manifold equipped with a degree 1 vector field Q satisfying [Q,Q]=1, namely a so-called NQ-1 manifold is, in plain differential geometry language, a Lie algebroid. We introduce a notion of fibration for such super manifolds, that essentially involves a complete Ehresmann connection. As it is the case for Lie algebras, such fibrations turn out not to be just locally trivial products. We also define homotopy groups and prove the expected long exact sequence associated to a fibration. In particular, Crainic and Fernandes's obstruction to the integrability of Lie algebroids is interpreted as the image of a transgression map in this long exact sequence.     

Equivariant embedding theorems and topological index maps

The construction of topological index maps for equivariant families of Dirac operators requires factoring a general smooth map through maps of a very simple type: zero sections of vector bundles, open embeddings, and vector bundle projections. Roughly speaking, a normally non-singular map is a map together with such a factorisation. These factorisations are models for the topological index map. Under some assumptions concerning the existence of equivariant vector bundles, any smooth map admits a normal factorisation, and two such factorisations are unique up to a certain notion of equivalence. To prove this, we generalise the Mostow Embedding Theorem to spaces equipped with proper groupoid actions. We also discuss orientations of normally non-singular maps with respect to a cohomology theory and show that oriented normally non-singular maps induce wrong-way maps on the chosen cohomology theory. For K-oriented normally non-singular maps, we also get a functor to Kasparov's equivariant KK-theory. We interpret this functor as a topological index map.     

Surface holonomy for non-abelian 2-bundles via double groupoids

In the context of non-abelian gerbes, we define a cubical version of categorical group 2-bundles with connection over a smooth manifold. We address their two-dimensional parallel transport, study its properties, and construct non-abelian Wilson surface functionals.     

Lie Bialgebras of Generalized Loop Virasoro Algebras

The first cohomology group of generalized loop Virasoro algebras with coefficients in the tensor product of its adjoint module is shown to be trivial. The result is used to prove that Lie bialgebra structures on generalized loop Virasoro algebras are coboundary triangular. The authors generalize the results to generalized map Virasoro algebras.     

Equivariant evaluation on free loop spaces

There is a natural evaluation map on the free loop space which sends a loop to its values at the kth roots of unity. This map is equivariant with respect to the action of the cyclic group on k elements . We study the induced map in -equivariant cohomology with mod two coefficients in the cases where for . Received: 17 February 2000; in final form: 28 February 2001 / Published online: 18 January 2002     

Gerstenhaber Algebra Structure on the Hochschild Cohomology of Quadratic String Algebras

We describe the Gerstenhaber algebra structure on the Hochschild cohomology HH^?(A) when A is a quadratic string algebra. First we compute the Hochschild cohomology groups using Barzdell’s resolution and we describe generators of these groups. Then we construct comparison morphisms between the bar resolution and Bardzell’s resolution in order to get formulae for the cup product and the Lie bracket. We find conditions on the bound quiver associated to string algebras in order to get non-trivial structures.