In this paper, first we introduce the notion of a $\VB$-Lie $2$-algebroid, which can be viewed as the categorification of a $\VB$-Lie algebroid. The tangent prolongation of a Lie $2$-algebroid is a $\VB$-Lie $2$-algebroid naturally. We show that after choosing a splitting, there is a one-to-one correspondence between $\VB$-Lie $2$-algebroids and flat superconnections of a Lie 2-algebroid on a 3-term complex of vector bundles. Then we introduce the notion of a $\VB$-$\LWX$ 2-algebroid, which can be viewed as the categorification of a $\VB$-Courant algebroid. We show that there is a one-to-one correspondence between split Lie 3-algebroids and split $\VB$-$\LWX$ 2-algebroids. The notion of a $\VB$-Lie $2$-bialgebroid is introduced and the double of a $\VB$-Lie $2$-bialgebroid is a $\VB$-$\LWX$ 2-algebroid. Finally, we introduce the notion of an $E$-$\LWX$ 2-algebroid and show that associated to a $\VB$-$\LWX$ 2-algebroid, there is an $E$-$\LWX$ 2-algebroid structure on the graded fat bundle naturally. By this result, we give a construction of a Lie 3-algebra from a given Lie 3-algebra, which provides interesting examples of Lie 3-algebras including the higher analogue of the string Lie 2-algebra.
For any regular Courant algebroid, we construct a characteristic class a la Chern-Weil. This intrinsic invariant of the Courant algebroid is a degree-3 class in its naive cohomology. When the Courant algebroid is exact, it reduces to the Severa class (in H^3_{DR}(M)). On the other hand, when the Courant algebroid is a quadratic Lie algebra g, it coincides with the class of the Cartan 3-form (in H^3(g)). We also give a complete classification of regular Courant algebroids and discuss its relation to the characteristic class.
The binary bracket of a Courant algebroid structure on $(E,\langle \cdot,\cdot \rangle)$ can be extended to a $n$-ary bracket on $Γ(E)$, yielding a multi-Courant algebroid. These $n$-ary brackets form a Poisson algebra and were defined, in an algebraic setting, by Keller and Waldmann. We construct a higher geometric version of Keller-Waldmann Poisson algebra and define higher multi-Courant algebroids. As Courant algebroid structures can be seen as degree $3$ functions on a graded symplectic manifold of degree $2$, higher multi-Courant structures can be seen as functions of degree $n\geq 3$ on …
In this paper, we first discuss the relation between VB-Courant algebroids and E-Courant algebroids and construct some examples of E-Courant algebroids. Then we introduce the notion of a generalized complex structure on an E-Courant algebroid, unifying the usual generalized complex structures on even-dimensional manifolds and generalized contact structures on odd-dimensional manifolds. Moreover, we study generalized complex structures on an omni-Lie algebroid in detail. In particular, we show that generalized complex structures on an omni-Lie algebra $\gl(V)\oplus V$ correspond to complex Lie …
In this paper, we introduce the notion of $E$-Courant algebroids, where $E$ is a vector bundle. It is a kind of generalized Courant algebroid and contains Courant algebroids, Courant-Jacobi algebroids and omni-Lie algebroids as its special cases. We explore novel phenomena exhibited by $E$-Courant algebroids and provide many examples. We study the automorphism groups of omni-Lie algebroids and classify the isomorphism classes of exact $E$-Courant algebroids. In addition, we introduce the concepts of $E$-Lie bialgebroids and Manin triples.
In this paper, first we modify the definition of a Hom-Lie algebroid introduced by Laurent-Gengoux and Teles and give its equivalent dual description. Many results that parallel to Lie algebroids are given. In particular, we give the notion of a Hom-Poisson manifold and show that there is a Hom-Lie algebroid structure on the pullback of the cotangent bundle of a Hom-Poisson manifold. Then we give the notion of a Hom-Lie bialgebroid, which is a natural generalization of a purely Hom-Lie bialgebra and a Lie bialgebroid. We show that the base manifold of a Hom-Lie bialgebroid is a Hom-Poisson man…
For any regular Courant algebroid $E$ over a smooth manifold $M$ with characteristic distribution $F$ and ample Lie algebroid $A_E$, we prove that there exists a canonical homological vector field on the graded manifold $A_E[1] \oplus (TM/F)^\ast[2]$ such that the resulting dg manifold $\mathcal{M}_E$, which we call the minimal model of the Courant algebroid $E$, encodes all cohomological information of $E$. Indeed, the standard cohomology of $E$ can be identified with the cohomology of the function space on $\mathcal{M}_E$, which can be computed by a Hodge-to-de Rham type spectral sequence. W…
In this thesis we develop the notion of LA-Courant algebroids, the infinitesimal analogue of multiplicative Courant algebroids. Specific applications include the integration of q- Poisson (d, g)-structures, and the reduction of Courant algebroids. We also introduce the notion of pseudo-Dirac structures, (possibly non-Lagrangian) subbundles W \subseteq E of a Courant algebroid such that the Courant bracket endows W naturally with the structure of a Lie algebroid. Specific examples of pseudo-Dirac structures arise in the theory of q-Poisson (d, g)-structures.
We introduce conformal Courant algebroids, a mild generalization of Courant algebroids in which only a conformal structure rather than a bilinear form is assumed. We introduce exact conformal Courant algebroids and show they are classified by pairs $(L,H)$ with $L$ a flat line bundle and $H \in H^3(M,L)$ a degree 3 class with coefficients in $L$. As a special case gerbes for the crossed module $({\rm U}(1) \to \mathbb{Z}_2)$ can be used to twist $TM \oplus T^*M$ into a conformal Courant algebroid. In the exact case there is a twisted cohomology which is 4-periodic if $L^2 = 1$. The structure o…
Deformations of a Courant Algebroid E and its Dirac subbundle A have been widely considered under the assumption that the pseudo-Euclidean metric is fixed. In this paper, we attack the same problem in a setting that allows the pseudo-Euclidean metric to deform. Thanks to Roytenberg, a Courant algebroid is equivalent to a symplectic graded Q-manifold of degree 2. From this viewpoint, we extend the notions of graded Q-manifold, DGLA and L_\infty-algebra all to "blended" version so that Poisson manifold, Lie algebroid and Courant algebroid are unified as blended Q-manifolds; and define a submanio…
In this paper, we show that the Jacobiator $J$ of a pre-Courant algebroid is closed naturally. The corresponding equivalence class $[J^\flat]$ is defined as the Pontryagin class, which is the obstruction of a pre-Courant algebroid to be deformed into a Courant algebroid. We construct a Leibniz 2-algebra and a Lie 2-algebra associated to a pre-Courant algebroid and prove that these algebraic structures are isomorphic under deformations. Finally, we introduce the twisted action of a Lie algebra on a manifold to give more examples of pre-Courant algebroids, which include the Cartan geometry.
In this paper, we extend the T-duality isomorphism by Gualtieri and Cavalcanti, from invariant exact Courant algebroids, to exotic exact Courant algebroids such that the momentum and winding numbers are exchanged, filling in a gap in the literature.
Pre-Courant algebroids are `Courant algebroids' without the Jacobi identity for the Courant-Dorfman bracket. In this paper we examine the corresponding supermanifold description of pre-Courant algebroids and some direct consequences thereof - such as the definition of (sub-)Dirac structures and the notion of the naive quasi-cochain complex. In particular we define symplectic almost Lie 2-algebroids and show how they correspond to pre-Courant algebroids. Moreover, the framework of supermanifolds allows us to economically define and work with pre-Courant algebroids equipped with a compatible non…
Contractions of Leibniz algebras and Courant algebroids by means of (1,1)-tensors are introduced and studied. An appropriate version of Nijenhuis tensors leads to natural deformations of Dirac structures and Lie bialgebroids. One recovers presymplectic-Nijenhuis structures, Poisson-Nijenhuis structures, and triangular Lie bialgebroids as particular examples.
We endow the group of automorphisms of an exact Courant algebroid over a compact manifold with an infinite dimensional Lie group structure modelled on the inverse limit of Hilbert spaces (ILH). We prove a slice theorem for the action of this Lie group on the space of generalized metrics. As an application, we show that the moduli space of generalized metrics is stratified by ILH submanifolds and relate it to the moduli space of usual metrics. Finally, we extend these results to odd exact Courant algebroids.
Let $L$ be a line bundle over $M$. In this paper we associate an $L_\infty$-algebra to any $L$-Courant algebroid (contact Courant algebroid in the sense of Grabowski). This construction is similar to the work of Roytenberg and Weinstein for Courant algebroids. Next we associate a $p$-term $L_\infty$-algebra to any isotropic involutive subbundle of $(\mathbb{D}L)^p := DL \oplus (\wedge^p (DL)^* \otimes L)$, where $DL$ is the gauge algebroid of $L$. In a particular case, we relate these $L_\infty$-algebras by a suitable morphism.
In this paper, we show that the spaces of sections of the $n$-th differential operator bundle $\dev^n E$ and the $n$-th skew-symmetric jet bundle $\jet_n E$ of a vector bundle $E$ are isomorphic to the spaces of linear $n$-vector fields and linear $n$-forms on $E^*$ respectively. Consequently, the $n$-omni-Lie algebroid $\dev E\oplus\jet_n E$ introduced by Bi-Vitagliago-Zhang can be explained as certain linearization, which we call pseudo-linearization of the higher analogue of Courant algebroids $TE^*\oplus \wedge^nT^*E^*$. On the other hand, we show that the omni $n$-Lie algebroid $\dev E\op…
In this paper, we describe an integration of exact Courant algebroids to symplectic 2-groupoids, and we show that the differentiation procedure from [26] inverts our integration.
We study Maurer-Cartan elements on homotopy Poisson manifolds of degree $n$. They unify many twisted or homotopy structures in Poisson geometry and mathematical physics, such as twisted Poisson manifolds, quasi-Poisson $\g$-manifolds, and twisted Courant algebroids. Using the fact that the dual of an $n$-term $L_\infty$-algebra is a homotopy Poisson manifold of degree $n-1$, we obtain a Courant algebroid from a $2$-term $L_\infty$-algebra $\g$ via the degree $2$ symplectic NQ-manifold $T^*[2]\g^*[1]$. By integrating the Lie quasi-bialgebroid associated to the Courant algebroid, we obtain a Lie…
Given a vector bundle $A$ over a smooth manifold $M$ such that the square root $\mathcal{L}$ of the line bundle $\wedge^{\mathrm{top}}A^\ast \otimes \wedge^{\mathrm{top}}T^\ast M$ exists, the Clifford bundle associated to the split pseudo-Euclidean vector bundle $(E = A \oplus A^\ast, \langle \cdot, \cdot \rangle)$, admits a spinor bundle $\wedge^\bullet A \otimes \mathcal{L}$, whose section space can be thought of as that of Berezinian half-densities of the graded manifold $A^\ast[1]$. We give an explicit construction of Dirac generating operators of split Courant algebroid (or proto-bialgebr…
We study the graded geometric point of view of curvature and torsion of Q-manifolds (differential graded manifolds). In particular, we get a natural graded geometric definition of Courant algebroid curvature and torsion, which correctly restrict to Dirac structures. Depending on an auxiliary affine connection K, we introduce the K-curvature and K-torsion of a Courant algebroid connection. These are conventional tensors on the body. Finally, we compute their Ricci and scalar curvature.
In this paper, we give the categorification of Leibniz algebras, which is equivalent to 2-term sh Leibniz algebras. They reveal the algebraic structure of omni-Lie 2-algebras introduced in \cite{omniLie2} as well as twisted Courant algebroids by closed 4-forms introduced in \cite{4form}. We also prove that Dirac structures of twisted Courant algebroids give rise to 2-term $L_\infty$-algebras and geometric structures behind them are exactly $H$-twisted Lie algebroids introduced in \cite{Grutzmann}.
We propose a generalization of the momentum map on a symplectic manifold with a Lie algebra action to a Courant algebroid structure. The theory of a momentum section on a Lie algebroid is generalized to the theory compatible with a Courant algebroid. As an example, we identify the momentum section in a constrained Hamiltonian mechanics with Courant algebroid symmetry. Moreover, we construct cohomological formulations by considering the BFV and BV formalism of this Hamiltonian system. The Weil algebra for this structure is constructed.
Let $p$ be a Lie subalgebra of a semisimple Lie algebra $g$ and $(G,P)$ be the corresponding pair of connected Lie groups. A Cartan geometry of type $(G,P)$ associates to a smooth manifold $M$ a principal $P$-bundle and a Cartan connection, and a parabolic geometry is a Cartan geometry where $P$ is parabolic. We show that if $P$ is parabolic, the adjoint tractor bundle of a Cartan geometry, which is isomorphic to the Atiyah algebroid of the principal $P$-bundle, admits the structure of a (pre-)Courant algebroid, and we identify the topological obstruction to the bracket being a Courant bracket…
In this paper, we study the algebraic properties of the higher analogues of Courant algebroid structures on the direct sum bundle $TM\oplus\wedge^nT^*M$ for an $m$-dimensional manifold. As an application, we revisit Nambu-Poisson structures and multisymplectic structures. We prove that the graph of an $(n+1)$-vector field $π$ is closed under the higher-order Dorfman bracket iff $π$ is a Nambu-Poisson structure. Consequently, there is an induced Leibniz algebroid structure on $\wedge^nT^*M$. The graph of an $(n+1)$-form $ω$ is closed under the higher-order Dorfman bracket iff $ω$ is a premultis…
We give an explicit description, in terms of bracket, anchor, and pairing, of the standard cochain complex associated to a Courant algebroid. In this formulation, the differential satisfies a formula that is formally identical to the Cartan formula for the de Rham differential. This perspective allows us to develop the theory of Courant algebroid connections in a way that mirrors the classical theory of connections. Using a special class of connections, we construct secondary characteristic classes associated to any Courant algebroid.
In this paper we define Courant algebroids in a purely algebraic way and study their deformation theory by using two different but equivalent graded Poisson algebras of degree -2. First steps towards a quantization of Courant algebroids are proposed by employing a Fedosov like deformation quantization.
Courant algebroids are a natural generalization of quadratic Lie algebras, appearing in various contexts in mathematical physics. A connection on a Courant algebroid gives an analogue of a covariant derivative compatible with a given fiber-wise metric. Imposing further conditions resembling standard Levi-Civita connections, one obtains a class of connections whose curvature tensor in certain cases gives a new geometrical description of equations of motion of low energy effective action of string theory. Two examples are given. One is the so called symplectic gravity, the second one is an appli…
We develop a systematic approach to contact and Jacobi structures on graded supermanifolds. In this framework, contact structures are interpreted as symplectic principal GL(1,R)-bundles. Gradings compatible with the GL(1,R)-action lead to the concept of a graded contact manifold, in particular a linear (more generally, n-linear) contact structure. Linear contact structures are proven to be exactly the canonical contact structures on first jets of line bundles. They provide linear Kirillov (or Jacobi) brackets and give rise to the concept of a Kirillov algebroid, an analog of a Lie algebroid, f…
This paper shows the equivalence of the categories of $N$-manifolds of degree $2$ with the category of double vector bundles endowed with a linear metric. Split Poisson $N$-manifolds of degree $2$ are shown to be equivalent to self-dual representations up to homotopy. As a consequence, the equivalence above induces an equivalence between so called metric VB-algebroids and Poisson $N$-manifolds of degree $2$. Then a new description of split Lie $2$-algebroids is given, as well as their "duals", the Dorfman $2$-representations. We show that Dorfman $2$-representations are equivalent in a simple …
Nijenhuis tensors $N$ on Courant algebroids compatible with the pairing are studied. This compatibility condition turns out to be of the form $N+N^*=aI$ for irreducible Courant algebroids, in particular for the extended tangent bundles $TM\oplus T^*M$. It is proved that compatible Nijenhuis tensors on irreducible Courant algebroids must satisfy quadratic relations $N^2-aN+bI=0$, so that the corresponding hierarchy is very poor. The particular case $N^2=-I$ is associated with Hitchin's generalized geometries and the cases $N^2=I$ and $N^2=0$ -- to other "generalized geometries". These concepts …
In this paper, we introduce the notion of an omni $n$-Lie algebra and show that they are linearization of higher analogues of standard Courant algebroids. We also introduce the notion of a nonabelian omni $n$-Lie algebra and show that they are linearization of higher analogues of Courant algebroids associated to Nambu-Poisson manifolds.
In categorified symplectic geometry, one studies the categorified algebraic and geometric structures that naturally arise on manifolds equipped with a closed nondegenerate (n+1)-form. The case relevant to classical string theory is when n=2 and is called "2-plectic geometry". Just as the Poisson bracket makes the smooth functions on a symplectic manifold into a Lie algebra, there is a Lie 2-algebra of observables associated to any 2-plectic manifold. String theory, closed 3-forms and Lie 2-algebras also play important roles in the theory of Courant algebroids. Courant algebroids are vector bun…
We provide a short review of Courant algebroids and graded symplectic manifolds and show how different Courant algebroids emerge from double field theory. Fluxes of double field theory and their Bianchi identities are formulated by using pre-QP-manifolds. We stress the relation of the Poisson Courant algebroid with R-flux as a solution of the double field theory section condition.
We introduce M-theoretic generalisations of the notion of (exact) Courant algebroid, and summarise their connections to generalised geometry, U-duality, and the physics of strings, membranes, and fivebranes. This is a summary of a paper [1], presented at the CORFU2018 workshop "Dualities and Generalized Geometries".
We show that in analogy to the introduction of Poisson structures twisted by a closed 3-form by Park and Klimcik-Strobl, the study of three dimensional sigma models with Wess-Zumino term leads in a likewise way to twisting of Courant algebroid structures by closed 4-forms H. The presentation is kept pedagogical and accessible to physicists as well as to mathematicians, explaining in detail in particular the interplay of field transformations in a sigma model with the type of geometrical structures induced on a target. In fact, as we also show, even if one does not know the mathematical concept…
In this paper, we study the field transformation under U-duality in exceptional field theories. Take $SL(5)$ and $SO(5,5)$ exceptional field theories as examples, we explicitly show that the U-duality transformation is governed by the differential geometry of a corresponding Courant algebroid structure. The field redefinition specified by $SL(5)$ and $SO(5,5)$ transformations can be realized by Courant algebroid anchor mapping. Based on the existence of Courant algebroid in $E_d$ exceptional field theory, we expect that the Courant algebroid anchor mapping also exist in exceptional field theor…
Starting from a (non-associative) quasi-Poisson structure, the derivation of a Roytenberg-type algebra is presented. From the Jacobi identities of the latter, the most general form of Bianchi identities for fluxes (H,f,Q,R) is then derived. It is also explained how this approach is related to the mathematical theory of quasi-Lie and Courant algebroids.
We study the extension of a Lie algebroid by a representation up to homotopy, including semidirect products of a Lie algebroid with such representations. The extension results in a higher Lie algebroid. We give exact Courant algebroids and string Lie 2-algebras as examples of such extensions. We then apply this to obtain a Lie 2-groupoid integration of an exact Courant algebroid.
In this paper, we give the notion of a CLWX 2-algebroid and show that a QP-structure of degree 3 gives rise to a CLWX 2-algebroid. This is the higher analogue of the result that a QP-structure of degree 2 gives rise to a Courant algebroid. A CLWX 2-algebroid can also be viewed as a categorified Courant algebroid. We show that one can obtain a Lie 3-algebra from a CLWX 2-algebroid. Furthermore, CLWX 2-algebroids are constructed from split Lie 2-algebroids and split Lie 2-bialgebroids.
By doubling the target space of a canonical Courant algebroid and subsequently projecting down to a specific subbundle, we identify the data of double field theory (DFT) and hence define its algebroid structure. We specify the properties of the DFT algebroid. We show that one of the Courant algebroid properties plays the role of the strong constraint in the context of DFT. The DFT algebroid is a special example when properties of a Courant algebroid are relaxed in a specific and dependent manner. When otherwise, we uncover additional structures.
The Courant sigma model is a 3-dimensional topological sigma model of AKSZ type which has been used for the systematic description of closed strings in non-geometric flux backgrounds. In particular, the expression for the fluxes and their Bianchi identities coincide with the local form of the axioms of a Courant algebroid. On the other hand, the axioms of a Courant algebroid also coincide with the conditions for gauge invariance of the Courant sigma model. In this paper we embed this interplay between background fluxes of closed strings, gauge (or more precisely BRST) symmetries of the Courant…
A new concept of Loday algebroid (and its pure algebraic version - Loday pseudoalgebra) is proposed and discussed in comparison with other similar structures present in the literature. The structure of a Loday pseudoalgebra and its natural reduction to a Lie pseudoalgebra is studied. Further, Loday algebroids are interpreted as homological vector fields on a `supercommutative manifold' associated with a shuffle product and the corresponding Cartan calculus is introduced. Several examples, including Courant algebroids, Grassmann-Dorfman and twisted Courant-Dorfman brackets, as well as algebroid…
String and M theories seem to require generalizations of usual notions of differential geometry. Such generalizations usually involve extending the tangent bundle to larger vector bundles equipped with various algebroid structures. The most general geometric scheme is not well understood yet, and a unifying framework for such algebroid structures is needed. Our aim in this paper is to propose such a general framework. Our strategy is to follow the hierarchy of defining axioms for a Courant algebroid: almost-Courant - metric - pre-Courant - Courant. In particular, we focus on the symmetric part…
A 2-plectic manifold is a manifold equipped with a closed nondegenerate 3-form, just as a symplectic manifold is equipped with a closed nondegenerate 2-form. In 2-plectic geometry we meet higher analogues of many structures familiar from symplectic geometry. For example, any 2-plectic manifold has a Lie 2-algebra consisting of smooth functions and Hamiltonian 1-forms. This is equipped with a Poisson-like bracket which only satisfies the Jacobi identity up to `coherent chain homotopy'. Over any 2-plectic manifold is a vector bundle equipped with extra structure called an exact Courant algebroid…
In this diploma thesis we discuss the deformation theory of Lie algebroids and Dirac structures. The first chapter gives a short introduction to Dirac structures on manifolds as introduced by Courant in 1990. We also give some physical applications of Dirac structures. In the second chapter we present the deformation theory of Lie algebroids following a recent work of Crainic and Moerdijk. We discuss the subject from three different points of view and show the equivalence of these different interpretations. In the third chapter we give definitions for smooth and formal deformations of Dirac st…
In this paper, for a Jacobi algebroid $A$, by introducing the notion of Jacobi quasi-Nijenhuis algebroids, which is a generalization of Poisson quasi-Nijenhuis manifolds introduced by Stiénon and Xu, we study generalized complex structures on the Courant-Jacobi algebroid $A\oplus A^*$, which unifies generalized complex (contact) structures on an even(odd)-dimensional manifold.
We define a higher analogue of Dirac structures on a manifold M. Under a regularity assumption, higher Dirac structures can be described by a foliation and a (not necessarily closed, non-unique) differential form on M, and are equivalent to (and simpler to handle than) the Multi-Dirac structures recently introduced in the context of field theory by Vankerschaver, Yoshimura and Marsden. We associate an L-infinity algebra of "observables" to every higher Dirac structure, extending work of Baez, Hoffnung and Rogers on multisymplectic forms. Further, applying a recent result of Getzler, we associa…
Starting with minimal requirements from the physical experience with higher gauge theories, i.e. gauge theories for a tower of differential forms of different form degrees, we discover that all the structural identities governing such theories can be concisely recombined into a so-called Q-structure or, equivalently, a Lie infinity algebroid. This has many technical and conceptual advantages: Complicated higher bundles become just bundles in the category of Q-manifolds in this approach (the many structural identities being encoded in the one operator Q squaring to zero), gauge transformations …
We investigate geometric aspects of double field theory (DFT) and its formulation as a doubled membrane sigma-model. Starting from the standard Courant algebroid over the phase space of an open membrane, we determine a splitting and a projection to a subbundle that sends the Courant algebroid operations to the corresponding operations in DFT. This describes precisely how the geometric structure of DFT lies in between two Courant algebroids and is reconciled with generalized geometry. We construct the membrane sigma-model that corresponds to DFT, and demonstrate how the standard T-duality orbit…
The metric-affine and generalized geometries, respectively, are arguably the appropriate mathematical frameworks for Einstein's theory of gravity and the low-energy effective massless oriented closed bosonic string field theory. In fact, mathematical structures in a metric-affine geometry are written on the tangent bundle, which is itself a Lie algebroid; whereas those in generalized geometries introduced as the basis of double field theories, are written on Courant algebroids. The Lie, Courant and the higher Courant algebroids used in exceptional field theories, are all special cases of pre-L…
We consider homotopy actions of a Lie algebroid on a graded manifold, defined as suitable $L_{\infty}$-algebra morphisms. On the "semi-direct product" we construct a homological vector field that projects to the Lie algebroid. Our main theorem states that this construction is a bijection. Since several classical geometric structures can be described by homological vector fields as above, we can display many explicit examples, involving Lie algebroids (including extensions, representations up to homotopy and their cocycles) as well as transitive Courant algebroids.
Deformation theory refers to an apparatus in many parts of math and physics for going from an infinitesimal (= first order) deformation to a full deformation, either formal or convergent appropriately. If the algebra being deformed is that of observables, the result is deformation quantization, independent of any realization in terms of Hilbert space operators. There are very important but rare cases in which a formula for a full deformation is known. For physics, the most important is the Moyal-Weyl star product formula. In this paper, we concentrate on deformations of Courant algebroid struc…
