Discrete connections on principal bundles: the discrete Atiyah sequence (Q2667803)

The aim of this paper is the study of discrete analogues of an exact sequence of vector bundles introduced in [\textit{M. F. Atiyah}, Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 85, 181--207 (1957; Zbl 0078.16002)], associated to any smooth principal \(G\)-bundle \(\pi:Q\rightarrow Q/G\), where the splittings of the exact sequence correspond to connections on the principal bundle \(\pi\). The discrete analogues can be studied in two different categories: the category of fiber bundles with a (chosen) section and the category of local Lie groupoids. The authors study the discrete Atiyah sequence (DAS) of a principal bundle in the category \textit{Fbs} of fiber bundles with a section. The various bijective correspondences are summarized in Theorem 3.30. The DAS in the category of local Lie groupoids is studied as well. In the end, the semidirect product of (some) local Lie groupoids is introduced and its relationship to split extensions in the category is established.