arXiv subjects

Francesco Cattafi

Publications and source records attributed to Francesco Cattafi.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Sub-Riemannian structures and non-transitive Cartan geometries via Lie groupoids

In this paper we discuss how to associate a suitable non-transitive version of a Cartan connection to sub-Riemannian manifolds of corank 1 (including contact and quasi-contact sub-Riemannian manifolds) with non-necessarily constant sub-Riemannian symbols. In particular, we recast the variation of the sub-Riemannian symbols into a suitable "type" map, which is constant if and only if the symbols are constant. We then consider the (non-transitive) groupoid of sub-Riemannian symmetries and investigate its smoothness, properness, regularity, and other properties in relation with the type map. Last, we describe how to build a "non-transitive" analogue of a Cartan connection on top of such (Lie) groupoid, obtained as the sum of a tautological form with a multiplicative Ehresmann connection. We conclude by illustrating our results on concrete examples in dimension 5.

math.DG↗

arXiv2025

PB-groupoids vs VB-groupoids

In this paper we establish the principal bundle counterpart of the well-known and widely applied notion of vector bundle groupoid (VB-groupoid). In particular, we provide a general notion of principal bundle groupoid (PB-groupoid) as a diagram of Lie groupoids and principal bundles, together with the action of a (strict) Lie 2-groupoid. This recovers as particular cases various constructions involving structural Lie 2-groups, Lie groupoids and Lie groups. Moreover, given any VB-groupoid, we detect which frames are compatible with the underlying structure and show that the set of such frames has a natural PB-groupoid structure, with the action of the general linear 2-groupoid of the appropriate ranks. We use this construction, as well as that of the associated bundle induced by a 2-representation, to extend the classical correspondence between vector bundles and principal bundles to a new correspondence between VB-groupoids and PB-groupoids. We conclude with several examples and applications.

math.DG↗

arXiv2022

Pseudogroups of symmetries and Morita equivalences

This work is a spin-off of an on-going programme which aims at revisiting the original studies of Lie and Cartan on pseudogroups and geometric structures from a modern perspective. Within the framework of Lie groupoids equipped with a special multiplicative form - called Pfaffian groupoids - we focus on principal bibundles and Morita equivalences. In particular, we discuss in details the notion of Pfaffian Morita equivalence, its relation to the gauge construction in the Pfaffian setting, and its interactions with principal actions. We briefly present some examples and applications to transitive pseudogroups of symmetries, which we explored in great detail in arXiv:2211.16639.

math.DG↗

arXiv2022

A groupoid approach to transitive differential geometry

This work is a spin-off of an on-going programme which aims at revisiting the original studies of Lie and Cartan on pseudogroups and geometric structures from a modern perspective. We encode geometric structures induced by transitive Lie pseudogroups into principal $G$-bundles equipped with a transversally parallelisable foliation generated by a subalgebra of $\mathfrak{g}$, called Cartan bundles. Our approach is complementary to arXiv:1911.13147 and is based on Morita equivalence of Lie groupoids. After identifying the main examples and properties, we develop a notion of flatness with respect to a Lie algebra, which encompasses the classical integrability of $G$-structures, the flatness of Cartan geometries, as well as the integrability of contact structures.

math.DG↗

arXiv2021

Cartan geometries and multiplicative forms

In this paper we show that Cartan geometries can be studied via transitive Lie groupoids endowed with a special kind of vector-valued multiplicative 1-forms. This viewpoint leads us to a more general notion, that of Cartan bundle, which encompasses both Cartan geometries and G-structures.

math.DG↗

arXiv2020

From PDEs to Pfaffian fibrations

We explain how to encode the essential data of a PDE on jet bundle into a more intrinsic object called Pfaffian fibration. We provide motivations to study this new notion and show how prolongations, integrability and linearisations of PDEs generalise to this setting.

math.DG↗

arXiv2016

Variational derivatives in locally Lagrangian field theories and Noether--Bessel-Hagen currents

The variational Lie derivative of classes of forms in the Krupka's variational sequence is defined as a variational Cartan formula at any degree, in particular for degrees lesser than the dimension of the basis manifold. As an example of application we determine the condition for a Noether--Bessel-Hagen current, associated with a generalized symmetry, to be variationally equivalent to a Noether current for an invariant Lagrangian. We show that, if it exists, this Noether current is exact on-shell and generates a canonical conserved quantity.

math-ph↗