Homotopy derivations (Q331955)

This paper concerns algebras over an operad \(P\) equipped with an additional unary derivation. These algebras-with-derivation are algebras over their own operad, closely related to \(P\). The central construction considered in the paper is a resolution of the algebras-with-derivation operad in terms of a resolution of \(P\). In the case that the resolution of \(P\) is Koszul, so is the constructed resolution. An algebra over the constructed resolution is then a homotopy \(P\)-algebra equipped with a homotopy derivation. The contents of the paper are a self-contained, highly readable account of this construction in general, along with explicit descriptions and examples in the associative and Lie cases and a further description of the relation between the two cases. This falls into a category in the literature where a construction previously confined to particular cases is extended to work for (essentially) any operad. This kind of work serves two functions. First and most obviously, it makes ad hoc constructions unnecessary and can save duplication of effort. This is particularly of value in operad theory because mathematicians who need new cases are often not experts in this field; consequently, they are often unaware both of folklore results and of the convenient framework for generalization that this language provides. Second, as illustrated in Section 5 of this paper, this kind of work has the possibility of making manifest the relation of such constructions between or among algebras over different but related operads.