The extended loop group: An infinite dimensional manifold associated with the loop space (Q1313267)

The authors consider loops defined in a non-parametric form, i.e. as an equivalence class of closed oriented paths in a manifold. They say that the loops \(L\) and \(L'\) are equivalent if the product \(L' \circ \overline{L}\) is a closed path which is contractible within itself to the null path. Therefore, the spaces of loops considered in the paper are not the standard spaces of parametrized curves. The authors study loop spaces that arise from gauge theories and gravitation and with a physicist's rather than a mathematician's level of rigor, they introduce a set of coordinates in these spaces. Loop coordinates allow to show that there exists an infinite dimensional manifold with a local Lie group structure associated with the loop space. This enlarged structure is called by the authors special-extended loop group and its algebraic properties are studied.