Related papers: Many finite-dimensional lifting bundle gerbes are …

We study $S^1$-bundles and $S^1$-gerbes over differentiable stacks in terms of Lie groupoids, and construct Chern classes and Dixmier-Douady classes in terms of analogues of connections and curvature.

We study the homotopy aspects of the twisted Chern classes of torsion bundle gerbe modules. Using Sullivan's rational homotopy theory, we realize the twisted Chern classes at the level of classifying spaces. The construction suggests a…

The most basic characteristic classes of smooth fibre bundles are the generalised Miller-Morita-Mumford classes, obtained by fibre integrating characteristic classes of the vertical tangent bundle. In this note we show that they may be…

We study D1-branes on the fourfold $\C^4/(\Z_2\times\Z_2\times\Z_2)$, in the presence of discrete torsion. Discrete torsion is incorporated in the gauge theory of the D1-branes by considering a projective representation of the finite group…

A topological space is called self-covering if it is a nontrivial cover of itself. We prove that, under mild assumptions, a closed self-covering manifold with an abelian fundamental group fibers over a torus in various senses. As a…

We show that if M is a surface bundle over S^1 with fiber of genus 2, then for any integer n, M has a finite cover tilde(M) with b_1(tilde(M)) > n. A corollary is that M can be geometrized using only the `non-fiber' case of Thurston's…

We construct manifestly superconformal field theories in six dimensions which contain a non-Abelian tensor multiplet. In particular, we show how principal 3-bundles over a suitable twistor space encode solutions to these self-dual tensor…

Graded vector bundles over a given $\mathbb{Z}$-graded manifold can be defined in three different ways: certain sheaves of graded modules over the structure sheaf of the base graded manifold, finitely generated projective graded modules…

It is known that a bi-orderable group has no generalized torsion element, but the converse does not hold in general. We conjecture that the converse holds for the fundamental groups of 3-manifolds, and verify the conjecture for…

We classify the allowed structures of the discrete 1-form gauge sector in six-dimensional supergravity theories realized as F-theory compactifications. This provides upper bounds on the 1-form gauge factors $\mathbb{Z}_m$ and in particular…

p-Gerbes are a generalization of bundles that have (p+2)-form field strengths. We develop their properties and use them to show that every theory of p-gerbes can be reinterpreted as a gauge theory containing p-dimensional extended objects.…

This paper reviews recent work on a new geometric object called a bundle gerbe and discusses some new examples arising in quantum field theory. One application is to an Atiyah-Patodi-Singer index theory construction of the bundle of…

In this article, we construct an orbifold quantum cohomology twisted by a flat gerbe. Then we compute these invariants in the case of a smooth manifold and a discrete torsion on a global quotient orbifold.

We start with a Gromov-hyperbolic surface bundle $E$ over a graph, and drill out essential simple closed curves from fibers to obtain a drilled bundle $F$. We prove that for such drilled bundles $F$, the fundamental group $\pi_1(F)$ is…

Given a unipotent bundle of smooth manifolds we construct its secondary transfer map and show that this map determines the higher smooth torsion of the bundle. This approach to higher torsion provides a new perspective on some of its…

Let $K$ be a differential field over $\C$ with derivation $D$, $G$ a finite linear automorphism group over $K$ which preserves $D$, and $K^G$ the fixed point subfield of $K$ under the action of $G$. We show that every finite-dimensional…

This is the second in a series of papers discussing in the framework of gerbe theory canonical and geometric aspects of the 2d nonlinear sigma model in the presence of conformal defects in the worldsheet. Employing the formal tools worked…

We develop a framework for describing vector bundles on $\mu_n$-gerbes over curves and illustrate the construction through two detailed examples. Using the interpretation of Brauer classes as obstructions to descending determinantal line…

Orbifolding two-dimensional quantum field theories by a symmetry group can involve a choice of discrete torsion. We apply the general formalism of `orbifolding defects' to study and elucidate discrete torsion for topological field theories.…

In this paper we introduce the concept of Deligne cohomology of an orbifold. We prove that the third Deligne cohomology group of a smooth \'{e}tale groupoid classify gerbes with connection over the groupoid. We argue that the $B$-field and…