Z 3-Graded exterior differential calculus and gauge theories of higher order

We present a possible generalization of the exterior differential calculus, based on the operator d such that d³=0, but d²0. The entities dx ⁱ and d² x ^k generate an associative algebra; we shall suppose that the products dx ⁱ dx ^k are independent of dx ^k dx ⁱ , while theternary products will satisfy the relation: dx ⁱ dx ^k dx ^m =jdx ^k dx ^m dx ⁱ =j ²dx ^m dx ^m dx ⁱ dx ^k , complemented by the relation dx ⁱ d² x ^k =jd² x ^k dx ⁱ , withj:=e^2i/3.We shall attribute grade 1 to the differentials dx ⁱ and grade 2 to the second differentials d² x ^k ; under the associative multiplication law the grades add up modulo 3.We show how the notion ofcovariant derivation can be generalized with a 1-formA so thatD:=d+A, and we give the expression in local coordinates of thecurvature 3-form defined as :=d² A+d(A ²)+AdA+A ³.Finally, the introduction of notions of a scalar product and integration of theZ ₃-graded exterior forms enables us to define the variational principle and to derive the differential equations satisfied by the 3-form . The Lagrangian obtained in this way contains the invariants of the ordinary gauge field tensorF _ik and its covariant derivativesD _i F _km .