Canonical transformations of local functionals and sh-Lie structures (Q556161)

The action of a Lagrangian \(L\) is the functional \(S\) defined by \(S(\varphi)=\int_ ML((j^ n\varphi)(x))\text{Vol}_ M\), where \(M\) is a manifold, \(\varphi\) is either a vector-valued function or a section of a vector bundle \(E\) over \(M\), and \(L\) is a real-valued function on some finite jet bundle \(J^ n E\). If \(\pi\: E \to M\) is a vector bundle and \(\pi^ \infty\: J^\infty E\to M\) is the corresponding prolongation of \(E\), then a smooth function \(P : J^\infty E\to \mathbb R\) is called a local function on \(E\) provided that for some positive integer \(n\) there is a smooth function \(P_ n\: J^ nE\to \mathbb R\) such that \(P = P_ n\circ\pi_ n\), where \(\pi_ n\) is the projection of \(J^\infty E\) onto \(J^ nE\). Hence all Lagrangians are local functions on an appropriate bundle. \(\mathcal P\) is a local functional on \(E\) if it is a mapping from a subspace of compactly supported sections of \(E\to M\) into \(\mathbb R\) such that \({\mathcal P}(\varphi)=\int_ M(P\circ j^\infty\varphi)(x) \text{Vol}_ M\) for some local function \(P\) and for all such sections \(\varphi\) of \(E\). \textit{G.~Barnich, R.~Fulp, T.~Lada}, and \textit{J.~Stasheff} [Commun. Math. Phys. 191, No. 3, 585--601 (1998; Zbl 0951.37035)] introduced the notion of an sh-Lie structure of Poisson brackets in field theory. An sh-Lie structure on a graded vector space \(X_ *\) is a collection of linear, skew-symmetric maps \(l_ k: \bigotimes^ kX_ *\to X_ *\) of degree \(k-2\) satisfying a certain quadratic relation. In many Lagrangian field theories, there is a Poisson bracket on the space of local functionals. It is known that the Poisson bracket induces an sh-Lie structure on the graded space of horizontal forms on the jet bundle of the relevant vector bundle. In this paper, the authors consider canonical automorphisms of vector bundles, that is, automorphisms of the bundle \(E\) such that their induced mappings on the space of local functionals \(\mathcal F\) preserve the Poisson bracket. They determine how such automorphisms relate to the sh-Lie structure on \(J^\infty E\) and find conditions under which there exists an sh-Lie structure on a reduced graded space in the presence of a Lie group which acts on \(E\) via canonical automorphisms.