Exact resolution of the \({\mathbb{Z}}_ 2\)-graded Euler-Lagrange operator (Q1063856)

The classical calculus of variations has an algebraic model based on the observation that the basic elements involved in the definition of the variational derivatives are of a purely algebraic nature. This allows one to construct the calculus, algebraically, for the situations which have no geometric counterparts which, in turn, is a prerequisite for developing the formalism of the generalized dual spaces to infinite- dimensional Lie algebras. In this note, we construct the calculus of variations for the super-commutative case, that is, when instead of the commutative ring \(K=C^{\infty}(M)\) of smooth functions on a manifold M we have a super-commutative ring of smooth functions on a supermanifold. Once this is done, it is possible to develop the abstract super- Hamiltonian formalism and to prove one-to-one correspondence between 2- cocycles on (infinite-dimensional) Lie superalgebras and affine super- Hamiltonian operators.