Modular classes of skew algebroid relations (Q1935522)

This paper studies the modular class of a skew algebroid. Let us recall that the notion of a skew algebroid is a natural generalization of that of a Lie algebroid and that the modular class of a Lie algebroid is a natural extension of that for a Poisson manifold. In this work, the author is first aimed at defining the modular class of a Lie algebroid and then of extending the concept of a modular class to skew algebroids. After the recall of the basic notions, the modular class of a skew algebroid is introduced and an application to nonholonomic mechanics is discussed. Finally, the main result is proved and the unifying role in the theory is explained.