In
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
, a Lie algebroid is a
vector bundle
In mathematics, a vector bundle is a topological construction that makes precise the idea of a family of vector spaces parameterized by another space X (for example X could be a topological space, a manifold, or an algebraic variety): to every po ...
together with a
Lie bracket
In mathematics, a Lie algebra (pronounced ) is a vector space \mathfrak g together with an operation called the Lie bracket, an alternating bilinear map \mathfrak g \times \mathfrak g \rightarrow \mathfrak g, that satisfies the Jacobi identit ...
on its space of
sections
Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea
* Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents
** Section sig ...
and a vector bundle morphism
, satisfying a Leibniz rule. A Lie algebroid can thus be thought of as a "many-object generalisation" of a
Lie algebra
In mathematics, a Lie algebra (pronounced ) is a vector space \mathfrak g together with an Binary operation, operation called the Lie bracket, an Alternating multilinear map, alternating bilinear map \mathfrak g \times \mathfrak g \rightarrow ...
.
Lie algebroids play a similar same role in the theory of
Lie groupoid In mathematics, a Lie groupoid is a groupoid where the set \operatorname of objects and the set \operatorname of morphisms are both manifolds, all the category operations (source and target, composition, identity-assigning map and inversion) are smo ...
s that Lie algebras play in the theory of
Lie groups
In mathematics, a Lie group (pronounced ) is a group that is also a differentiable manifold. A manifold is a space that locally resembles Euclidean space, whereas groups define the abstract concept of a binary operation along with the additio ...
: reducing global problems to infinitesimal ones. Indeed, any Lie groupoid gives rise to a Lie algebroid, which is the vertical bundle of the source map restricted at the units. However, unlike Lie algebras, not every Lie algebroid arises from a Lie groupoid.
Lie algebroids were introduced in 1967 by Jean Pradines.
Definition and basic concepts
A Lie algebroid is a triple
consisting of
* a
vector bundle
In mathematics, a vector bundle is a topological construction that makes precise the idea of a family of vector spaces parameterized by another space X (for example X could be a topological space, a manifold, or an algebraic variety): to every po ...
over a
manifold
In mathematics, a manifold is a topological space that locally resembles Euclidean space near each point. More precisely, an n-dimensional manifold, or ''n-manifold'' for short, is a topological space with the property that each point has a n ...
* a
Lie bracket
In mathematics, a Lie algebra (pronounced ) is a vector space \mathfrak g together with an operation called the Lie bracket, an alternating bilinear map \mathfrak g \times \mathfrak g \rightarrow \mathfrak g, that satisfies the Jacobi identit ...