Derived Brackets

We survey the many instances of derived bracket construction in differential geometry, Lie algebroid and Courant algebroid theories, and their properties. We recall and compare the constructions of Buttin and of Vinogradov, and we prove that the Vinogradov bracket is the skew-symmetrization of a derived bracket. Odd (resp., even) Poisson brackets on supermanifolds are derived brackets of canonical even (resp., odd) Poisson brackets on their cotangent bundle (resp., parity-reversed cotangent bundle). Lie algebras have analogous properties, and the theory of Lie algebroids unifies the results valid for manifolds on the one hand, and for Lie algebras on the other. We outline the role of derived brackets in the theory of Poisson structures with background'.     

Nambu–Dirac Structures for Lie Algebroids

The theory of Nambu–Poisson structures on manifolds is extended to the context of Lie algebroids in a natural way based on the derived bracket associated with the Lie algebroid differential. A new way of combining Nambu–Poisson structures and triangular Lie bialgebroids is described in this work. Also, we introduce the concept of a higher order Dirac structure on a Lie algebroid. This allows to describe both Nambu–Poisson structures and Dirac structures on manifolds in the same setting.     

Symplectic structures associated to Lie-Poisson groups

The Lie-Poisson analogues of the cotangent bundle and coadjoint orbits of a Lie group are considered. For the natural Poisson brackets the symplectic leaves in these manifolds are classified, and the corresponding symplectic forms are described. Thus the construction of the Kirillov symplectic form is generalized for Lie-Poisson groups.Supported in part by a Soros Foundation Grant awarded by the American Physical SocietyUnité Associée au C.N.R.S., URA 280     

Dirac Sigma Models

We introduce a new topological sigma model, whose fields are bundle maps from the tangent bundle of a 2-dimensional world-sheet to a Dirac subbundle of an exact Courant algebroid over a target manifold. It generalizes simultaneously the (twisted) Poisson sigma model as well as the G/G-WZW model. The equations of motion are satisfied, iff the corresponding classical field is a Lie algebroid morphism. The Dirac Sigma Model has an inherently topological part as well as a kinetic term which uses a metric on worldsheet and target. The latter contribution serves as a kind of regulator for the theory, while at least classically the gauge invariant content turns out to be independent of any additional structure. In the (twisted) Poisson case one may drop the kinetic term altogether, obtaining the WZ-Poisson sigma model; in general, however, it is compulsory for establishing the morphism property.     

Lie algebroids,Lie groupoids and TFT

We construct the moduli spaces associated to the solutions of equations of motion (modulo gauge transformations) of the Poisson sigma model with target being an integrable Poisson manifold. The construction can be easily extended to a case of a generic integrable Lie algebroid. Indeed for any Lie algebroid one can associate a BF-like topological field theory which localizes on the space of algebroid morphisms, that can be seen as a generalization of flat connections to the groupoid case. We discuss the finite gauge transformations and discuss the corresponding moduli spaces. We consider the theories both without and with boundaries.     

Quasi-derivations and QD-algebroids

Axioms of Lie algebroid are discussed. In particular, it is shown that a Lie QD-algebroid (i.e. a Lie algebra bracket on the C∞(M)-module ? of sections of a vector bundle E over a manifold M which satisfies [X, ? Y] = ? [X, Y] + A (X, ?)Y for all X, Y ε ?, ? ε C∞(M), and for certain A (X, ?) ε C∞(M)) is a Lie algebroid if rank (E) > 1, and is a local Lie algebra in the sense of Kirillov if E is a line bundle. Under a weak condition also the skew-symmetry of the bracket is relaxed.     

Quantum orbits of theR-matrix type

Given a simple Lie algebra g, we consider the orbits in g^* which are of theR-matrix type, i.e., which possess a Poisson pencil generated by the Kirillov-Kostant-Souriau bracket and the so-calledR-matrix bracket. We call an algebra quantizing the latter bracket a quantum orbit of theR-matrix type. We describe some orbits of this type explicitly and we construct a quantization of the whole Poisson pencil on these orbits in a similar way. The notions ofq-deformed Lie brackets, braided coadjoint vector fields, and tangent vector fields are discussed as well.     

The sh Lie Structure of Poisson Brackets in Field Theory

A general construction of an sh Lie algebra (L _∞-algebra) from a homological resolution of a Lie algebra is given. It is applied to the space of local functionals equipped with a Poisson bracket, induced by a bracket for local functions along the lines suggested by Gel'fand, Dickey and Dorfman. In this way, higher order maps are constructed which combine to form an sh Lie algebra on the graded differential algebra of horizontal forms. The same construction applies for graded brackets in field theory such as the Batalin-Fradkin-Vilkovisky bracket of the Hamiltonian BRST theory or the Batalin-Vilkovisky antibracket. Received: 5 March 1997 / Accepted: 21 May 1997     

A natural one-form for the Schouten concomitant

The Poisson bracket in classical mechanics arises from the existence of a natural one-form on a cotangent bundle. The Schouten concomitant of two symmetric contravariant tensor fields is closely related to the Poisson bracket. We show that it arises in an analogous way from a natural onecochain, where the chains are chains of derivations from the module of symmetric contravariant tensor fields into itself.     

On a Poisson–Lie Analogue of the Classical Dynamical Yang–Baxter Equation for Self-dual Lie Algebras

We derive a generalization of the classical dynamical Yang–Baxter equation (CDYBE) on a self-dual Lie algebra G by replacing the cotangent bundle T*G in a geometric interpretation of this equation by its Poisson–Lie (PL) analogue associated with a factorizable constant r-matrix on G. The resulting PL-CDYBE, with variables in the Lie group G equipped with the Semenov-Tian-Shansky Poisson bracket based on the constant r-matrix, coincides with an equation that appeared in an earlier study of PL symmetries in the WZNW model. In addition to its new group theoretic interpretation, we present a self-contained analysis of those solutions of the PL-CDYBE that were found in the WZNW context and characterize them by means of a uniqueness result under a certain analyticity assumption.     

BFV-Complex and Higher Homotopy Structures

We present a connection between the BFV-complex (abbreviation for Batalin-Fradkin-Vilkovisky complex) and the strong homotopy Lie algebroid associated to a coisotropic submanifold of a Poisson manifold. We prove that the latter structure can be derived from the BFV-complex by means of homotopy transfer along contractions. Consequently the BFV-complex and the strong homotopy Lie algebroid structure are L _∞ quasi-isomorphic and control the same formal deformation problem. However there is a gap between the non-formal information encoded in the BFV-complex and in the strong homotopy Lie algebroid respectively. We prove that there is a one-to-one correspondence between coisotropic submanifolds given by graphs of sections and equivalence classes of normalized Maurer-Cartan elemens of the BFV-complex. This does not hold if one uses the strong homotopy Lie algebroid instead.     

Poisson Quasi-Nijenhuis Structures with Background

We define Poisson quasi-Nijenhuis structures with background on Lie algebroids and we prove that any generalized complex structure on a Courant algebroid which is the double of a Lie algebroid has an associated Poisson quasi-Nijenhuis structure with background. We prove that any Lie algebroid with a Poisson quasi-Nijenhuis structure with background constitutes, with its dual, a quasi-Lie bialgebroid. We also prove that any pair (π,ω) of a Poisson bivector and a 2-form induces a Poisson quasi-Nijenhuis structure with background and we observe that particular cases correspond to already known compatibilities between π and ω. This paper was presented as a poster in the conference “Poisson 2008”, EPFL, Lausanne, in July 2008.     

Non-Commutative Batalin-Vilkovisky Algebras,Homotopy Lie Algebras and the Courant Bracket

We consider two different constructions of higher brackets. First, based on a Grassmann-odd, nilpotent Δ operator, we define a non-commutative generalization of the higher Koszul brackets, which are used in a generalized Batalin-Vilkovisky algebra, and we show that they form a homotopy Lie algebra. Secondly, we investigate higher, so-called derived brackets built from symmetrized, nested Lie brackets with a fixed nilpotent Lie algebra element Q. We find the most general Jacobi-like identity that such a hierarchy satisfies. The numerical coefficients in front of each term in these generalized Jacobi identities are related to the Bernoulli numbers. We suggest that the definition of a homotopy Lie algebra should be enlarged to accommodate this important case. Finally, we consider the Courant bracket as an example of a derived bracket. We extend it to the “big bracket” of exterior forms and multi-vectors, and give closed formulas for the higher Courant brackets.     

Canonical transformations of local functionals and sh-Lie structures

In many Lagrangian field theories, there is a Poisson bracket on the space of local functionals. One may identify the fields of such theories as sections of a vector bundle. It is known that the Poisson bracket induces an sh-Lie structure on the graded space of horizontal forms on the jet bundle of the relevant vector bundle. We consider those automorphisms of the vector bundle which induce mappings on the space of functionals preserving the Poisson bracket and refer to such automorphisms as canonical automorphisms.We determine how such automorphisms relate to the corresponding sh-Lie structure. If a Lie group acts on the bundle via canonical automorphisms, there are induced actions on the space of local functionals and consequently on the corresponding sh-Lie algebra. We determine conditions under which the sh-Lie structure induces an sh-Lie structure on a corresponding reduced space where the reduction is determined by the action of the group. These results are not directly a consequence of the corresponding theorems on Poisson manifolds as none of the algebraic structures are Poisson algebras.     

Incomplete Dirac reduction of constrained Hamiltonian systems

First-class constraints constitute a potential obstacle to the computation of a Poisson bracket in Dirac’s theory of constrained Hamiltonian systems. Using the pseudoinverse instead of the inverse of the matrix defined by the Poisson brackets between the constraints, we show that a Dirac–Poisson bracket can be constructed, even if it corresponds to an incomplete reduction of the original Hamiltonian system. The uniqueness of Dirac brackets is discussed. The relevance of this procedure for infinite dimensional Hamiltonian systems is exemplified.     

Geometry of Maurer-Cartan Elements on Complex Manifolds

The semi-classical data attached to stacks of algebroids in the sense of Kashiwara and Kontsevich are Maurer-Cartan elements on complex manifolds, which we call extended Poisson structures as they generalize holomorphic Poisson structures. A canonical Lie algebroid is associated to each Maurer-Cartan element. We study the geometry underlying these Maurer-Cartan elements in the light of Lie algebroid theory. In particular, we extend Lichnerowicz-Poisson cohomology and Koszul-Brylinski homology to the realm of extended Poisson manifolds; we establish a sufficient criterion for these to be finite dimensional; we describe how homology and cohomology are related through the Evens-Lu-Weinstein duality module; and we describe a duality on Koszul-Brylinski homology, which generalizes the Serre duality of Dolbeault cohomology.     

On higher-dimensional Courant algebroids

We define the transgression functor which associates with a (higher-dimensional) Courant algebroid on a manifold a Lie algebroid on the shifted tangent bundle of the manifold.     

Deformation quantization of Heisenberg manifolds

ForM a smooth manifold equipped with a Poisson bracket, we formulate aC*-algebra framework for deformation quantization, including the possibility of invariance under a Lie group of diffeomorphisms preserving the Poisson bracket. We then show that the much-studied non-commutative tori give examples of such deformation quantizations, invariant under the usual action of ordinary tori. Going beyond this, the main results of the paper provide a construction of invariant deformation quantizations for those Poisson brackets on Heisenberg manifolds which are invariant under the action of the Heisenberg Lie group, and for various generalizations suggested by this class of examples. Interesting examples are obtained of simpleC*-algebras on which the Heisenberg group acts ergodically.This work was supported in part by National Science Foundation grant DMS 8601900     

Lie algebroid structures and Lagrangian systems on affine bundles

As a continuation of previous papers, we study the concept of a Lie algebroid structure on an affine bundle by means of the canonical immersion of the affine bundle into its bidual. We pay particular attention to the prolongation and various lifting procedures, and to the geometrical construction of Lagrangian-type dynamics on an affine Lie algebroid.