Homological perturbation theory and associativity (Q1572689)

If \((M,\partial)\) is a chain complex, then a perturbation of this chain complex is a homomorphism \(\delta: M\to M\) of degree \(-1\) so that \((\partial + \delta)^2 = 0\). If \(j:M \to N\) is an inclusion of chain complexes, a contraction is a morphism of chain complexes \(s:M \to N\) so that \(js=1_M\) and \(sj\) is chain homotopic to \(1_N\) via a chain homotopy \(\phi\). The Basic Perturbation Lemma says that, under a mild hypothesis on \(\phi\delta\) (``pointwise nilpotent''), the perturbation of \(M\) can be extended to one on \(N\) in such a way that one gets a new chain map \(j_\delta:M \to N\) with a new contraction. The basic question here is this: if \(M\) actually lies in some category with additional structure -- for example, if \(M\) is a differential graded algebra -- then can one formulate and prove a perturbation lemma internal to the category? The difficulty is that the contracting homotopy cannot be an algebra morphism. Previous discussions of this problem include \textit{V. K. A. M. Gugenheim} and \textit{L. A. Lambe} [``Perturbation theory in differential homological algebra. I'', Ill. J. Math. 33, No. 4, 556-582 (1989; Zbl 0661.55018)]. In this paper, the author defines a notion of a ``semi-full algebra'' contraction and proves a perturbation lemma for DGAs based on this notion. He then proves that a variety of the classical situations fit his rubric very well.