The geometry of graded cotangent bundles (Q2223767)

Graded manifolds and graded geometric structures on them usually encode ordinary vector bundles and ordinary structures on them, which, following part of the literature, we will call the associated ``classical data''. For instance, the classical datum of a degree \(1\) non-negatively graded manifold \(A[1]\) is just an ordinary vector bundle \(A \to M\) (and the former can be obtained from the latter by shifting by one the degree in the fiber coordinates). The author studies in details graded manifolds of the type \(T^\ast[k]A[1]\), and certain geometric structures on them, with a particular emphasis on the associated classical data. Before providing more details we remark that the graded manifolds \(T^\ast[k]A[1]\) come with canonical graded symplectic structures, hence graded Poisson brackets \(\{-,-\}\). After identifying the classical data associated to the graded Poisson manifold \((T^\ast[k]A[1], \{-,-\})\), the paper proceeds in three main directions: 1) it describes coisotropic, in particular, (weak) Lagrangian submanifolds in \((T^\ast[k]A[1], \{-,-\})\) and their classical data. This suggests a novel definition of a higher almost Dirac structure, that the author compares with two of the already available ones. With \(A = TM\) the author recovers the notion of (regular) almost Nambu-Dirac structure. 2) it studies symplectic \(Q\)-structures on \((T^\ast[k]A[1], \{-,-\})\), i.e. cohomological vector fields preserving the Poisson bracket, and the associated classical data. The case \(k = 2\) was already considered in an earlier work by Kosmann-Schwarzbach. In the case \(k = 3\), the author essentially gets a Lie algebroid with a background closed \(4\)-form and a certain additional pairing. In the \(k > 3\) case he simply gets a Lie algebroid with a \((k+1)\)-cocycle. 3) when \(A \to M\) is a Lie algebroid, it relates the graded geometry of \(T^\ast[k]A[1]\) (in presence of certain homological vector fields) to an \(L_\infty\)-algebroid given by the semidirect product of \(A\) with its shifted coadjoint represetation up to homotopy. The author does also combine points 1) and 2) studying Lagrangian \(Q\)-submanifolds of \((T^\ast[k]A[1], \{-,-\})\) equipped with an additional symplectic \(Q\)-structure and their classical data. This suggests a definition of higher Dirac structure. In the last part of the paper, the author mentions the possibility of using \(T^\ast[k]A[1]\) as target symplectic \(Q\)-manifold in an AKSZ \(\sigma\)-model, and his higher Dirac structures as boundary conditions.