Universal enveloping algebras of Leibniz algebras and (co)homology (Q1318103)

The Leibniz algebra is defined as a module \(\mathfrak g\) over a commutative ring \(k\) endowed with a bracket \([-,-]\) satisfying the identity \([x,[y,z]] = [[x,y],z] - [[x,z],y]\). We get it when striking out in the definition of the Lie algebra the condition \([x,x] = 0\), keeping at the same time a suitable form of the Jacobi identity. (The above form of the Jacobi identity requires that \(L\) is a right module over itself.) In the first section the authors present several examples of Leibniz algebras, describe explicitly the free Leibniz algebra, define representation and corepresentation of a Leibniz algebra, and introduce cohomology \(HL^*\) (resp. homology \(HL_ *\)) of a Leibniz algebra with coefficients in a representation (resp. corepresentation). The cohomology is used here for the description of abelian extensions of Leibniz algebras. In the second section the enveloping algebra \(UL({\mathfrak g})\) of a Leibniz algebra \(\mathfrak g\) is defined (with the equivalence of the category of \(\mathfrak g\)-modules and the category of \(UL({\mathfrak g})\)-modules), and a theorem of the Poincaré-Birkhoff-Witt type is proved. The third section brings the main results. Here cohomology (resp. homology) of \(\mathfrak g\) with coefficients in a representation \(M\) (resp. corepresentation \(A\)) is expressed in terms of derived functors. Namely, it is proved here that \[ HL^*({\mathfrak g},M) \cong \text{Ext}^*_{UL({\mathfrak g})} (U({\mathfrak g}_{\text{Lie}}), M)\quad \text{ and }\quad HL_ *({\mathfrak g}, A) \cong \text{Tor}^{UL({\mathfrak g})}_ * (U({\mathfrak g}_{\text{Lie}}), A). \] (Here \({\mathfrak g}_{\text{Lie}}\) denotes the Lie algebra arising when factoring \(\mathfrak g\) by the submodule generated by the elements of the form \([x,x]\).) In the last fourth section we find the formula \(HL_ 2 (sl_ n (A),k) \cong HH_ 1(A)\) expressing the cohomology of the Lie algebra \(sl_ n (A)\) considered here as a Leibniz algebra (\(A\) is here an associative and unital algebra over \(k\)) in terms of the Hochschild homology with coefficients in \(A\). This generalizes results by \textit{S. Bloch} [Lect. Notes Math. 854, 1-23 (1981; Zbl 0469.14009)] and \textit{C. Kassel} and \textit{J. L. Loday} [Ann. Inst. Fourier 32, No. 4, 119-142 (1982; Zbl 0508.17003)]. Application to central extensions of Leibniz algebras is given here, and it is also proved that the Virasoro algebra is the universal central extension of the Lie algebra \(\text{Der} (\mathbb{C} [z,z^{-1}])\) not only in the category of Lie algebras but also in the category of Leibniz algebras.