Enhanced Leibniz algebras: structure theorem and induced Lie 2-algebra (Q2181973)

Enhanced Leibniz algebras (ELAs) are a particular algebraic structure that arose in the context of non-abelian gauge theories for \(1\)- and \(2\)-form gauge fields, i.e., in the context of non-abelian gerbes [\textit{T. Strobl}, ``Non-abelian gerbes and enhanced Leibniz algebras'', Phys. Rev. D 94, No. 2, Article ID 021702, 6 p. (2016; \url{doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.94.021702})]. It consists of a Leibniz algebra \((\mathbb{V}, [-, -])\), a bilinear form on \(\mathbb{V}\) with values in another vector space \(\mathbb{W}\), and a map \(t : \mathbb{W} \to\mathbb{V}\), satisfying altogether four compatibility relations. The main structure theorem of this paper (Theorem 2.14) asserts that an enhanced Leibniz algebra is uniquely determined by the underlying Leibniz algebra \((\mathbb{V}, [-, -])\), an appropriate abelian ideal inside it, as well as a cohomology \(2\)-class which only effects the \(\mathbb{W}\)-valued product. The second main result is the construction of a functor from the category of such enhanced Leibniz algebras to the category of (semi-strict) Lie \(2\)-algebras or, equivalentely, of two-term \(L_\infty\)-algebras.