Pre-symplectic algebroids and their applications

In this paper, we introduce the notion of a pre-symplectic algebroid and show that there is a one-to-one correspondence between pre-symplectic algebroids and symplectic Lie algebroids. This result is the geometric generalization of the relation between left-symmetric algebras and symplectic (Frobenius) Lie algebras. Although pre-symplectic algebroids are not left-symmetric algebroids, they still can be viewed as the underlying structures of symplectic Lie algebroids. Then we study exact pre-symplectic algebroids and show that they are classified by the third cohomology group of a left-symmetric algebroid. Finally, we study para-complex pre-symplectic algebroids. Associated with a para-complex pre-symplectic algebroid, there is a pseudo-Riemannian Lie algebroid. The multiplication in a para-complex pre-symplectic algebroid characterizes the restriction to the Lagrangian subalgebroids of the Levi–Civita connection in the corresponding pseudo-Riemannian Lie algebroid.     

The effective action of D‐branes in Calabi‐Yau orientifold compactifications

In this review article we study type IIB superstring compactifications in the presence of space‐time filling D‐branes while preserving 𝒩=1 supersymmetry in the effective four‐dimensional theory. This amount of unbroken supersymmetry and the requirement to fulfill the consistency conditions imposed by the space‐time filling D‐branes lead to Calabi‐Yau orientifold compactifications. For a generic Calabi‐Yau orientifold theory with space‐time filling D3‐ or D7‐branes we derive the low‐energy spectrum. In a second step we compute the effective 𝒩=1 supergravity action which describes in the low‐energy regime the massless open and closed string modes of the underlying type IIB Calabi‐Yau orientifold string theory. These 𝒩=1 supergravity theories are analyzed and in particular spontaneous supersymmetry breaking induced by non‐trivial background fluxes is studied. For D3‐brane scenarios we compute soft‐supersymmetry breaking terms resulting from bulk background fluxes whereas for D7‐brane systems we investigate the structure of D‐ and F‐terms originating from worldvolume D7‐brane background fluxes. Finally we relate the geometric structure of D7‐brane Calabi‐Yau orientifold compactifications to 𝒩=1 special geometry.     

QP-Structures of Degree 3 and 4D Topological Field Theory

A BV algebra and a QP-structure of the degree 3 is formulated. A QP-structure of degree 3 gives rise to Lie algebroids up to homotopy and its algebraic and geometric structure is analyzed. A new algebroid is constructed, which derives a new topological field theory in 4 dimensions by the AKSZ construction.     

Lie algebroid morphisms, Poisson sigma models, and off-shell closed gauge symmetries

Chern–Simons (CS) gauge theories in three dimensions and the Poisson sigma model (PSM) in two dimensions are examples of the same theory, if their field equations are interpreted as morphisms of Lie algebroids and their symmetries (on-shell) as homotopies of such morphisms. We point out that the (off-shell) gauge symmetries of the PSM in the literature are not globally well defined for non-parallelizable Poisson manifolds and propose a covariant definition of the off-shell gauge symmetries as left action of some finite-dimensional Lie algebroid.

Our approach allows us to avoid complications arising in the infinite-dimensional super-geometry of the BV- and AKSZ-formalism. This preprint is a starting point in a series of papers meant to introduce Yang–Mills type gauge theories of Lie algebroids, which include the standard YM theory, gerbes, and the PSM.     

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.     

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.     

Nonassociativity,Malcev algebras and string theory

Nonassociative structures have appeared in the study of D‐branes in curved backgrounds. In recent work, string theory backgrounds involving three‐form fluxes, where such structures show up, have been studied in more detail. We point out that under certain assumptions these nonassociative structures coincide with nonassociative Malcev algebras which had appeared in the quantum mechanics of systems with non‐vanishing three‐cocycles, such as a point particle moving in the field of a magnetic charge. We generalize the corresponding Malcev algebras to include electric as well as magnetic charges. These structures find their classical counterpart in the theory of Poisson‐Malcev algebras and their generalizations. We also study their connection to Stueckelberg's generalized Poisson brackets that do not obey the Jacobi identity and point out that nonassociative string theory with a fundamental length corresponds to a realization of his goal to find a non‐linear extension of quantum mechanics with a fundamental length. Similar nonassociative structures are also known to appear in the cubic formulation of closed string field theory in terms of open string fields, leading us to conjecture a natural string‐field theoretic generalization of the AdS/CFT‐like (holographic) duality.     

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.     

Reduction of Lagrangian mechanics on Lie algebroids

We prove that if a surjective submersion which is a homomorphism of Lie algebroids is given, then there exists another homomorphism between the corresponding prolonged Lie algebroids and a relation between the dynamics on these Lie algebroid prolongations is established. We also propose a geometric reduction method for dynamics on Lie algebroids defined by a Lagrangian and the method is applied to regular Lagrangian systems with nonholonomic constraints.     

Gravity theory on Poisson manifold with R‐flux

A novel gravity theory based on Poisson Generalized Geometry is investigated. A gravity theory on a Poisson manifold equipped with a Riemannian metric is constructed from a contravariant version of the Levi‐Civita connection, which is based on the Lie algebroid of a Poisson manifold. Then, we show that in Poisson Generalized Geometry the R‐fluxes are consistently coupled with such a gravity. An R‐flux appears as a torsion of the corresponding connection in a similar way as an H‐flux which appears as a torsion of the connection formulated in the standard Generalized Geometry. We give an analogue of the Einstein‐Hilbert action coupled with an R‐flux, and show that it is invariant under both β‐diffeomorphisms and β‐gauge transformations.     

Off‐shell Amplitudes in Superstring Theory

Computing the renormalized masses and S‐matrix elements in string theory, involving states whose masses are not protected from quantum corrections, requires defining off‐shell amplitude with certain factorization properties. While in the bosonic string theory one can in principle construct such an amplitude from string field theory, there is no fully consistent field theory for type II and heterotic string theory. In this paper we give a practical construction of off‐shell amplitudes satisfying the desired factorization property using the formalism of picture changing operators. We describe a systematic procedure for dealing with the spurious singularities of the integration measure that we encounter in superstring perturbation theory. This procedure is also useful for computing on‐shell amplitudes, as we demonstrate by computing the effect of Fayet‐Iliopoulos D‐terms in four dimensional heterotic string theory compactifications using this formalism.     

Conformal transformations and conformal invariance in gravitation

Conformal transformations are frequently used tools in order to study relations between various theories of gravity and Einstein's general relativity theory. In this paper we discuss the rules of these transformations for geometric quantities as well as for the matter energy‐momentum tensor. We show the subtlety of the matter energy‐momentum conservation law which refers to the fact that the conformal transformation “creates” an extra matter term composed of the conformal factor which enters the conservation law. In an extreme case of the flat original spacetime the matter is “created” due to work done by the conformal transformation to bend the spacetime which was originally flat. We discuss how to construct the conformally invariant gravity theories and also find the conformal transformation rules for the curvature invariants R², R_abR^ab, R_abcdR^abcd and the Gauss‐Bonnet invariant in a spacetime of an arbitrary dimension. Finally, we present the conformal transformation rules in the fashion of the duality transformations of the superstring theory. In such a case the transitions between conformal frames reduce to a simple change of the sign of a redefined conformal factor.     

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'.     

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’.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Q</Emphasis>-Manifolds and Mackenzie Theory

Double Lie algebroids were discovered by Kirill Mackenzie from the study of double Lie groupoids and were defined in terms of rather complicated conditions making use of duality theory for Lie algebroids and double vector bundles. In this paper we establish a simple alternative characterization of double Lie algebroids in a supermanifold language. Namely, we show that a double Lie algebroid in Mackenzie’s sense is equivalent to a double vector bundle endowed with a pair of commuting homological vector fields of appropriate weights. Our approach helps to simplify and elucidate Mackenzie’s original definition; we show how it fits into a bigger picture of equivalent structures on ‘neighbor’ double vector bundles. It also opens ways for extending the theory to multiple Lie algebroids, which we introduce here.     

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.