arXiv subjects

Domenico Fiorenza

Publications and source records attributed to Domenico Fiorenza.

69 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2012

Formality of Koszul brackets and deformations of holomorphic Poisson manifolds

We show that if a generator of a differential Gerstenhaber algebra satisfies certain Cartan-type identities, then the corresponding Lie bracket is formal. Geometric examples include the shifted de Rham complex of a Poisson manifold and the subcomplex of differential forms on a symplectic manifold vanishing on a Lagrangian submanifold, endowed with the Koszul bracket. As a corollary we generalize a recent result by Hitchin on deformations of holomorphic Poisson manifolds.

math.QA↗

arXiv2012

The E8 moduli 3-stack of the C-field in M-theory

The higher gauge field in 11-dimensional supergravity -- the C-field -- is constrained by quantum effects to be a cocycle in some twisted version of differential cohomology. We argue that it should indeed be a cocycle in a certain twisted nonabelian differential cohomology. We give a simple and natural characterization of the full smooth moduli 3-stack of configurations of the C-field, the gravitational field/background, and the (auxiliary) E8-field. We show that the truncation of this moduli 3-stack to a bare 1-groupoid of field configurations reproduces the differential integral Wu structures that Hopkins-Singer had shown to formalize Witten's argument on the nature of the C-field. We give a similarly simple and natural characterization of the moduli 2-stack of boundary C-field configurations and show that it is equivalent to the moduli 2-stack of anomaly free heterotic supergravity field configurations. Finally we show how to naturally encode the Horava-Witten boundary condition on the level of moduli 3-stacks, and refine it from a condition on 3-forms to a condition on the corresponding full differential cocycles.

hep-th↗

arXiv2012

Multiple M5-branes, String 2-connections, and 7d nonabelian Chern-Simons theory

The worldvolume theory of coincident M5-branes is expected to contain a nonabelian 2-form/nonabelian gerbe gauge theory that is a higher analog of self-dual Yang-Mills theory. But the precise details -- in particular the global moduli / instanton / magnetic charge structure -- have remained elusive. Here we deduce from anomaly cancellation a natural candidate for the holographic dual of this nonabelian 2-form field, under AdS7/CFT6-duality. We find this way a 7-dimensional nonabelian Chern-Simons theory of String 2-connection fields, which, in a certain higher gauge, are given locally by non-abelian 2-forms with values in an affine Kac-Moody Lie algebra. We construct the corresponding action functional on the entire smooth moduli 2-stack of field configurations, thereby defining the theory globally, at all levels and with the full instanton structure, which is nontrivial due to the twists imposed by the quantum corrections. Along the way we explain some general phenomena of higher nonabelian gauge theory that we need.

hep-th↗

arXiv2010

Semicosimplicial DGLAs in deformation theory

We identify Cech cocycles in nonabelian (formal) group cohomology with Maurer-Cartan elements in a suitable L-infinity algebra. Applications to deformation theory are described.

math.QA↗

arXiv2009

Differential graded Lie algebras controlling infinitesimal deformations of coherent sheaves

We use the Thom-Whitney construction to show that infinitesimal deformations of a coherent sheaf F are controlled by the differential graded Lie algebra of global sections of an acyclic resolution of the sheaf End(E), where E is any locally free resolution of F. In particular, one recovers the well known fact that the tangent space to deformations of F is Ext^1(F,F), and obstructions are contained in Ext^2(F,F). The main tool is the identification of the deformation functor associated with the Thom-Whitney DGLA of a semicosimplicial DGLA whose cohomology is concentrated in nonnegative degrees with a noncommutative Cech cohomology-type functor.

math.QA↗

arXiv2008

A period map for generalized deformations

For every compact Kaehler manifold we give a canonical extension of Griffith's period map to generalized deformations, intended as solutions of Maurer-Cartan equation in the algebra of polyvector fields. Our construction involves the notion of Cartan homotopy and a canonical L-infinity structure on mapping cones of morphisms of differential graded Lie algebras.

math.AG↗

arXiv2007

L-infinity structures on mapping cones

We show that the mapping cone of a morphism of differential graded Lie algebras $χ\colon L\to M$ can be canonically endowed with an $L_\infty$-algebra structure which at the same time lifts the Lie algebra structure on $L$ and the usual differential on the mapping cone. Moreover, this structure is unique up to isomorphisms of $L_\infty$-algebras. The associated deformation functor coincides with the one introduced by the second author in arXiv:math.AG/0507287.

math.QA↗

arXiv2006

L-infinity algebras, Cartan homotopies and period maps

We prove that, for every compact Kaehler manifold, the period map of its Kuranishi family is induced by a natural L-infinity morphism. This implies, by standard facts about L-infinity algebras, that the period map is a "morphism of deformation theories" and then commutes with all deformation theoretic constructions (e.g. obstructions).

math.AG↗

arXiv2006

On the Hochschild-Kostant-Rosenberg map for graded manifolds

We show that the Hochschild-Kostant-Rosenberg map from the space of multivector fields on a graded manifold N (endowed with a Berezinian volume) to the cohomology of the algebra of multidifferential operators on N (as a subalgebra of the Hochschild complex of the algebra of smooth functions on N) is an isomorphism of Batalin-Vilkovisky algebras. These results generalize to differential graded manifolds.

math.QA↗

arXiv2005

Graph complexes in deformation quantization

Kontsevich's formality theorem and the consequent star-product formula rely on the construction of an $L_\infty$-morphism between the DGLA of polyvector fields and the DGLA of polydifferential operators. This construction uses a version of graphical calculus. In this article we present the details of this graphical calculus with emphasis on its algebraic features. It is a morphism of differential graded Lie algebras between the Kontsevich DGLA of admissible graphs and the Chevalley-Eilenberg DGLA of linear homomorphisms between polyvector fields and polydifferential operators. Kontsevich's proof of the formality morphism is reexamined in this light and an algebraic framework for discussing the tree-level reduction of Kontsevich's star-product is described.

math.QA↗

arXiv2005

Sums over Graphs and Integration over Discrete Groupoids

We show that sums over graphs such as appear in the theory of Feynman diagrams can be seen as integrals over discrete groupoids. From this point of view, basic combinatorial formulas of the theory of Feynman diagrams can be interpreted as pull-back or push-forward formulas for integrals over suitable groupoids.

math.CT↗

arXiv2004

An introduction to the Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism

The aim of these notes is to introduce the quantum master equation $\{S,S\}-2i\hbarΔS=0$, and to show its relations to the theory of Lie algebras representations and to perturbative expansions of Gaussian integrals. The relations of the classical master equation $\{S,S\}=0$ with the BRST formalisms are also described. Being an introduction, only finite-dimensional examples will be considered.

math.QA↗

arXiv2004

Associative algebras, punctured disks and the quantization of Poisson manifolds

The aim of the note is to provide an introduction to the algebraic, geometric and quantum field theoretic ideas that lie behind the Kontsevich-Cattaneo-Felder formula for the quantization of Poisson structures. We show how the quantization formula itself naturally arises when one imposes the following two requirements to a Feynman integral: on the one side it has to reproduce the given Poisson structure as the first order term of its perturbative expansion; on the other side its three-point functions should describe an associative algebra. It is further shown how the Magri-Koszul brackets on 1-forms naturally fits into the theory of the Poisson sigma-model.

math.QA↗

arXiv2003

Matrix Integrals and Feynman Diagrams in the Kontsevich Model

We review some relations occurring between the combinatorial intersection theory on the moduli spaces of stable curves and the asymptotic behavior of the 't Hooft-Kontsevich matrix integrals. In particular, we give an alternative proof of the Witten-Di Francesco-Itzykson-Zuber theorem --which expresses derivatives of the partition function of intersection numbers as matrix integrals-- using techniques based on diagrammatic calculus and combinatorial relations among intersection numbers. These techniques extend to a more general interaction potential.

math.AG↗

arXiv2001

Feynman Diagrams via Graphical Calculus

This paper is an introduction to the language of Feynman Diagrams. We use Reshetikhin-Turaev graphical calculus to define Feynman diagrams and prove that asymptotic expansions of Gaussian integrals can be written as a sum over a suitable family of graphs. We discuss how different kind of interactions give rise to different families of graphs. In particular, we show how symmetric and cyclic interactions lead to ``ordinary'' and ``ribbon'' graphs respectively. As an example, the 't Hooft-Kontsevich model for 2D quantum gravity is treated in some detail.

math.QA↗