Dual Feynman transform for modular operads (Q959479)

The notion of a modular operad has been introduced by \textit{E. Getzler} and \textit{M. M. Kapranov} [``Modular operads'', Compos. Math. 110, No.~1, 65--126 (1998; Zbl 0894.18005)] as an algebraic structure encoding fusion rules of Feynman diagrams. Any modular operad \(\mathcal O\) has an associated Feynman transform \(F\mathcal O\) defined by chain complexes of stable graphs whose vertices are labeled by elements of \(\mathcal O\). The Feynman transform \(F\mathcal O\) has a component \(F\mathcal O((g,n))\) for each genus \(g\geq 0\) and each leg number \(n\geq 0\). The operadic fusion operation can be applied to merge any pair of adjacent vertices in a stable graph of \(F\mathcal O\). The sum of these operations twisted by a sign gives the differential of \(F\mathcal O\). The main purpose of the paper under review is to define a new Feynman transform for modular operads, the dual Feynman transform \(F^{\vee}\mathcal O\), so that \(F^{\vee}\mathcal O((g,0))\) is the linear dual of \(F\mathcal O((g,0))\) for any genus \(g\geq 0\) and the other components \(F^{\vee}\mathcal O((g,n))\), \(n>0\), are acyclic chain complexes. The motivation of the authors is to give a conceptual generalization of a construction of \textit{M. Kontsevich} [``Formal (non)-commutative symplectic geometry'', Corwin, L. (ed.) et al., The Gelfand Seminars, 1990--1992. Basel: Birkhäuser. 173--187 (1993; Zbl 0821.58018)] giving classes in the cohomology of ribbon graphs. The dual Feynman transform \(F^{\vee}\mathcal O\) is defined by adding to the modular operad \(\mathcal O\) a unit \(1\) and an odd operation \(s\) (both with two legs) such that \(s\circ s = 0\) and \(d(s) = 1\). This definition implies that the dual Feynman transform \(F^{\vee}\mathcal O\) forms a modular operad itself and an algebra over \(F^{\vee}\mathcal O\) is equivalent to an \(\mathcal O\)-algebra \(A\) equipped with a contracting chain homotopy preserved by the internal product of \(A\). The authors also study an extended modular operad \(BV\mathcal O\), which they call the Boardman-Vogt resolution of \(\mathcal O\), defined by adding to \(\mathcal O\) an odd operation \(s\) and an even operation \(t\) such that \(s\circ s = s\circ t = t\circ s = 0\), \(t\circ t = t\), \(d(t) = 0\) and \(d(s) = 1 - t\). Naturally, the dual Feynman transform \(F^{\vee}\mathcal O\) is the quotient \(t = 0\) of the Boardman-Vogt resolution \(BV\mathcal O\). The authors prove that \(BV\mathcal O\) is quasi-isomorphic to \(\mathcal O_+\) as a modular operad, where \(\mathcal O_+\) is obtained by adjoining a unit to \(\mathcal O\).