Just as gauge theory describes the parallel transport of point particles using connections on bundles, higher gauge theory describes the parallel transport of 1-dimensional objects (e.g. strings) using 2-connections on 2-bundles. A 2-bundle is a categorified version of a bundle: that is, one where the fiber is not a manifold but a category with a suitable smooth structure. Where gauge theory uses Lie groups and Lie algebras, higher gauge theory uses their categorified analogues: Lie 2-groups and Lie 2-algebras. We describe a theory of 2-connections on principal 2-bundles and explain how this is related to Breen and Messing's theory of connections on nonabelian gerbes. The distinctive feature of our theory is that a 2-connection allows parallel transport along paths and surfaces in a parametrization-independent way. In terms of Breen and Messing's framework, this requires that the "fake curvature" must vanish. In this paper we summarize the main results of our theory without proofs.
In this paper we introduce principal 2-bundles and show how they are classified by non-abelian Cech cohomology. Moreover, we show that their gauge 2-groups can be described by 2-group-valued functors, much like in classical bundle theory. Using this, we show that, under some mild requirements, these gauge 2-groups possess a natural smooth structure. In the last section we provide some explicit examples.
Categorical bundles provide a natural framework for gauge theories involving multiple gauge groups. Unlike the case of traditional bundles there are distinct notions of triviality, and hence also of local triviality, for categorical bundles. We study categorical principal bundles that are product bundles in the categorical sense, developing the relationship between functorial sections of such bundles and trivializations. We construct functorial cocycles with values in categorical groups using a suitable family of locally defined functions on the object space of the base category. Categorical p…
We discuss a general procedure for using characteristic classes to study the components of the gauge group for a principal G-bundle. To illustrate this, we work out the case where G is the projective unitary group.
Bundle gerbes are a higher version of line bundles, we present nonabelian bundle gerbes as a higher version of principal bundles. Connection, curving, curvature and gauge transformations are studied both in a global coordinate independent formalism and in local coordinates. These are the gauge fields needed for the construction of Yang-Mills theories with 2-form gauge potential.
We study the geometry of determinant line bundles associated to Dirac operators on compact odd dimensional manifolds. Physically, these arise as (local) vacuum line bundles in quantum gauge theory. We give a simplified derivation of the commutator anomaly formula using a construction based on noncyclic trace extensions and associated multiplicative renormalized determinants.
We consider groupoids in the category of principal bundles, which we call principal bundles (PB) groupoids. Inspired by work by Th. Nikolaus and K. Waldorf, we generalise bundle gerbes over manifolds to bundle gerbes over groupoids and discuss a functorial correspondence between PB groupoids and bundle gerbes over groupoids. From a PB groupoid over a fibre product groupoid, we build a bundle gerbe over another fibre product groupoid. Conversely, from a bundle gerbe over a Lie groupoid, we build a PB groupoid. It has a trivial base and from any PB groupoid with trivial base, we build a bundle g…
A reductive structure is associated here with Lagrangian canonically defined conserved quantities on gauge-natural bundles. Parametrized transformations defined by the gauge-natural lift of infinitesimal principal automorphisms induce a variational sequence such that the generalized Jacobi morphism is naturally self-adjoint. As a consequence, its kernel defines a reductive split structure on the relevant underlying principal bundle.
The notion of a higher bundle gerbe is introduced to give a geometric realization of the higher degree integral cohomology of certain manifolds. We consider examples using the infinite dimensional spaces arising in gauge theories.
We present a clear-cut example of the importance of the functorial approach of gauge-natural bundles and the general theory of Lie derivatives for classical field theory, where the sole correct geometrical formulation of Einstein (-Cartan) gravity coupled with Dirac fields gives rise to an unexpected indeterminacy in the concept of conserved quantities.
Using properties of the determinant line bundle for a family of elliptic boundary value problems, we explain how the Fock space functor defines an axiomatic quantum field theory which formally models the Fermionic path integral. The 'sewing axiom' of the theory arises as an algebraic pasting law for the determinant of the Dirac operator. We show how representations of the boundary gauge group fit into this description and that this leads to a Fock functor description of certain gauge anomalies.
The motivation for this paper stems \cite{CR} from the need to construct explicit isomorphisms of (possibly nontrivial) principal $G$-bundles on the space of loops or, more generally, of paths in some manifold $M$, over which I consider a fixed principal bundle $P$; the aforementioned bundles are then pull-backs of $P$ w.r.t. evaluation maps at different points. The explicit construction of these isomorphisms between pulled-back bundles relies on the notion of {\em parallel transport}. I introduce and discuss extensively at this point the notion of {\em generalized gauge transformation between…
Motivated by gauge theory under special holonomy, we present techniques to produce holomorphic bundles over certain noncompact $3-$folds, called building blocks, satisfying a stability condition `at infinity'. Such bundles are known to parametrise solutions of the Yang-Mills equation over the $\rm G_2-$manifolds obtained from asymptotically cylindrical Calabi-Yau $3-$folds studied by Kovalev and by Corti-Haskins-Nordström-Pacini et al. The most important tool is a generalisation of Hoppe's stability criterion to holomorphic bundles over smooth projective varieties $X$ with $\operatorname{Pic}{…
We prove a theorem on singular symplectic cotangent bundle reduction in the Fréchet setting and apply it to Yang-Mills-Higgs theory with special emphasis on the Higgs sector of the Glashow-Weinberg-Salam model. For the latter model we give a detailed description of the reduced phase space and show that the singular structure is encoded in a finite-dimensional Lie group action.
We derive both {\em local} and {\em global} generalized {\em Bianchi identities} for classical Lagrangian field theories on gauge-natural bundles. We show that globally defined generalized Bianchi identities can be found without the {\em a priori} introduction of a connection. The proof is based on a {\em global} decomposition of the {\em variational Lie derivative} of the generalized Euler--Lagrange morphism and the representation of the corresponding generalized Jacobi morphism on gauge-natural bundles. In particular, we show that {\em within} a gauge-natural invariant Lagrangian variational…
Motivated by the computations done in \cite{C1}, where I introduced and discussed what I called the groupoid of generalized gauge transformations, viewed as a groupoid over the objects of the category $\mathsf{Bun}_{G,M}$ of principal $G$-bundles over a given manifold $M$, I develop in this paper the same ideas for the more general case of {\em principal $\calG$-bundles or principal bundles with structure groupoid $\calG$}, where now $\calG$ is a Lie groupoid in the sense of \cite{Moer2}. Most of the concepts introduced in \cite{C1} can be translated almost verbatim in the framework of princip…
We deal with finite dimensional differentiable manifolds. All items are concerned with are differentiable as well. The class of differentiability is $C^\infty$. A metric structure in a vector bundle $E$ is a constant rank symmetric bilinear vector bundle homomorphism of $E\times E$ in the trivial bundle line bundle. We address the question whether a given gauge structure in $E$ is metric. That is the main concerns. We use generalized Amari functors of the information geometry for introducing two index functions defined in the moduli space of gauge structures in $E$. Beside we introduce a diffe…
Class lecture notes at a beginning graduate level on the mathematical background needed to understand classical gauge theory. Covers group actions, fiber bundles, principal bundles, connections, gauge transformations, parallel transport, curvature, covariant derivatives, pseudo-riemannian manifolds, lagrangians, clifford algebras, spin bundles, and the Dirac operator. Requires an elementary knowledge of groups, manifolds, lie groups and algebras, and mutlilinear algebra.
In gauge theory, the Faddeev-Mickelsson-Shatashvili anomaly arises as a prolongation problem for the action of the gauge group on a bundle of projective Fock spaces. In this paper, we study this anomaly from the point of view of bundle gerbes and give several equivalent descriptions of the obstruction. These include lifting bundle gerbes with non-trivial structure group bundle and bundle gerbes related to the caloron correspondence.
The geometry of the total space of a principal bundle with regard to the action of the bundle's structure group is elegantly described by the bundle's operation, a collection of derivations consisting of the de Rham differential and the contraction and Lie derivatives of all vertical vector fields and satisfying the six Cartan relations. Connections and gauge transformations are defined by the way they behave under the action of the operation's derivations. In the first paper of a series of two extending the ordinary theory, we constructed an operational total space theory of strict principal …
Let $C\to M$ be the bundle of connections of a principal bundle on $M$. The solutions to Hamilton-Cartan equations for a gauge-invariant Lagrangian density $Λ$ on $C$ satisfying a weak condition of regularity, are shown to admit an affine fibre-bundle structure over the set of solutions to Euler-Lagrange equations for $Λ$. This structure is also studied for the Jacobi fields and for the moduli space of extremals.
We show that a flat principal bundle with compact connected structure group and its adjoint bundles of Lie groups have the same cohomology as the trivial bundle, which is done by proving they satisfy the condition for the Leray-Hirsch theorem. This information has been used to construct a cohomology class of the adjoint bundle of a flat bundle whose restriction to each fiber is the class of the Maurer-Cartan 3-form. Then we use this result to define an invariant of a gauge transformation of a flat bundle which describes the effect of the gauge transformation on a Chern-Simons functional.
A pedagogical but concise overview of fiber bundles and their connections is provided, in the context of gauge theories in physics. The emphasis is on defining and visualizing concepts and relationships between them, as well as listing common confusions, alternative notations and jargon, and relevant facts and theorems. Special attention is given to detailed figures and geometric viewpoints, some of which would seem to be novel to the literature. Topics are avoided which are well covered in textbooks, such as historical motivations, proofs and derivations, and tools for practical calculations.…
Using the higher analytic torsion form of Bismut and Lott we construct a characteristic class for smooth sphere bundles. We calculate this class in the case where the sphere bundle comes from a complex vector bundle. Related to these characteristic classes we define nontrivial continuous group cohomology classes of the diffeomorphism group of odd dimensional spheres.
We consider the problem of existence of representations of topological groupoids on a principal bundle and the classification of such representations up to gauge transformation. Such representations naturally occur in various contexts such as gauge theory, lattice gauge fields, equivariant bundles, etc. In the course of the proofs, some new facts about Milnor's classifying spaces and gauge groups are established.
We construct and study pushforwards of categorical connections on categorical principal bundles. Applying this construction to the case of decorated path spaces in principal bundles, we obtain a transformation of classical connections that combines the traditional gauge transformation with an affine translation.
We construct manifestly superconformal field theories in six dimensions which contain a non-Abelian tensor multiplet. In particular, we show how principal 3-bundles over a suitable twistor space encode solutions to these self-dual tensor field theories via a Penrose-Ward transform. The resulting higher or categorified gauge theories significantly generalise those obtained previously from principal 2-bundles in that the so-called Peiffer identity is relaxed in a systematic fashion. This transform also exposes various unexplored structures of higher gauge theories modelled on principal 3-bundles…
We develop a description of higher gauge theory with higher groupoids as gauge structure from first principles. This approach captures ordinary gauge theories and gauged sigma models as well as their categorifications on a very general class of (higher) spaces comprising presentable differentiable stacks, as e.g. orbifolds. We start off with a self-contained review on simplicial sets as models of $(\infty,1)$-categories. We then discuss principal bundles in terms of simplicial maps and their homotopies. We explain in detail a differentiation procedure, suggested by Severa, that maps higher gro…
We generalize reduction theorems for classical connections to operators with values in $k$-th order natural bundles. Using the first reduction theorem in order two we classify all (0,2)-tensor fields on the cotangent bundle of a manifold with a linear (non-symmetric) connection.
A cocycle $Ω: P \times G \to H$ taking values in a Lie group $H$ for a free right action of $G$ on $P$ defines a principal bundle $Q$ with the structure group $H$ over $P/G.$ The Chern character of a vector bundle associated to $Q$ defines then characteristic classes on $X.$ This observation becomes useful in the case of infinite dimensional groups. It typically happens that a representation of $G$ is not given by linear operators which differ from the indentity by a trace-class operator. For this reason the Chern character of a vector bundle associated to the principal fibration $P \to P/G$ i…
A natural explicit condition is given ensuring that an action of the multiplicative monoid of non-negative reals on a manifold F comes from homotheties of a vector bundle structure on F, or, equivalently, from an Euler vector field. This is used in showing that double (or higher) vector bundles present in the literature can be equivalently defined as manifolds with a family of commuting Euler vector fields. Higher vector bundles can be therefore defined as manifolds admitting certain $\N^n$-grading in the structure sheaf. Consequently, multi-graded (super)manifolds are canonically associated w…
The paper glosses different forms of an introducing of higher order tangent-like functors, especially functors derived from higher order nonholonomic tangent functors. A special attention is devoted to higher order osculating bundles: their identification with higher order tangent bundles is demonstrated as the main result. Chiefly, the paper is focused on the needful unification of concepts.
We develop semistrict higher gauge theory from first principles. In particular, we describe the differential Deligne cohomology underlying semistrict principal 2-bundles with connective structures. Principal 2-bundles are obtained in terms of weak 2-functors from the Cech groupoid to weak Lie 2-groups. As is demonstrated, some of these Lie 2-groups can be differentiated to semistrict Lie 2-algebras by a method due to Severa. We further derive the full description of connective structures on semistrict principal 2-bundles including the non-linear gauge transformations. As an application, we use…
We establish existence and regularity results for normal Coulomb frames in the normal bundle of two-dimensional surfaces of disc-type embedded in Euclidean spaces of higher dimensions.
Building on the universal covering group of the general linear group, we introduce the composite spinor bundle whose subbundles are Lorentz spin structures associated with different gravitational fields. General covariant transformations of this composite spinor bundle are canonically defined.
We use a G2-structure on a 7-dimensional Riemannian manifold with a fixed metric to define an octonion bundle with a fiberwise non-associative product. We then define a metric-compatible octonion covariant derivative on this bundle that is compatible with the octonion product. The torsion of the G2-structure is then shown to be an octonionic connection for this covariant derivative with curvature given by the component of the Riemann curvature that lies in the 7-dimensional representation of G2. We also interpret the choice of a particular G2-structure within the same metric class as a choice …
We introduce the concept of a higher algebroid, generalizing the notions of an algebroid and a higher tangent bundle. Our ideas are based on a description of (Lie) algebroids as vector bundle comorphisms - differential relations of a special kind. In our approach higher algebroids are vector bundle comorphism between graded-linear bundles satisfying natural axioms. We provide natural examples and discuss applications in geometric mechanics.
This is the second in a series of papers discussing in the framework of gerbe theory canonical and geometric aspects of the 2d nonlinear sigma model in the presence of conformal defects in the worldsheet. Employing the formal tools worked out in the first paper of the series, 1101.1126 [hep-th], a thorough analysis of rigid symmetries of the sigma model is carried out with emphasis on algebraic structures on generalised tangent bundles over the target space of the theory and over its state space that give rise to a realisation of the symmetry algebra on states. The analysis leads to a proposal…
We propose a model in which a spliced vector bundle (with an arbitrary number of gauge structures in the splice) possesses a geometry which do not split. The model employs connection 1-forms with values in a space-product of Lie algebras, and therefore interlaces the various gauge structures in a non-trivial manner. Special attention is given to the structure of the geometric ghost sector and the super-algebra it possesses: The ghosts emerge as $x$-dependent deformations at the gauge sector, and the associated BRST super algebra is realized as constraints that follow from the invariance of the…
In this note we show that the holonomies for higher local systems provided by the higher Riemann-Hilbert correspondence coincide with those associated to principal $2$-bundles where both formalisms meet.
In this work, we use the Sternberg phase space (which may be considered as the classical phase space of particles in gauge fields) in order to explore the dynamics of such particles in the context of Hamilton-Dirac systems and their associated Hamilton-Pontryagin variational principles. For this, we develop an analogue of the Pontryagin bundle in the case of the Sternberg phase space. Moreover, we show the link of this new bundle to the so-called magnetized Tulczyjew triple, which is an analogue of the link between the Pontryagin bundle and the usual Tulczyjew triple. Taking advantage of the s…
We present a geometric interpretation of the integration-by-parts formula on an arbitrary vector bundle. As an application we give a new geometric formulation of higher-order variational calculus.
The classical theory of Riemann ellipsoids is formulated naturally as a gauge theory based on a principal G-bundle ${\cal P}$. The structure group G=SO(3) is the vorticity group, and the bundle ${\cal P}=GL_+(3, R})$ is the connected component of the general linear group. The base manifold is the space of positive-definite real $3\times 3$ symmetric matrices, identified geometrically with the space of inertia ellipsoids. The bundle ${\cal P}$ is also a Riemannian manifold whose metric is determined by the kinetic energy. Nonholonomic constraints determine connections on the bundle. In particul…
The characteristic forms in the bundle of connections of a principal bundle P over M determine the characteristic classes of P for degree less or equal to the dimension of M, and differential forms on the space of connections for higher degree. The equivariant characteristic classes provide canonical equivariant extensions of this forms, and so cohomology classes in the quotient space of connections modulo gauge transformations. More generally, given a closed differential form in M and a characteristic form, we obtain a cohomology class in the space of connections modulo gauge transformations,…
We give a method of decomposing bundle-valued polynomials compatible with the action of the Lie group $Spin(n)$, where important tools are $Spin(n)$-equivariant operators and their spectral decompositions. In particular, the top irreducible component is realized as an intersection of kernels of these operators.
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 …
Graded bundles are a class of graded manifolds which represent a natural generalisation of vector bundles and include the higher order tangent bundles as canonical examples. We present and study the concept of the linearisation of graded bundle which allows us to define the notion of the linear dual of a graded bundle. They are examples of double structures, graded-linear ($\mathcal{GL}$) bundles, including double vector bundles as a particular case. On $\mathcal{GL}$-bundles we define what we shall call weighted algebroids, which are to be understood as algebroids in the category of graded bu…
For any principal bundle $P$, one can consider the subspace of the space of connections on its tangent bundle $TP$ given by the tangent bundle $T{\cal A}$ of the space of connections ${\cal A}$ on $P$. The tangent gauge group acts freely on $T{\cal A}$. Appropriate BRST operators are introduced for quantum field theories that include as fields elements of $T{\cal A}$, as well as tangent vectors to the space of curvatures. As the simplest application, the BRST symmetry of the so-called $BF$-Yang-Mills theory is described and the relevant gauge fixing conditions are analyzed. A brief account on …
