Categorification of \(\mathsf{VB}\)-Lie algebroids and \(\mathsf{VB}\)-Courant algebroids (Q6160669)

This paper investigates the categorification of \textsf{VB}-Lie algebroids and \textsf{VB}-Courant algebroids, establishing the relations between these higher structures and super-representations of Lie \(2\)-algebroids, tangent prolongations of Lie \(2\)-algebroids, N-manifolds of degree \(3\), tangent prolongations of \(2\)-algebroids, and higher analogues of the string Lie \(2\)-algebra. In Section 2 the author recalls double vector bundles, \textsf{VB}-Lie algebroids and \textsf{VB}-Courant algebroids. In Section 3 he introduces the notion of a \textsf{VB}-Lie \(2\)-algebroid, showing that both the graded side bundle and the graded fat bundle are Lie \(2\)-algebroids. A \textsf{VB}-Lie \(2\)-algebroid can be viewed as the categorification of a \textsf{VB}-Lie algebroid or doublization of a Lie \(2\)-algebroid: \[ \begin{array} [c]{ccccc} & & \text{Lie }2\text{-algebroid} & & \\ & \overset{\text{categorification}}{\nearrow} & & \overset {\text{doublization}}{\searrow} & \\ \text{Lie algebroid} & & & & \mathsf{VB}\text{-Lie }2\text{-algebroid}\\ & \underset{\text{doublization}}{\searrow} & & \underset {\text{categorification}}{\nearrow} & \\ & & \mathsf{VB}\text{-Lie algebroid} & & \end{array} \] The tangent prolongation of a Lie \(2\)-algebroid is a \textsf{VB}-Lie \(2\)-algebroid. It was shown in [\textit{A. Gracia-Saz} and \textit{R. A. Mehta}, Adv. Math. 223, No. 4, 1236--1275 (2010; Zbl 1183.22002)] that a \textsf{VB}-Lie algebroid is equivalent to a flat super-connection of a Lie algebroid on a \(2\)-term complex of vector bundles after fixing a splitting, whose higher analogue is established for a \textsf{VB}-Lie \(2\)-algebroid. In Section 4 the author constructs a strict Lie \(3\)-algebroid \[ \mathrm{End}\left(\mathcal{E}\right)=\left( \mathrm{End}^{-2}\left(\mathcal{E}\right),\mathrm{End}^{-1}\left(\mathcal{E}\right),\mathcal{D}\left(\mathcal{E}\right),\mathfrak{p},\mathrm{d},\left[ \cdot,\cdot\right]_{C}\right) \] from a \(3\)-term complex of vector bundles \[ \mathcal{E}:E_{-2}\overset{\pi}{\rightarrow}E_{-1}\overset{\pi}{\rightarrow}E_{0_{{}}} \] defining a flat super-connection of a Lie \(2\)-algebroid \[ \mathcal{A}=\left(A_{-1},A_{0},\mathfrak{a},\mathfrak{l}_{1},\mathfrak{l}_{2},\mathfrak{l}_{3}\right) \] on this \(3\)-term complex of vector bundles to be a morphism from \(\mathcal{A}\) to \(\mathrm{End}\left(\mathcal{E}\right)\). It is shown that after fixing a splitting, there is a one-to-one correspondence between \textsf{VB}-Lie \(2\)-algebroids and flat super-connection of a Lie \(2\)-algebroid on a \(3\)-term complex of vector bundles. In Section 5 the author introduces the notion of a \textsf{VB}-\textsf{CLWX} \(2\)-algebroid, which can be viewed as both the doublization of a \textsf{CLWX} \(2\)-algebroid and the categorification of \textsf{VB}-Courant algebroid. It is shown that after fixing a splitting, there is a one-to-one correspondence between \textsf{VB}-\textsf{CLWX} \(2\)-algebroids and split Lie \(3\)-algebroids. The tangent prolongation of a \textsf{CLWX} \(2\)-algebroid is \textsf{VB}-\textsf{CLWX} \(2\)-algebroid. Section 6 introduces the notion of an \(E\)-\textsf{CLWX} \(2\)-algebroid, which can be viewed as the categorification of an \(E\)-Courant algebroid introduced in [\textit{Z. Chen} et al., Int. Math. Res. Not. 2010, No. 22, 4334--4376 (2010; Zbl 1211.53096)]. It is shown that the graded fat bundle associated to a \textsf{VB}-\textsf{CLWX} \(2\)-algebroid is an \(E\)-\textsf{CLWX} \(2\)-algebroid. As a higher analogue of the results in [\textit{M. Jotz Lean}, ``\(N\)-manifolds of degree 2 and metric double vector bundles'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:1504.00880}; \textit{H. Lang} et al., Can. Math. Bull. 61, No. 3, 588--607 (2018; Zbl 1400.53071)] it is shown that on the graded fat bundle associated to a \textsf{VB}-\textsf{CLWX} \(2\)-algebroid there is an \(E\)-\textsf{CLWX} \(2\)-algebroid structure. A Lie \(3\)-algebra can also be obtained from an \(E\)-\textsf{CLWX} \(2\)-algebroid.