The basic bundle gerbe on unitary groups

DOI10.1016/J.GEOMPHYS.2008.07.006MaRDI QIDQ955122zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Danny Stevenson, Michael K. Murray

Publication date 18 November 2008

Published in Journal of Geometry and Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/0804.3464

zbMATH Keywords

bundle gerbesconnectionholomorphic functional calculusunitary groups

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Functional calculus for linear operators (47A60) Generalizations of fiber spaces and bundles in algebraic topology (55R65)

Abstract: We consider the construction of the basic bundle gerbe on SU(n) introduced by Meinrenken and show that it extends to a range of groups with unitary actions on a Hilbert space including U(n), diagonal tori and the Banach Lie group of unitary operators differing from the identity by an element of a Schatten ideal. In all these cases we give an explicit connection and curving on the basic bundle gerbe and calculate the real Dixmier-Douady class. Extensive use is made of the holomorphic functional calculus for operators on a Hilbert space.

Review text

For a unitary group \(G\), the authors give an explicit construction of the basic bundle gerbe on \(G\). In this article, a unitary group is either \(U(H)\) for \(H\) finite-dimensional or its maximal torus or the group of unitary operators \(U_{p}(H)\) differing from the identity by an operator in the Schatten ideal \(L_p(H)\) in the case that \(H\) is infinite-dimensional. All these groups have canonically \(H^{3}(G,\mathbb Z)\cong \mathbb Z\), which is one of the reasons for working with \(U_{p}(H)\) instead of \(U(H)\) in infinite dimensions. The basic bundle gerbe on \(G\) is then one whose Dixmier-Douady class is \(1\). An infinite-dimensional model for the basic bundle gerbe was constructed by \textit{J.-L. Brylinski} in [Loop spaces, characteristic classes and geometric quantization. Progress in Mathematics 107 (1993; Zbl 0823.55002)]. Finite-dimensional models have been constructed by \textit{E. Meinrenken} [Enseign. Math., II. Sér. 49, No. 3--4, 307--333 (2003; Zbl 1061.53034)] and \textit{J. Mickelsson} [``Gerbes on quantum groups, arxiv:math.DG/0308235 (2003)]. The article under review gives a new and systematic construction of the basic bundle gerbe. In particular, this new construction does not involve the choice of a cover of \(G\) and generalises by the aid of holomorphic functional calculus to \(U_p(H)\). The introduction recalls the motivation and present constructions for bundle gerbes over unitary groups. The next section contains basic material on bundle gerbes and holomorphic functional calculus, making the article fairly self-contained. Sections three until five contain the explicit construction of the basic bundle gerbe, together with its connection and curving. The use of functional calculus provides smoothness of certain functions and differential forms, as well as explicit formulae for the curvature. This in turn leads to the main result, saying that the constructed bundle gerbe is basic. The last section is devoted to showing that it can also be seen as an equivariant bundle gerbe with respect to a natural action. Some technical calculations are deferred to an appendix.

Recommendations

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Cited in

(13)

• Basic gerbe over non-simply connected compact groups
• Basic equivariant gerbes on non-simply connected compact simple Lie groups
• Exponential functors, R-matrices and twists
• The Weyl map and bundle gerbes
• Extensions of lattice groups, gerbes and chiral fermions on a torus
• Differential topology of semimetals
• Square root of gerbe holonomy and invariants of time-reversal-symmetric topological insulators
• A note on bundle gerbes and infinite-dimensionality
• Topological insulators and the Kane-Mele invariant: obstruction and localization theory
• The canonical 2-gerbe of a holomorphic vector bundle
• Equivariant higher twisted K$K$‐theory of SU(n)$SU(n)$ for exponential functor twists
• Spectral sequence computation of higher twisted K-groups of SU(n)
• On the paper ``Bundle gerbes by Michael Murray

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