Super Chern-Simons Theory: BV-formalism and $A_\infty$-algebras

In this paper we will study non-abelian Chern-Simons theory on a deformed superspace. We will deform the superspace in such a way that it includes the noncommutativity between bosonic and fermionic coordinates. We will first analyse the BRST and the anti-BRST symmetries of the Chern-Simons theory on this deformed superspace. Then we will analyse the extended BRST and the extended anti-BRST symmetries of this theory in the Batalin-Vilkovisky (BV) formalism. Finally, we will ex...

Inspired by the analogy between different types of differential forms on supermanifolds and string fields in superstring theory, we construct new multilinear non-associative products of forms which yield an $A_\infty$-algebra.

We discuss the extended BRST and anti-BRST symmetry (including shift symmetry) in the Batalin-Vilkovisky (BV) formulation for the Chern-Simons (CS) theories in $(2+1)$ spacetime dimensions. Further we develop the superspace description of BV formulation for such theories. Interestingly, the extended BRST invariant CS theories can be described in superspace in covariant manner with the help of one more (Grassmann) coordinate. However, a superspace with two Grassmann coordinate...

Superstrings and topological strings with supermanifolds as target space play a central role in the recent developments in string theory. Nevertheless the rules for higher-genus computations are still unclear or guessed in analogy with bosonic and fermionic strings. Here we present a common geometrical setting to develop systematically the prescription for amplitude computations. The geometrical origin of these difficulties is the theory of integration of superforms. We provi...

We show how to construct an N=1 superconformal vertex algebra (SCVA) from any Riemannian manifold. When the Riemannian manifold has special holonomy groups, we discuss the extended supersymmetry. When the manifold is complex or K\"{a}hler, we also generalize the construction to obtain N=2 SCVA's. We study the BRST cohomology groups of the topological vertex algebras obtained by the $A$ twist and the $B$ twist from these N=2 SCVA's. We show that for one of them, the BRST cohom...

We study super-Chern-Simons theory on a generic supermanifold. After a self-contained review of integration on supermanifolds, the complexes of forms (superforms, pseudo-forms and integral forms) and the extended Cartan calculus are discussed. We then introduce Picture Changing Operators. We provide several examples of computation of PCO's acting on different type of forms. We illustrate also the action of the $\eta$ operator, crucial ingredient to define the interactions of ...

Using the BV-formalism of mathematical physics an explicit construction for the minimal model of a quantum L-infinity-algebra is given as a formal super integral. The approach taken herein to these formal integrals is axiomatic; they can be approached using perturbation theory to obtain combinatorial formulae as shown in the appendix. Additionally, there exists a canonical differential graded Lie algebra morphism mapping formal functions on homology to formal functions on the...

We continue our study of zero-dimensional field theories in which the fields take values in a strong homotopy Lie algebra. In a first part, we review in detail how higher Chern-Simons theories arise in the AKSZ-formalism. These theories form a universal starting point for the construction of $L_\infty$-algebra models. We then show how to describe superconformal field theories and how to perform dimensional reductions in this context. In a second part, we demonstrate that Namb...

We discuss a natural extension of the AKSZ construction to the case where the source is given by a supermanifold with a chosen integral form. We then focus on the special case with the target given by a Courant algebroid. In the simplest case this leads to the BV version of the super Chern-Simons theory, as developed by Grassi-Maccaferri and Cremonini-Grassi. In the case of exact Courant algebroids we derive the 2-dimensional $\mathcal N=(1,1)$ sigma model on the boundary, to...

We study global and local geometry of forms on odd symplectic BV supermanifolds, constructed from the total space of the bundle of 1-forms on a base supermanifold. We show that globally 1-forms are an extension of vector bundles defined on the base supermanifold. In the holomorphic category, we prove that this extension is split if and only if the super Atiyah class of the base supermanifold vanishes. This is equivalent to the existence of a holomorphic superconnection: we sh...