Irreducible Lie-Yamaguti algebras

Lie-Yamaguti algebras (or generalized Lie triple systems) are binary-ternary algebras intimately related to reductive homogeneous spaces. The Lie-Yamaguti algebras which are irreducible as modules over their Lie inner derivation algebra are the algebraic counterpart of the isotropy irreducible homogeneous spaces. These systems will be shown to split into three disjoint types: adjoint type, non-simple type and generic type. The systems of the first two types will be classified and most of them will be shown to be related to a Generalized Tits Construction of Lie algebras.Comment: 25 page

On the Lie-algebraic origin of metric 3-algebras

Since the pioneering work of Bagger-Lambert and Gustavsson, there has been a proliferation of three-dimensional superconformal Chern-Simons theories whose main ingredient is a metric 3-algebra. On the other hand, many of these theories have been shown to allow for a reformulation in terms of standard gauge theory coupled to matter, where the 3-algebra does not appear explicitly. In this paper we reconcile these two sets of results by pointing out the Lie-algebraic origin of some metric 3-algebras, including those which have already appeared in three-dimensional superconformal Chern-Simons theories. More precisely, we show that the real 3-algebras of Cherkis-Saemann, which include the metric Lie 3-algebras as a special case, and the hermitian 3-algebras of Bagger-Lambert can be constructed from pairs consisting of a metric real Lie algebra and a faithful (real or complex, respectively) unitary representation. This construction generalises and we will see how to construct many kinds of metric 3-algebras from pairs consisting of a real metric Lie algebra and a faithful (real, complex or quaternionic) unitary representation. In the real case, these 3-algebras are precisely the Cherkis-Saemann algebras, which are then completely characterised in terms of this data. In the complex and quaternionic cases, they constitute generalisations of the Bagger-Lambert hermitian 3-algebras and anti-Lie triple systems, respectively, which underlie N=6 and N=5 superconformal Chern-Simons theories, respectively. In the process we rederive the relation between certain types of complex 3-algebras and metric Lie superalgebras.Comment: 29 pages (v4: really final version to appear in CMP. Example 7 has been improved.

Cohomology and relative Rota-Baxter-Nijenhuis structures on LieYRep pairs

A LieYRep pair consists of a Lie-Yamaguti algebra and its representation. In this paper, we establish the cohomology theory of LieYRep pairs and characterize their linear deformations by the second cohomology group. Then we introduce the notion of relative Rota-Baxter-Nijenhuis structures on LieYRep pairs, investigate their properties, and prove that a relative Rota-Baxter-Nijenhuis structure gives rise to a pair of compatible relative Rota-Baxter operators under a certain condition. Finally, we show the equivalence between $r$-matrix-Nijenhuis structures and Rota-Baxter-Nijenhuis structures on Lie-Yamaguti algebras

n-ary algebras: a review with applications

This paper reviews the properties and applications of certain n-ary generalizations of Lie algebras in a self-contained and unified way. These generalizations are algebraic structures in which the two entries Lie bracket has been replaced by a bracket with n entries. Each type of n-ary bracket satisfies a specific characteristic identity which plays the r\^ole of the Jacobi identity for Lie algebras. Particular attention will be paid to generalized Lie algebras, which are defined by even multibrackets obtained by antisymmetrizing the associative products of its n components and that satisfy the generalized Jacobi identity (GJI), and to Filippov (or n-Lie) algebras, which are defined by fully antisymmetric n-brackets that satisfy the Filippov identity (FI). Three-Lie algebras have surfaced recently in multi-brane theory in the context of the Bagger-Lambert-Gustavsson model. Because of this, Filippov algebras will be discussed at length, including the cohomology complexes that govern their central extensions and their deformations (Whitehead's lemma extends to all semisimple n-Lie algebras). When the skewsymmetry of the n-Lie algebra is relaxed, one is led the n-Leibniz algebras. These will be discussed as well, since they underlie the cohomological properties of n-Lie algebras. The standard Poisson structure may also be extended to the n-ary case. We shall review here the even generalized Poisson structures, whose GJI reproduces the pattern of the generalized Lie algebras, and the Nambu-Poisson structures, which satisfy the FI and determine Filippov algebras. Finally, the recent work of Bagger-Lambert and Gustavsson on superconformal Chern-Simons theory will be briefly discussed. Emphasis will be made on the appearance of the 3-Lie algebra structure and on why the A_4 model may be formulated in terms of an ordinary Lie algebra, and on its Nambu bracket generalization.Comment: Invited topical review for JPA Math.Theor. v2: minor changes, references added. 120 pages, 318 reference

Automorphisms of extensions of Lie-Yamaguti algebras and Inducibility problem

Lie-Yamaguti algebras generalize both the notions of Lie algebras and Lie triple systems. In this paper, we consider the inducibility problem for automorphisms of Lie-Yamaguti algebra extensions. More precisely, given an abelian extension $$0 \to V \xrightarrow[]{i} \widetilde{L} \xrightarrow[]{p} L \to 0$$ of Lie-Yamaguti algebra $L$, we are interested in finding the pairs $(\phi, \psi)\in \mathrm{Aut}(V)\times \mathrm{Aut}(L)$, which are inducible by an automorphism in $\mathrm{Aut}(\widetilde{L})$. We connect the inducibility problem to the $(2,3)$ cohomology of Lie-Yamaguti algebra. In particular, we show that the obstruction for a pair of automorphisms in $\mathrm{Aut}(V)\times \mathrm{Aut}(L)$ to be inducible lies in a cohomology class of the $(2,3)$ cohomology group $\mathrm{H}^{(2,3)}(L,V)$. We develop the Wells exact sequence for Lie-Yamaguti algebra extensions, which relates the space of derivations, automorphism groups, and $(2,3)$-cohomology groups of Lie-Yamaguti algebras. Finally, we consider nilpotent Lie-Yamaguti algebras of index $2$ with a one-dimensional center. We give two infinite families of such nilpotent Lie-Yamaguti algebras and characterize the inducible pairs for extensions arising from these examples. Finally, We give an algorithm to characterize inducible pairs of automorphisms for extensions arising from nilpotent Lie-Yamaguti algebras (index $2$) with a one-dimensional center.Comment: Any comments/suggestions are welcom

Metric 3-Leibniz algebras and M2-branes

This thesis is concerned with superconformal Chern-Simons theories with matter in 3 dimensions. The interest in these theories is two-fold. On the one hand, it is a new family of theories in which to test the AdS/CFT correspondence and on the other, they are important to study one of the main objects of M-theory (M2-branes). All these theories have something in common: they can be written in terms of 3-Leibniz algebras. Here we study the structure theory of such algebras, paying special attention to a subclass of them that gives rise to maximal supersymmetry and that was the first to appear in this context: 3-Lie algebras. In chapter 2, we review the structure theory of metric Lie algebras and their unitary representations. In chapter 3, we study metric 3-Leibniz algebras and show, by specialising a construction originally due to Faulkner, that they are in one to one correspondence with pairs of real metric Lie algebras and unitary representations of them. We also show a third characterisation for six extreme cases of 3-Leibniz algebras as graded Lie (super)algebras. In chapter 4, we study metric 3-Lie algebras in detail. We prove a structural result and also classify those with a maximally isotropic centre, which is the requirement that ensures unitarity of the corresponding conformal field theory. Finally, in chapter 5, we study the universal structure of superpotentials in this class of superconformal Chern-Simons theories with matter in three dimensions. We provide a uniform formulation for all these theories and establish the connection between the amount of supersymmetry preserved and the gauge Lie algebra and the appropriate unitary representation to be used to write down the Lagrangian. The conditions for supersymmetry enhancement are then expressed equivalently in the language of representation theory of Lie algebras or the language of 3-Leibniz algebras.Comment: PhD thesis of Elena M\'endez-Escobar in the University of Edinburgh (supervised by Jos\'e Figueroa-O'Farrill and Joan Sim\'on