Chen-Ruan cohomology of cotangent orbifolds and Chas-Sullivan string topology (Q2459334)

In Contemp. Math. 310, 163--184 (2002; Zbl 1041.58008) the second and fourth author have constructed a functor \[ \mathbf{L}:\mathbf{Orbifolds}\rightarrow S^1\text{-\textbf Orbifolds}, \quad\mathcal{G}\mapsto \mathbf{L}\mathcal{G}, \] from orbifolds to infinite dimensional orbifolds with actions of \(S^1\). This functor restricted to smooth manifolds becomes the ordinary free loop functor \(M\mapsto \mathcal{L}M\), where the \(S^1\) action is given by rotating the loops. Moreover, the action of \(S^1\) on \(\mathbf{L}\mathcal{G}\) has a fixed suborbifold \(\Lambda (\mathcal{G})\) which is known as the inertia orbifold of \(\mathcal{G}\). The second, the fourth and the fifth author have proved that the homology of the loop orbifold of a global orbifold (of the form \([Y/G]\)) has the structure of a BV-algebra [Preprint. math.AT/0512658]. The second, the fourth and the fifth authors also introduced [J. Pure Appl. Algebra 211, No.~2, 293--306 (2007; Zbl 1148.55005)] a new version of orbifold cohomology which was called virtual orbifold cohomology \(H^\ast_{\text{virt}}(\Lambda \mathcal{G}\). In this paper the authors prove that for an almost complex orbifold, its virtual cohomology is isomorphic as an algebra to the Chen-Ruan orbifold cohomology [String Topology. Preprint. math. GT/9911159] of its cotangent orbifold \(H^\ast_{\text{CR}}(T^\ast\mathcal{G})\cong H^\ast_{\text{virt}}(\Lambda \mathcal{G})\). In the case when \(G=[Y^n/S_n]\) is the symmetric product obtained by letting the symmetric group \(S_n\) act on the \(n\)-fold product \(Y^n\) the authors prove that there is an embedding of algebras \(H^\ast_{\text{CR}}(T^\ast[Y^n/S_n])\hookrightarrow H_\ast(\mathbf{L}[Y^n/S_n])\). As a corollary of the first theorem it is proved that \(H^\ast_{\text{virt}}(\Lambda \mathcal{G})\) has the structure of a graded non-compact Frobenius algebra. In the case \(\mathcal{G}=[Y/G]\) it is seen that \(H^\ast_{\text{virt}}(Y,G)\) has the structure of a non-compact \(G\)-Frobenius algebra. Some examples are given. The paper concludes with a conjecture regarding the Floer homology of certain Hilbert schemes.