Courant cohomology, Cartan calculus, connections, curvature, characteristic classes (Q2658935)

The authors give an explicit description of the standard cochain complex associated to a Courant algebroid. This description is given in terms of bracket, anchor, and pairing. In this formulation, the differential satisfies a formula that is formally identical to the Cartan formula for the de Rham differential. With these tools, the authors develop a theory of Courant algebroid connections in a similar manner to that from the classical theory of connections. Using a special class of connections, they construct secondary characteristic classes associated to any Courant algebroid.