Weak Algebra Bundles and Associator Varieties

Algebra bundles, in the strict sense, appear in many areas of geometry and physics. However, the structure of an algebra is flexible enough to vary non-trivially over a connected base, giving rise to a structure of a weak algebra bundle. We will show that the notion of a weak algebra bundle is more natural than that of a strict algebra bundle. We will give necessary and sufficient conditions for weak algebra bundles to be locally trivial. The collection of non-trivial associative algebras of a fixed dimension forms a projective variety, called associator varieties. We will show that these varieties play the role the Grassmannians play for principal $O(n)$-bundles.