Let i:X↪Y be a closed embedding of smooth algebraic
varieties. Denote by N the normal bundle of X in Y. We describe the
construction of two Lie-type structures on the shifted bundle N[−1] which
encode the information of the formal neighborhood of X inside Y. We also
present applications of classical Lie theoretic constructions (universal
enveloping algebra, Chevalley-Eilenberg complex) to the understanding of the
geometry of embeddings.Comment: final versio