Lectures on Duflo isomorphisms in Lie algebra and complex geometry (Q544480)

In 1977, M. Duflo showed that the algebra of invariant polynomials on the dual of a Lie algebra is isomorphic to the center of the corresponding universal envelopping algebra, generalizing the pioneering work of Harish-Chandra on semi-simple Lie algebras. This isomorphism is called the Duflo isomorphism. Its definition involves the power series \(j(x)=\sinh (x /2)/(x/2)\). Later on, Duflo's result was independently found by Kontsevich in the framework of deformation quantization, where he also observed that there is a similar isomorphism between the Dolbeault cohomology of holomorphic polyvector fields on a complex manifold and its Hochschild cohomology. The present book provides a self-contained proof of the Duflo isomorphism and its complex geometric analogue in a unified framework and gives an explanation for the reason why the series \(j(x)\) appears. All notions mentioned above are introduced and explained in the book, the only prerequisites being basic linear algebra and differential geometry. In addition to standard notions such as Lie (super)algebras, complex manifolds, Hochschild and Chevalley-Eilenberg cohomologies, spectral sequences, Atiyah and Todd classes, the graphical calculus introduced by Kontsevich in his seminal work on deformation quantization is addressed in detail. The book is well-suited for graduate students and researchers working in Lie theory, algebraic geometry and deformation theory.