Given a Dirac subbundle and an isotropic subbundle of a Courant algebroid, we provide a canonical method to obtain a new Dirac subbundle. When the original Dirac subbundle is involutive (i.e., a Dirac structure) this construction has interesting applications, for instance to Dirac's theory of constraints and to the Marsden-Ratiu reduction in Poisson geometry.
We define integrable, big-isotropic structures on a manifold $M$ as subbundles $E\subseteq TM\oplus T^*M$ that are isotropic with respect to the natural, neutral metric (pairing) $g$ of $TM\oplus T^*M$ and are closed by Courant brackets (this also implies that $[E,E^{\perp_g}]\subseteq E^{\perp_g}$). We give the interpretation of such a structure by objects of $M$, we discuss the local geometry of the structure and we give a reduction theorem.
A Dirac structure is a Lagrangian subbundle of a Courant algebroid, $L\subset\mathbb{E}$, which is involutive with respect to the Courant bracket. In particular, $L$ inherits the structure of a Lie algebroid. In this paper, we introduce the more general notion of a pseudo-Dirac structure: an arbitrary subbundle, $W\subset\mathbb{E}$, together with a pseudo-connection on its sections, satisfying a natural integrability condition. As a consequence of the definition, $W$ will be a Lie algebroid. Allowing non-isotropic subbundles of $\mathbb{E}$ incorporates non-skew tensors and connections into D…
We study higher-order analogues of Dirac structures, extending the multisymplectic structures that arise in field theory. We define higher Dirac structures as involutive subbundles of $TM+\wedge^k TM^*$ satisfying a weak version of the usual lagrangian condition (which agrees with it only when $k=1$). Higher Dirac structures transversal to $TM$ recover the higher Poisson structures introduced in [8] as the infinitesimal counterparts of multisymplectic groupoids. We describe the leafwise geometry underlying an involutive isotropic subbundle in terms of a distinguished 1-cocycle in a natural dif…
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…
We establish some fundamental relations between Dirac subbundles $L$ for the generalized Courant algebroid $(A\oplus A^{\ast}, ϕ+W)$ over a differentiable manifold $M$ and the associated Dirac subbubndles $\tilde{L}$ for the corresponding Courant algebroid $\tilde{A} \oplus \tilde{A}^{\ast}$ over $M\times \R$.
Given a symplectic manifold $(M,ω)$ admitting a metaplectic structure, and choosing a positive $ω$-compatible almost complex structure $J$ and a linear connection $\nabla$ preserving $ω$ and $J$, Katharina and Lutz Habermann have constructed two Dirac operators $D$ and ${\wt{D}}$ acting on sections of a bundle of symplectic spinors. They have shown that the commutator $[ D, {\wt{D}}]$ is an elliptic operator preserving an infinite number of finite dimensional subbundles. We extend the construction of symplectic Dirac operators to any symplectic manifold, through the use of $\Mpc$ structures. T…
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 show that if a smooth multiplicative subbundle $S\subseteq TG$ on a groupoid $G\rr P$ is involutive and satisfies completeness conditions, then its leaf space $G/S$ inherits a groupoid structure over the space of leaves of $TP\cap S$ in $P$. As an application, a special class of Dirac groupoids is shown to project by forward Dirac maps to Poisson groupoids.
A Dirac structure on a vector bundle V is a maximal isotropic subbundle E of the direct sum of V with its dual. We show how to associate to any Dirac structure a Dixmier-Douady bundle A, that is, a Z/2Z-graded bundle of C*-algebras with typical fiber the compact operators on a Hilbert space. The construction has good functorial properties, relative to Morita morphisms of Dixmier-Douady bundles. As applications, we show that the `spin' Dixmier-Douady bundle over a compact, connected Lie group (as constructed by Atiyah-Segal) is multiplicative, and we obtain a canonical `twisted Spin-c-structure…
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.
We introduce the notion of matched pairs of Courant algebroids and give several examples arising naturally from complex manifolds, holomorphic Courant algebroids, and certain regular Courant algebroids. We consider the matched sum of two Dirac subbundles, one in each of two Courant algebroids forming a matched pair.
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…
The closed homogeneous and isotropic universe is considered. The bundles of Weyl and Dirac spinors for this universe are explicitly described. Some explicit formulas for the basic fields and for the connection components in stereographic and in spherical coordinates are presented.
Using an integrable discrete Dirac operator, we construct a discrete version of the Weierstrass representation of time-like surfaces parametrized along isotropic directions in $R^{2,1}$, $R^{3,1}$ and $R^{2,2}$. The corresponding discrete surfaces have isotropic edges. We show that any discrete surface satisfying a general monotonicity condition and having isotropic edges admits such a representation.
We prove that the classical $W$-algebra associated to a nilpotent orbit in a simple Lie-algebra can be constructed by preforming bihamiltonian, Drinfeld-Sokolov or Dirac reductions. We conclude that the classical $W$-algebra depends only on the nilpotent orbit but not on the choice of a good grading or an isotropic subspace. In addition, using this result we prove again that the transverse Poisson structure to a nilpotent orbit is polynomial and we better clarify the relation between classical and finite $W$-algebras.
A generalized F-structure is a complex, isotropic subbundle $E$ of $T_cM\oplus T^*_cM$ ($T_cM=TM\otimes_{\mathds{R}}\mathds{C}$ and the metric is defined by pairing) such that $E\cap\bar E^{\perp}=0$. If $E$ is also closed by the Courant bracket, $E$ is a generalized CRF-structure. We show that a generalized F-structure is equivalent with a skew-symmetric endomorphism $Φ$ of $TM\oplus T^*M$ that satisfies the condition $Φ^3+Φ=0$ and we express the CRF-condition by means of the Courant-Nijenhuis torsion of $Φ$. The structures that we consider are generalizations of the F-structures defined by Y…
If $A$ is a Lie algebroid over a foliated manifold $(M,\mathcal{F})$, a foliation of $A$ is a Lie subalgebroid $B$ with anchor image $T\mathcal{F}$ and such that $A/B$ is locally equivalent with Lie algebroids over the slice manifolds of $\mathcal{F}$. We give several examples and, for foliated Lie algebroids, we discuss the following subjects: the dual Poisson structure and Vaintrob's super-vector field, cohomology and deformations of the foliation, integration to a Lie groupoid. In the last section, we define a corresponding notion of a foliation of a Courant algebroid $A$ as a bracket-close…
We present a characterization, in terms of torsion-free generalized connections, for the integrability of various generalized structures (generalized almost complex structures, generalized almost hypercomplex structures, generalized almost Hermitian structures and generalized almost hyper-Hermitian structures) defined on Courant algebroids. We develop a new, self-contained, approach for the theory of Dirac generating operators on regular Courant algebroids with scalar product of neutral signature. As an application we provide a criterion for the integrability of generalized almost Hermitian st…
We write down the local equations that characterize the submanifolds N of a Dirac manifold M which have a normal bundle that is either a coisotropic or an isotropic submanifold of TM endowed with the tangent Dirac structure. In the Poisson case, these formulas prove again a result of Xu: the submanifold N has a normal bundle which is a coisotropic submanifold of TM with the tangent Poisson structure iff N is a Dirac submanifold. In the presymplectic case, it is the isotropy of the normal bundle which characterizes the corresponding notion of a Dirac submanifold. On the way, we give a simple de…
In his study of Dirac structures, a notion which includes both Poisson structures and closed 2-forms, T. Courant introduced a bracket on the direct sum of vector fields and 1-forms. This bracket does not satisfy the Jacobi identity except on certain subspaces. In this paper we systematize the properties of this bracket in the definition of a Courant algebroid. This structure on a vector bundle $E\rightarrow M$, consists of an antisymmetric bracket on the sections of $E$ whose ``Jacobi anomaly'' has an explicit expression in terms of a bundle map $E\rightarrow TM$ and a field of symmetric bilin…
We investigate reductions of the two-dimensional Dirac equation imposed by the requirement of the existence of a differential operator $D_n$ of order $n$ mapping its eigenfunctions to adjoint eigenfunctions. For first order operators these reductions (and multi-component analogs thereof) lead to the Lame equations descriptive of orthogonal coordinate systems. Our main observation is that $n$-th order reductions coincide with the projective-geometric `Gauss-Codazzi' equations governing special classes of line congruences in the projective space $P^{2n-1}$, which is the projectivised kernel of $…