Equivariant cohomology and current algebras (Q1759769)

This paper touches upon two big themes, equivariant cohomology and current algebras. For a compact connected Lie group \(G\) and a manifold \(M\) with a \(G\)-action, the equivariant cohomology \[ H_G (M, {\mathbb R}) = H((EG\times M)/G, {\mathbb R}) \] defined by the Borel construction (here \(EG\) is the total space of the classifying \(G\)-bundle) has the following differential model. Let \(\mathfrak g\) be the Lie algebra of \(G\), and let \(C\mathfrak g\) be the cone of \(\mathfrak g\). \(C\mathfrak g\) is a differential graded Lie algebra (DGLA) spanned by Lie derivatives \(L(x)\) with degree 0 and contractions \(I(x)\) with degree \(-1\) (\(x\in \mathfrak g\)) and satisfying Cartan's magic formula \([d, I(x)] = L(x)\). Let \(W\mathfrak g=S\mathfrak g^* \otimes \wedge \mathfrak g^*\) be the Weil algebra of \(\mathfrak g\) which serves as a model for differential forms on \(EG\). Let \(\Omega(M)\) be the de Rham complex of \(M\), which has a \(C\mathfrak g\) module structure induced from the \(G\)-action on \(M\). Then \[ H_G (M, {\mathbb R}) = H((W\mathfrak g\otimes \Omega(M))^{C\mathfrak g}, d_W + d_{\Omega(M)}). \] The paper first defines a new DGLA \(D\mathfrak g\) by roughly replacing \((C\mathfrak g)^{-1}\) by its canonical free resolution. The DGLA \(D\mathfrak g\) admits a family of central extension \(D_p \mathfrak g\) parametrized by homogeneous invariant polynomials \(p\in (S\mathfrak g^*)^{\mathfrak g}\). \(D\mathfrak g\) can be used instead of \(C\mathfrak g\) in building differential models of equivariant cohomology. In particular, twisted equivariant cohomology finds a natural place in this new framework. For the second theme, the paper defines a pair of current algebra functors which assign Lie algebras \({\mathcal{CA}}(M, A)\) and \({\mathcal{SA}}(M, A)\) to a manifold \(M\) (no further assumption) and a DGLA \(A\). When \(A=C\mathfrak g\), both constructions turn out to be \(C^\infty (M, \mathfrak g)\). Other examples include affine Lie algebras on the circle and Faddeev-Michelsson-Shatashvili (FMS) extensions of higher-dimensional current algebras. In particular, there is a Lie homomorphism from \({\mathcal{CA}}(M, D_p\mathfrak g)\) to the FMS current algebra defined by \(p\). At the end, the paper studies some integration problems. Let \(G\) be a Lie group integrating the Lie algebra \(\mathfrak g\). The current algebras \({\mathcal{SA}}(M, D\mathfrak g)\) and \({\mathcal{SA}}(M, D_p\mathfrak g)\) integrate to groups \(DG(M)\) and \(D_pG(M)\). Applications to principal \(G\)-bundles and integration of the current algebra \({\mathcal{CA}}(M, D_p\mathfrak g)\) when \(M\) is a sphere are also studied.