In 1999 Chas and Sullivan discovered that the homology H_*(LX) of the space of free loops on a closed oriented smooth manifold X has a rich algebraic structure called string topology. They proved that H_*(LX) is naturally a Batalin-Vilkovisky (BV) algebra. There are several conjectures connecting the string topology BV algebra with algebraic structures on the Hochschild cohomology of algebras related to the manifold X, but none of them has been verified for manifolds of dimension n>1.
In this work we study string topology in the case when X is aspherical (i.e. its homotopy groups π_i(X) vanish for i > 1). In this case the Hochschild cohomology Gerstenhaber algebra HH^*(A) of the group algebra A of the fundamental group of X has a BV structure. Our main result is a theorem establishing a natural isomorphism between the Hochschild cohomology BV algebra HH^*(A) and the string topology BV algebra H_*(LX). In particular, for a closed oriented surface X of hyperbolic type we obtain a complete description of the BV algebra operations on H_*(LX) and HH^*(A) in terms of the Goldman bracket of loops on X. The only manifolds for which the BV algebra structure on H_*(LX) was known before were spheres and complex Stiefel manifolds.
Our proof is based on a combination of topological and algebraic constructions allowing us to compute and compare multiplications and BV operators on both H_*(LX) and HH^*(A).
In the mid eighties Goldman proved an embedded curve could be isotoped to not intersect a closed geodesic if and only if their Lie bracket (as defined in that work) vanished. Goldman asked for a topological proof and about extensions of the conclusion to curves with self-intersection. Turaev, in the late eighties, asked about characterizing simple closed curves algebraically, in terms of the same Lie structure. We show how the Goldman bracket answers these questions for all finite type surfaces. In fact we count self-intersection numbers and mutual intersection numbers for all finite type orie…
Let $M$ be any compact simply-connected $d$-dimensional smooth manifold and let $\mathbb{F}$ be any field. We show that the Gerstenhaber algebra structure on the Hochschild cohomology on the singular cochains of $M$, $HH^*(S^*(M);S^*(M))$, extends to a Batalin-Vilkovisky algebra. Such Batalin-Vilkovisky algebra was conjecturated to exist and is expected to be isomorphic to the Batalin-Vilkovisky algebra on the free loop space homology on $M$, $H_{*+d}(LM)$ introduced by Chas and Sullivan. We also show that the negative cyclic cohomology $HC^*_-(S^*(M))$ has a Lie bracket. Such Lie bracket is e…
In this paper we construct a Lie algebra representation of the algebraic string bracket on negative cyclic cohomology of an associative algebra with appropriate duality. This is a generalized algebraic version of the main theorem of [AZ] which extends Goldman's results using string topology operations.The main result can be applied to the de Rham complex of a smooth manifold as well as the Dolbeault resolution of the endomorphisms of a holomorphic bundle on a Calabi-Yau manifold.
Let $Σ$ be a compact connected oriented 2-dimensional manifold with non-empty boundary. In our previous work, we have shown that the solution of generalized (higher genus) Kashiwara-Vergne equations for an automorphism $F \in {\rm Aut}(L)$ of a free Lie algebra implies an isomorphism between the Goldman-Turaev Lie bialgebra $\mathfrak{g}(Σ)$ and its associated graded ${\rm gr}\, \mathfrak{g}(Σ)$. In this paper, we prove the converse: if $F$ induces an isomorphism $\mathfrak{g}(Σ) \cong {\rm gr} \, \mathfrak{g}(Σ)$, then it satisfies the Kashiwara-Vergne equations up to conjugation. As an appli…
Chas and Sullivan introduced string homology, which is the equivariant homology of the loop space with the $S^1$ action on loops by rotation. Craig Westerland computed the string homology for spheres with coefficients in $\mathbb{Z} /2\mathbb{Z}$, and in Somnath Basu's dissertation, he computes the string homology and string bracket for spheres over rational coefficients, and he finds that the bracket is trivial. In this paper, we compute string homology and the string bracket for spheres with integer coefficients, treating the odd- and even-dimensional cases separately. We use the Gysin seque…
We use the computational power of rational homotopy theory to provide an explicit cochain model for the loop product and the string bracket of a 1-connected closed manifold M. We prove that the loop homology of M is isomorphic to the Hochschild cohomology of the commutative graded algebra A_{PL}(M) with coefficients in itself. Some explicit computations of the loop product and the string bracket are given.
The purpose of this article is to embed the string topology bracket developed by Chas-Sullivan and Menichi on negative cyclic cohomology groups as well as the dual bracket found by de Thanhoffer de Voelcsey-Van den Bergh on negative cyclic homology groups into the global picture of a noncommutative differential (or Cartan) calculus up to homotopy on the (co)cyclic bicomplex in general, in case a certain Poincare' duality is given. For negative cyclic cohomology, this in particular leads to a Batalin-Vilkovisky algebra structure on the underlying Hochschild cohomology. In the special case in wh…
We transport Steenrod's cup-i products from the singular cochains on the free loop space Maps(S^1, BG) to Hochschild's original cochain complex Hom (k[G]^*, k[G]) defining Hochschild cohomology. Here G is a discrete group, k an arbitrary coefficient ring, and BG the classifying space of G. For cochains supported on BG, we prove that Gerstenhaber's cup product agrees with the simplicial cup product and Gerstenhaber's pre-Lie product agrees with Steenrod's cup-one product. As a consequence, for cocycles f and g supported on BG, the Gerstenhaber bracket [f, g] = 0 in Hochschild cohomology. This i…
We show that there exists a Lie a bracket on the cohomology of any type of (bi)algebras over an operad or a PROP, induced by a strongly homotopy Lie structure on the defining cochain complex, such that the associated "quantum" master equation captures deformations. This in particular implies the existence of a Lie bracket on the Gerstenhaber-Schack cohomology of a bialgebra that extends the classical intrinsic bracket on the Hochschild cohomology, giving an affirmative answer to an old question about the existence of such a bracket.
Let $G \to P \to M$ be a flat principal bundle over a closed and oriented manifold $M$ of dimension $m=2d$. We construct a map of Lie algebras $Ψ: \H_{2\ast} (L M) \to ø(\Mc)$, where $\H_{2\ast} (LM)$ is the even dimensional part of the equivariant homology of $LM$, the free loop space of $M$, and $\Mc$ is the Maurer-Cartan moduli space of the graded differential Lie algebra $Ω^\ast (M, \adp)$, the differential forms with values in the associated adjoint bundle of $P$. For a 2-dimensional manifold $M$, our Lie algebra map reduces to that constructed by Goldman in \cite{G2}. We treat different …
For M a closed, connected, oriented manifold, we obtain the Batalin-Vilkovisky (BV) algebra of its string topology through homotopy-theoretic constructions on its based loop space. In particular, we show that the Hochschild cohomology of the chain algebra C_*ΩM carries a BV algebra structure isomorphic to that of the loop homology $\mathbb{H}_*(LM)$. Furthermore, this BV algebra structure is compatible with the usual cup product and Gerstenhaber bracket on Hochschild cohomology. To produce this isomorphism, we use a derived form of Poincaré duality with C_*ΩM-modules as local coefficient syste…
This paper introduces a chain model for the Deligne-Mumford operad formed by homotopically trivializing the circle in a chain model for the framed little disks. We then show that under degeneration of the Hochschild to cyclic cohomology spectral sequence, a known action of the framed little disks on Hochschild cochains lifts to an action of this new chain model. We thus establish homotopy hyper-commutative algebra structures on both Hochschild and cyclic cochain complexes, and we interpret the gravity brackets on cyclic cohomology as obstructions to degeneration of this spectral sequence. Our …
Given a differential graded (dg) symmetric Frobenius algebra $A$ we construct an unbounded complex $\mathcal{D}^{*}(A,A)$, called the Tate-Hochschild complex, which arises as a totalization of a double complex having Hochschild chains as negative columns and Hochschild cochains as non-negative columns. We prove that the complex $\mathcal{D}^*(A,A)$ computes the singular Hochschild cohomology of $A$. We construct a cyclic (or Calabi-Yau) $A$-infinity algebra structure, which extends the classical Hochschild cup and cap products, and an $L$-infinity algebra structure extending the classical Gers…
In this note, we show that the normalized Hochschild co--chains of an associative algebra with a non--degenerate, symmetric, invariant inner product are an algebra over a chain model of the framed little discs operad which is given by cacti. In particular, in this sense they are a BV algebra up to homotopy and the Hochschild cohomology of such an algebra is a BV algebra whose induced bracket coincides with Gerstenhaber's bracket. To show this, we use a cellular chain model for the framed little disc operad in terms of normalized cacti. This model is given by tensoring our chain model for the l…
This paper is a continuations of the project initiated in the book string topology for stacks. We construct string operations on the SO(2)-equivariant homology of the (free) loop space $L(X)$ of an oriented differentiable stack $X$ and show that $H^{SO(2)}_{*+dim(X) -2}(L(X))$ is a graded Lie algebra. In the particular case where $X$ is a 2-dimensional orbifold we give a Goldman-type description for the string bracket. To prove these results, we develop a machinery of (weak) group actions on topological stacks which should be of independent interest. We explicitly construct the quotient stack …
We study general properties of Hodge-type decompositions of cyclic and Hochschild homology of universal enveloping algebras of (DG) Lie algebras. Our construction generalizes the operadic construction of cyclic homology of Lie algebras due to Getzler and Kapranov. We give a topological interpretation of such Lie Hodge decompositions in terms of $S^1$-equivariant homology of the free loop space of a simply connected topological space. We prove that the canonical derived Poisson structure on a universal enveloping algebra arising from a cyclic pairing on the Koszul dual coalgebra preserves the H…
We study cohomology theories of strongly homotopy algebras, namely $A_\infty, C_\infty$ and $L_\infty$-algebras and establish the Hodge decomposition of Hochschild and cyclic cohomology of $C_\infty$-algebras thus generalising previous work by Loday and Gerstenhaber-Schack. These results are then used to show that a $C_\infty$-algebra with an invariant inner product on its cohomology can be uniquely extended to a symplectic $C_\infty$-algebra (an $\infty$-generalisation of a commutative Frobenius algebra introduced by Kontsevich). As another application, we show that the `string topology' oper…
We show that the Connes-Moscovici cyclic cohomology of a Hopf algebra equipped with a character has a Lie bracket of degree -2. More generally, we show that a "cyclic operad with multiplication" is a cocyclic module whose cohomology is a Batalin-Vilkovisky algebra and whose cyclic cohomology is a graded Lie algebra of degree -2. This explain why the Hochschild cohomology algebra of a symmetric algebra is a Batalin-Vilkovisky algebra.
In this article we study the Poisson algebra structure on the homology of the totalization of a fibrant cosimplicial space associated with an operad with multiplication. This structure is given as the Browder operation induced by the action of little disks operad, which was found by McClure and Smith. We show that the Browder operation coincides with the Gerstenhaber bracket on the Hochschild homology, which appears as the E2-term of the homology spectral sequence constructed by Bousfield. In particular we consider a variant of the space of long knots in higher dimensional Euclidean space, and…
