Danny Stevenson

Bio: Danny Stevenson is an academic researcher from University of Adelaide. The author has contributed to research in topics: Bundle gerbe & Bundle. The author has an hindex of 20, co-authored 47 publications receiving 1685 citations. Previous affiliations of Danny Stevenson include University of Glasgow & University of Hamburg.

Twisted K-theory and K-Theory of Bundle Gerbes

Abstract: In this note we introduce the notion of bundle gerbe K-theory and investigate the relation to twisted K-theory. We provide some examples. Possible applications of bundle gerbe K-theory to the classification of K-brane charges in nontrivial backgrounds are briefly discussed.

Bundle Gerbes: Stable Isomorphism and Local Theory

Abstract: The notion of stable isomorphism of bundle gerbes is considered. It has the consequence that the stable isomorphism classes of bundle gerbes over a manifold M are in bijective correspondence with H3(M, ℤ). Stable isomorphism sheds light on the local theory of bundle gerbes and enables a classifying theory for bundle gerbes to be developed using results of Gajer on B[Copf ]× bundles.

From loop groups to 2-groups

Abstract: We describe an interesting relation between Lie 2-algebras, the Kac– Moody central extensions of loop groups, and the group String(n). A Lie 2-algebra is a categorified version of a Lie algebra where the Jacobi identity holds up to a natural isomorphism called the ‘Jacobiator’. Similarly, a Lie 2-group is a categorified version of a Lie group. If G is a simply-connected compact simple Lie group, there is a 1-parameter family of Lie 2-algebras gk each having g as its Lie algebra of objects, but with a Jacobiator built from the canonical 3-form on G. There appears to be no Lie 2-group having gk as its Lie 2-algebra, except when k = 0. Here, however, we construct for integral k an infinite-dimensional Lie 2-group PkG whose Lie 2-algebra is equivalent to gk. The objects of PkG are based paths in G, while the automorphisms of any object form the level-k Kac– Moody central extension of the loop group G. This 2-group is closely related to the kth power of the canonical gerbe over G. Its nerve gives a topological group |PkG| that is an extension of G by K(Z,2). When k = ±1, |PkG| can also be obtained by killing the third homotopy group of G. Thus, when G = Spin(n), |PkG| is none other than String(n).

Bundle Gerbes for Chern-Simons and Wess-Zumino-Witten Theories

Abstract: We develop the theory of Chern-Simons bundle 2-gerbes and multiplicative bundle gerbes associated to any principal G-bundle with connection and a class in H4(BG, ℤ) for a compact semi-simple Lie group G. The Chern-Simons bundle 2-gerbe realises differential geometrically the Cheeger-Simons invariant. We apply these notions to refine the Dijkgraaf-Witten correspondence between three dimensional Chern-Simons functionals and Wess-Zumino-Witten models associated to the group G. We do this by introducing a lifting to the level of bundle gerbes of the natural map from H4(BG, ℤ) to H3(G, ℤ). The notion of a multiplicative bundle gerbe accounts geometrically for the subtleties in this correspondence for non-simply connected Lie groups. The implications for Wess-Zumino-Witten models are also discussed.

The Geometry of Bundle Gerbes

Abstract: This thesis reviews the theory of bundle gerbes and then examines the higher dimensional notion of a bundle 2-gerbe. The notion of a bundle 2-gerbe connection and 2-curving are introduced and it is shown that there is a class in $H^{4}(M;\Z)$ associated to any bundle 2-gerbe.

D branes on group manifolds and fusion rings

Abstract: In this paper we compute the charge group for symmetry preserving D-branes on group manifolds for all simple, simply-connected, connected compact Lie groups G.

Twisted K-theory and K-Theory of Bundle Gerbes

Abstract: In this note we introduce the notion of bundle gerbe K-theory and investigate the relation to twisted K-theory. We provide some examples. Possible applications of bundle gerbe K-theory to the classification of K-brane charges in nontrivial backgrounds are briefly discussed.

T-Duality: Topology Change from H -Flux

Abstract: T-duality acts on circle bundles by exchanging the first Chern class with the fiberwise integral of the H-flux, as we motivate using E 8 and also using S-duality. We present known and new examples including NS5-branes, nilmanifolds, lens spaces, both circle bundles over P n , and the AdS 5 ×S 5 to AdS 5 × P 2 ×S 1 with background H-flux of Duff, Lu and Pope. When T-duality leads to M-theory on a non-spin manifold the gravitino partition function continues to exist due to the background flux, however the known quantization condition for G 4 receives a correction. In a more general context, we use correspondence spaces to implement isomorphisms on the twisted K-theories and twisted cohomology theories and to study the corresponding Grothendieck-Riemann-Roch theorem. Interestingly, in the case of decomposable twists, both twisted theories admit fusion products and so are naturally rings.

Twisted K-theory

Abstract: Twisted complex K-theory can be defined for a space X equipped with a bundle of complex projective spaces, or, equivalently, with a bundle of C ∗ -algebras. Up to equivalence, the twisting corresponds to an element of H 3 (X; Z). We give a systematic account of the definition and basic properties of the twisted theory, emphasizing some points where it behaves differently from ordinary K-theory. (We omit, however, its relations to classical coho- mology, which we shall treat in a sequel.) We develop an equivariant version of the theory for the action of a compact Lie group, proving that then the twistings are classified by the equivariant cohomology group H 3 G (X; Z). We also consider some basic examples of twisted K-theory classes, related to those appearing in the recent work of Freed-Hopkins-Teleman.

Higher-Dimensional Algebra V: 2-Groups

Abstract: A 2-group is a "categorified" version of a group, in which the underlying set G has been replaced by a category and the multiplication map has been replaced by a functor. Various versions of this notion have already been explored; our goal here is to provide a detailed introduction to two, which we call "weak" and "coherent" 2-groups. A weak 2-group is a weak monoidal category in which every morphism has an inverse and every object x has a "weak inverse": an object y such that x tensor y and y tensor x are isomorphic to 1. A coherent 2-group is a weak 2-group in which every object x is equipped with a specified weak inverse x* and isomorphisms i_x: 1 -> x tensor x* and e_x: x* tensor x -> 1 forming an adjunction. We describe 2-categories of weak and coherent 2-groups and an "improvement" 2-functor that turns weak 2-groups into coherent ones, and prove that this 2-functor is a 2-equivalence of 2-categories. We internalize the concept of coherent 2-group, which gives a quick way to define Lie 2-groups. We give a tour of examples, including the "fundamental 2-group" of a space and various Lie 2-groups. We also explain how coherent 2-groups can be classified in terms of 3rd cohomology classes in group cohomology. Finally, using this classification, we construct for any connected and simply-connected compact simple Lie group G a family of 2-groups G_hbar (for integral values of hbar) having G as its group of objects and U(1) as the group of automorphisms of its identity object. These 2-groups are built using Chern-Simons theory, and are closely related to the Lie 2-algebras g_hbar (for real hbar) described in a companion paper.