English

Integrals detecting degree 3 string cobordism classes

Algebraic Topology 2023-08-17 v3 Differential Geometry

Abstract

The third string bordism group Bord3String\mathrm{Bord}_3^{\mathrm{String}} is known to be Z/24Z\mathbb{Z}/24\mathbb{Z}. Using Waldorf's notion of a geometric string structure on a manifold, Bunke--Naumann and Redden have exhibited integral formulas involving the Chern-Weil form representative of the first Pontryagin class and the canonical 3-form of a geometric string structure that realize the isomorphism Bord3StringZ/24Z\mathrm{Bord}_3^{\mathrm{String}} \to \mathbb{Z}/24\mathbb{Z}. We will show how these formulas naturally emerge when one considers certain natural U(1)\mathrm{U}(1)-valued and R\mathbb{R}-valued 3d TQFT associated with the classifying stacks of Spin bundles with connection and of String bundles with geometric structure, respectively.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2209.12933,
  title  = {Integrals detecting degree 3 string cobordism classes},
  author = {Domenico Fiorenza and Eugenio Landi},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2209.12933},
  year   = {2023}
}

Comments

25 pages, exposition improved, references added. Final version

R2 v1 2026-06-28T02:08:26.326Z