Lagrangian supersymmetries depending on derivatives. Global analysis and cohomology (Q2571249)

Supermanifolds were introduced in Mathematics to obtain supersymmetric space-time models for particles physics, in order to unify the fundamental forces into an unique geometric building. From the mathematical side this physical interest has caused a spread production of papers that investigated different aspects of supermanifold structures. There are typically two approaches to such manifolds, one that follows an algebraic point of view and another founded on pseudogroups. But the more difference is on the dimension of the superalgebras involved. In fact, from physical applications the more interesting supermanifolds are ones built by using infinite dimensional superalgebras, the so-called BG superalgebras [see e.g., the beautiful paper by \textit{L. Jadczyk} and \textit{K. Pilch}, ``Superspaces and supersymmetries'', Commun. Math. Phys. 78, 373--390 (1981; Zbl 0464.58006)]. Of course, from pure mathematical reasons, it is interesting to study also finite dimensional superalgebras and related manifolds [see, e.g., the work by \textit{M. J. Rothstein}, ``The axioms of supermanifolds and a new structure arising from them'', Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 297, 159--180 (1986; Zbl 0636.58009)]. Thanks to the development of all such a mathematics, it has been also possible to extend in the years 1994 -- 1996 the geometric theory of PDE's to super PDE's, and to variational calculus constrained by super PDE's. In such a way the mathematics of supermanifolds were ready to be applied to all the mathematical physics of supergravity, after to be quantized. (For the geometric theory of super PDE's and quantization see works by the reviewer of this paper.) The approach followed by the authors of the present paper is of algebraic type, and focalizes some aspects in variational calculus on a graded manifold with arbitrary body. More precisely it characterizes such systems by means of the cohomology of their short variational subcomplexes. The final goal is to obtain the first variational formula in such a context. (Compare also with the work by B. A. Kupershmidt in the year 1987.)