English

Left-invariant vector fields on a Lie 2-group

Differential Geometry 2019-08-29 v2 Category Theory

Abstract

A Lie 2-group GG is a category internal to the category of Lie groups. Consequently it is a monoidal category and a Lie groupoid. The Lie groupoid structure on GG gives rise to the Lie 2-algebra X(G)\mathbb{X}(G) of multiplicative vector fields, see (Berwick-Evans -- Lerman). The monoidal structure on GG gives rise to a left action of the 2-group GG on the Lie groupoid GG, hence to an action of GG on the Lie 2-algebra X(G)\mathbb{X}(G). As a result we get the Lie 2-algebra X(G)G\mathbb{X}(G)^G of left-invariant multiplicative vector fields. On the other hand there is a well-known construction that associates a Lie 2-algebra g\mathfrak{g} to a Lie 2-group GG: apply the functor Lie:LieGroupsLieAlgebras\mathsf{Lie}: \mathsf{Lie Groups} \to \mathsf{Lie Algebras} to the structure maps of the category GG. We show that the Lie 2-algebra g\mathfrak{g} is isomorphic to the Lie 2-algebra X(G)G\mathbb{X}(G)^G of left invariant multiplicative vector fields.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1808.02920,
  title  = {Left-invariant vector fields on a Lie 2-group},
  author = {Eugene Lerman},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1808.02920},
  year   = {2019}
}

Comments

22 pages, to appear in Theory and Applications of Categories

R2 v1 2026-06-23T03:28:17.028Z