Supergeometry is
differential geometry
Differential geometry is a Mathematics, mathematical discipline that studies the geometry of smooth shapes and smooth spaces, otherwise known as smooth manifolds. It uses the techniques of Calculus, single variable calculus, vector calculus, lin ...
of
modules over
graded commutative algebras,
supermanifolds and
graded manifolds. Supergeometry is part and parcel of many classical and quantum
field theories involving odd
fields, e.g.,
SUSY field theory,
BRST theory, or
supergravity
In theoretical physics, supergravity (supergravity theory; SUGRA for short) is a modern field theory that combines the principles of supersymmetry and general relativity; this is in contrast to non-gravitational supersymmetric theories such as ...
.
Supergeometry is formulated in terms of
-
graded module
Grade most commonly refers to:
* Grading in education, a measurement of a student's performance by educational assessment (e.g. A, pass, etc.)
* A designation for students, classes and curricula indicating the number of the year a student has reac ...
s and
sheaves over
-graded commutative algebras (
supercommutative algebras). In particular, superconnections are defined as
Koszul connections on these modules and sheaves. However, supergeometry is not particular
noncommutative geometry
Noncommutative geometry (NCG) is a branch of mathematics concerned with a geometric approach to noncommutative algebras, and with the construction of ''spaces'' that are locally presented by noncommutative algebras of functions, possibly in some g ...
because of a different definition of a graded
derivation.
Graded manifolds and
supermanifolds also are phrased in terms of sheaves of graded commutative algebras.
Graded manifolds are characterized by sheaves on
smooth manifolds
In mathematics, a differentiable manifold (also differential manifold) is a type of manifold that is locally similar enough to a vector space to allow one to apply calculus. Any manifold can be described by a collection of charts (atlas (topology ...
, while
supermanifolds are constructed by gluing of sheaves of
supervector spaces. There are different types of supermanifolds. These are smooth supermanifolds (
-,
-,
-supermanifolds),
-supermanifolds, and DeWitt supermanifolds. In particular, supervector bundles and principal superbundles are considered in the category of
-supermanifolds. Definitions of principal superbundles and principal superconnections straightforwardly follow that of smooth
principal bundle
In mathematics, a principal bundle is a mathematical object that formalizes some of the essential features of the Cartesian product X \times G of a space X with a group G. In the same way as with the Cartesian product, a principal bundle P is equ ...
s and
principal connections. Principal graded bundles also are considered in the category of
graded manifolds.
There is a different class of
Quillen–
Ne'eman superbundles and superconnections. These superconnections have been applied to computing the
Chern character in
K-theory
In mathematics, K-theory is, roughly speaking, the study of a ring generated by vector bundles over a topological space or scheme. In algebraic topology, it is a cohomology theory known as topological K-theory. In algebra and algebraic geometr ...
,
noncommutative geometry
Noncommutative geometry (NCG) is a branch of mathematics concerned with a geometric approach to noncommutative algebras, and with the construction of ''spaces'' that are locally presented by noncommutative algebras of functions, possibly in some g ...
, and
BRST formalism.
See also
*
Supersymmetry
Supersymmetry is a Theory, theoretical framework in physics that suggests the existence of a symmetry between Particle physics, particles with integer Spin (physics), spin (''bosons'') and particles with half-integer spin (''fermions''). It propo ...
*
Connection (algebraic framework) Geometry of Quantum mechanics, quantum systems (e.g.,
noncommutative geometry and supergeometry) is mainly
phrased in algebraic terms of module (mathematics), modules and
algebras. Connections on modules are
generalization of a linear connection (ve ...
*
Supermetric Supermetric is a mathematical concept used in a number of fields in physics.
See also
* Supergeometry
*Supergravity
* Super Minkowski space
*Gauge gravitation theory
In quantum field theory, gauge gravitation theory is the effort to extend Yang– ...
References
*.
*.
*.
External links
*
G. Sardanashvily, Lectures on supergeometry, .
{{Supersymmetry topics
Supersymmetry
*