text:
# Nambu-Dirac Structures on Lie Algebroids

## 1 Introduction

The purpose of this Letter is to explore an unusual approach to Nambu-Poisson manifolds using the Vinogradov bracket defined below and the theory of Dirac structures. Our first attempt to describe Nambu-Poisson manifolds in terms of Dirac structures can be found in \[W\]. In the present paper, we work in a context which is general enough to include Nambu-Poisson manifolds and triangular Lie bialgebroids \[MX\].

Nambu-Poisson structures originate from an idea presented in \[Na\], where Nambu took some tentative steps toward a generalization of Hamiltonian mechanics. In 1975, Bayen and Flato developed further Nambu’s generalized mechanics (see \[BF\]). Takhtajan gave an axiomatic formalism for Nambu’s bracket in \[T\]. Since then, there has been a great deal of interest in the study of Nambu-Poisson structures producing a beautiful series of papers by mathematicians and physicists.

Consider a Lie algebroid $`E`$ over a smooth manifold $`M`$. It is well known that the Lie algebroid structure on $`E`$ induces a differential operator $`d_E`$ on the space of all smooth sections of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{}`$, where $`E^{}`$ is the dual of $`E`$. The Vinogradov bracket is a derived bracket in the sense of Kosmann-Schwarzbach (see \[CV\]\[K-S\]). Precisely, the Vinogradov bracket associated with $`E`$ is the $``$-bilinear operation on the space of graded endomorphisms of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{})`$ given by $`[[a,b]]__E=[[a,d_E],b]`$, for any $`a,b\text{End}(\mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{}))`$, where $`[,]`$ is the usual commutator on endomorphisms of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{})`$. In Theorem 2.1, we show that there exists an injective map $`\sigma `$ from $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(E\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{})`$ to $`\mathrm{End}(\mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{}))`$ and an $``$-bilinear operation $`,__E`$ on $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(E\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{})`$ such that

(1) for any $`e\mathrm{\Gamma }(E\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{})`$, $`\sigma (e)`$ is $`C^{\mathrm{}}`$-linear;

(2) for any $`e\mathrm{\Gamma }(E\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{})`$ and for any $`fC^{\mathrm{}}(M)`$, $`\sigma (fe)=f\sigma (e)`$;

(3) for any $`e_1,e_2\mathrm{\Gamma }(E\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{})`$, $`\sigma (e_1,e_2__E)=[[\sigma (e_1),\sigma (e_2)]]__E`$.

Precisely, $`\sigma `$ is defined by $`\sigma (X,\alpha )=i_X+m(\alpha )`$, where $`i_X`$ is the interior product by $`X`$ and $`m(\alpha )`$ is the exterior multiplication by $`\alpha `$. The bracket $`,__E`$ is given by:

$$(X,\alpha ),(Y,\beta )__E=([X,Y]__E,_X^^E\beta i_Yd_E\alpha ),$$
$`(1.1)`$
for any $`(X,\alpha ),(Y,\beta )\mathrm{\Gamma }(E\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{})`$, where $`_X^^E=[i_X,d_E]`$. In view of this correspondence, one may think of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(E\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{})`$ as locally generated by field operators satisfying the canonical commutation relations. The elements of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(E)`$ correspond to boson fields and the elements of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(E^{})`$ to fermion fields.

In the second part of this work, we exploit the bracket $`,__E`$, and in this way we are led to the definition of a Nambu-Poisson structure on a Lie algebroid $`E`$. A Nambu-Poisson structure of order $`p`$ on $`E`$ is a smooth section $`\mathrm{\Pi }\mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^pE)`$ such that

$$[\mathrm{\Pi }\alpha ,\mathrm{\Pi }]__E\beta =\mathrm{\Pi }(i_{\mathrm{\Pi }\beta }d_E\alpha ),\text{for any}\alpha ,\beta \mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}E^{}).$$

This definition includes both triangular Lie bialgebroids (see \[MX\]) and Nambu-Poisson structures on manifolds, as shown below. We prove that, given an arbitrary Nambu-Poisson structure $`\mathrm{\Pi }`$ of order $`p3`$ on a Lie algebroid $`E`$ with base $`M`$, $`\mathrm{\Pi }(d_Ef)`$ is decomposable for any $`fC^{\mathrm{}}(M)`$. In particular, $`\mathrm{\Pi }`$ is decomposable when $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(E^{})`$ is generated by the elements of the form $`d_Ef`$.

Finally, we study Nambu-Poisson structures on a Lie algebroid $`E`$ from the point of view of the theory of Dirac structures. Very recently, the concept of a Nambu-Dirac manifold has been introduced and studied in \[H\]. This extension of the definition of a Dirac manifold is essentially based on the existence of a Leibniz algebroid structure on the vector bundle $`\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}(T^{}M)`$ for a Poisson manifold $`M`$ of order $`p`$. Note that there is another Leibniz algebroid structure on $`\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}(T^{}M)`$ presented in \[ILMP\]. Here, inspired by the remarkable interplay between skew-symmetric bilinear forms and bivectors arising from linear Dirac structures \[C\], we use an alternative approach to define a Dirac structure of higher order on a Lie algebroid. We then generalize both strong Nambu-Dirac \[H\] and Dirac structures on manifolds. We show that, to any Nambu-Poisson structure $`\mathrm{\Pi }`$ of order $`p2`$ on a Lie algebroid $`E`$, there corresponds a Dirac structure of order $`p`$. Furthermore, we prove that any Dirac structure of order $`p`$ on $`E`$ gives rise to a Nambu-Poisson bracket on the set of its admissible functions. Thus, we recover certain results obtained in \[H\]. Our main results are Theorem 2.1, Theorem 3.1 , and Theorem 4.6

The paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, we review basic definitions and properties of Leibniz algebras and algebroids, as well as Lie algebroids. Then we define the Vinogradov bracket associated with a Lie algebroid and establish Theorem 2.1. In Section 3, we define Nambu-Poisson structures on Lie algebroids and study their properties. Finally, in Section 4, we study the relationships between Nambu-Poisson structures on Lie algebroids and the theory of Dirac structures.

## 2  Leibniz Algebras and Vinogradov Bracket

### 2.1 Definitions

Throughout the text, all vector bundles have finite dimension. We will be using Leibniz algebras and Lie algebroids in many parts of this work, so we briefly recall the definitions.

A left Leibniz bracket on a real vector space $`𝒱`$ (see \[L\]) is given by an $``$-bilinear operation $`[,]__𝒱:𝒱\times 𝒱𝒱`$ such that

$$[a,[b,c]__𝒱]__𝒱=[[a,b]__𝒱,c]__𝒱+[b,[a,c]__𝒱]__𝒱,$$

for any $`a`$, $`b`$, $`c𝒱`$. Then the pair $`(𝒱,[,]__𝒱)`$ is called left Leibniz algebra. For short, it will be called Leibniz algebra. The bracket $`[,]__𝒱`$ becomes a Lie bracket if, additionally, it is skew-symmetric.

Let $`(𝒱_1,[,]_1)`$ and $`(𝒱_2,[,]_2)`$ be two Leibniz algebras. A morphism $`\varphi `$ from $`(𝒱_1,[,]_1)`$ to $`(𝒱_2,[,]_2)`$ is said to be a morphism of Leibniz algebras if $`\varphi ([a,b]_1)=[\varphi (a),\varphi (b)]_2,`$ for any $`a`$, $`b𝒱_1.`$

A Leibniz algebroid (see \[ILMP\]) consists of a vector bundle $`EM`$ with a Leibniz bracket $`[,]__E`$ on the space $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(E)`$ of smooth sections of $`E`$ and a bundle map $`\varrho :ETM`$, extended to a map between sections of these bundles such that the following properties are satisfied:

$$[X_1,fX_2]__E=f[X_1,X_2]__E+(\varrho (X_1)f)X_2\text{and}\varrho ([X_1,X_2]__E)=[\varrho (X_1),\varrho (X_2)],$$

for any smooth sections $`X_1`$, $`X_2\mathrm{\Gamma }(E)`$ and for any smooth function $`f`$ defined on $`M`$. Then $`\varrho `$ is called the anchor of the Leibniz algebroid.

A Lie algebroid is a Leibniz algebroid $`(E,[,]__E,\varrho )`$ over $`M`$ such that $`[,]__E`$ is skew-symmetric.

### 2.2 The Vinogradov bracket of a Lie algebroid

Let $`E`$ be a Lie algebroid over a smooth $`n`$-dimensional manifold $`M`$ with anchor map $`\varrho `$ and let $`E^{}`$ be its dual. Let $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{})=_{k0}\mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^kE^{})`$ denote the exterior algebra generated by all smooth sections of $`E^{}`$. Define $`d_E:\mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{k1}E^{})\mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^kE^{})`$ by:

$`(d_E\xi )(e_1,\mathrm{},e_k)`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{i}{}}(1)^{i+1}\varrho (e_i)(\xi (e_1,\mathrm{},\widehat{e}_i,\mathrm{},e_k))`$
$`+`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{i<j}{}}(1)^{i+j}\xi ([e_i,e_j]__E,\mathrm{},\widehat{e}_i,\mathrm{},\widehat{e}_j,\mathrm{},e_k),`$
for any $`\xi \mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{k1}E^{})`$, and for any $`e_1,\mathrm{},e_k\mathrm{\Gamma }(E)`$. It satisfies $`d_E^2=0`$. The cohomology of $`(\mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{}),d_E)`$ is called the Lie algebroid cohomology of $`E`$ and denoted by $`H^{}(E)`$. Let $`\text{End}^{\mathrm{}}(\mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{}))`$ denote the space of all graded endomorphisms of degree $`\mathrm{}`$ on $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{})`$, and $`\text{End}(\mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{}))=_\mathrm{}0\text{End}^{\mathrm{}}(\mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{}))`$.

Then, the Vinogradov bracket associated with the Lie algebroid $`E`$ is the $``$-bilinear operation $`[[,]]__E`$ defined by $`[[a,b]]__E=[[a,d_E],b]`$, for any $`a`$, $`b\text{End}(\mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{}))`$, where $`[,]`$ is the usual commutator on endomorphisms of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{})`$, i.e.

$$[a,b]=ab(1)^{|a||b|}ba,$$

when $`a`$, $`b`$ are graded endomorphisms with respective degrees $`|a|`$, $`|b|`$.

For instance, the tangent bundle $`TM`$ of a smooth manifold $`M`$ defines a Lie algebroid with respect to the usual Lie bracket on vector fields. The Vinogradov bracket associated with $`TM`$ was used in \[CV\] as a tool for extending an arbitrary Poisson bracket defined on $`C^{\mathrm{}}(M)`$ to the space of co-exact forms. As mentioned above, the Vinogradov bracket associated with a Lie algebroid $`E`$ described here is a particular case of the general construction of derived brackets presented in \[K-S\]. In fact, what Kosmann-Schwarzbach called Vinogradov bracket in \[K-S\] is the skew-symmetrization of $`[[,]]__E`$. But, we will use the non skew-symmetric version in this work. The main property of $`[[,]]__E`$ (see \[K-S\]) is that

$$[[a,[[b,c]]__E]]__E=[[[[a,b]]__E,c]]__E+(1)^{(|a|+1)(|b|+1)}[[b,[[a,c]]__E]]__E,$$

for any graded endomorphisms $`a`$, $`b`$, and $`c`$ with respective degrees $`|a|`$, $`|b|`$, and $`|c|`$ .

Let $`i_X`$ denote the interior product by $`X\mathrm{\Gamma }(E)`$ and $`m(\alpha )`$ the multiplication by $`\alpha \mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{})`$, i.e. $`m(\alpha )(\eta )=\alpha \eta ,\eta \mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{})`$. We associate the $`C^{\mathrm{}}(M)`$-linear map $`\sigma :\mathrm{\Gamma }(E\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{})\text{End}(\mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{}))`$ given by $`\sigma (X,\alpha )=i_X+m(\alpha )`$, for any $`(X,\alpha )\mathrm{\Gamma }(E\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{})`$. With these notations, we have:

###### Theorem 2.1

Let $`(E,[,]__E,\varrho )`$ be a Lie algebroid over $`M`$ and let $`[[,]]__E`$ be its corresponding Vinogradov bracket. Then, there is a $``$-bilinear operation $`,__E`$ on $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(E\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{})`$ such that $`\sigma :\mathrm{\Gamma }(E\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{})),,__E)(\text{End}(\mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{}),[[,]]__E)`$ is an injective morphism of Leibniz algebras. Precisely, $`,__E`$ is defined by:

$$(X,\alpha ),(Y,\beta )__E=([X,Y]__E,_X^^E\beta i_Yd_E\alpha ),$$
$`(1.1)`$
for any $`(X,\alpha ),(Y,\beta )\mathrm{\Gamma }(E\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{})`$, where $`_X^^E=[i_X,d_E]`$.

To prove this theorem, we need the following lemma.

###### Lemma 2.2

Let $`X\mathrm{\Gamma }(E)`$, $`\alpha ,\beta \mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}A^{})`$. Then,

* (i) $`[i_X,m(\alpha )]=m(i_X\alpha )`$;
* (ii) $`[_X^^E,m(\alpha )]=m(_X^^E\alpha )`$;
* (iii) $`[d_E,m(\alpha )]=m(d_E\alpha )`$;
* (iv) $`[m(\alpha ),m(\beta )]=0`$;
* (v) $`[_X^^E,_Y^^E]=_{_{[X,Y]__E}}^^E.`$

The proof of this lemma is straightforward.

Proof of Theorem 2.1: For any $`X,Y\mathrm{\Gamma }(E)`$, we have $`[[i_X,i_Y]]__E=[_X^^E,i_Y]=i_{[X,Y]__E}`$. Applying Property (ii) of Lemma 2.2, we get $`[[i_X,m(\beta )]]__E=[_X^^E,m(\beta )]=m(_X^^E\beta )`$, for any $`X\mathrm{\Gamma }(E)`$, $`\beta \mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{})`$. Using (iii), (i) and the symmetry property of the commutator, one gets:

$$[[m(\alpha ),i_Y]]__E=[[m(\alpha ),d_E],i_Y]=[i_Y,m(d_E\alpha )]=m(i_Yd_E\alpha ),$$

for any $`Y\mathrm{\Gamma }(E)`$, $`\alpha \mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}A^{})`$. Finally, Property (iv) implies $`[[m(\alpha ),m(\beta )]]__E=0,`$ for any $`\alpha ,\beta \mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}A^{})`$. Thus combining the above terms, we obtain

$$[[i_X+m(\alpha ),i_Y+m(\beta )]]__E=i_{[X,Y]__E}+m(_X^^E\beta i_Yd_E\alpha ),$$

for any $`X,Y\mathrm{\Gamma }(E)`$, $`\alpha ,\beta \mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E^{})`$. Equivalently,

$$[[\sigma (X,\alpha ),\sigma (Y,\beta )]]__E=\sigma ([X,Y]__E,_X^^E\beta i_Yd_E\alpha )=\sigma ((X,\alpha ),(Y,\beta )__E).$$

Since $`\sigma `$ is injective and $`[[,]]__E`$ is a Leibniz bracket, it follows that $`,__E`$ is a Leibniz bracket. Hence, $`\sigma `$ is an injective morphism of Leibniz algebras. This completes the proof of Theorem 2.1.

Example 1. Let $`E=TM`$ be the tangent bundle of a smooth manifold $`M`$. Then, applying Theorem 2.1, we get an operation $`,`$ on $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(TM\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}T^{}M)`$ which is “isomorphic” to the Vinogradov bracket via the map $`\sigma `$. Namely, $`,`$ is given by

$$(X,\alpha ),(Y,\beta )=([X,Y],L__X\beta i_Yd\alpha ),$$

where $`[X,Y]`$ is the Lie bracket of the vector fields $`X`$ and $`Y`$, $`L_X`$ is the Lie derivative with respect to the vector field $`X`$ and $`d`$ is the de Rham differential. The restriction of $`,`$ to $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(TMT^{}M)`$ coincides with the Courant bracket (see \[C\]).

Remark. Theorem 2.1 pushes further an observation made by Kosmann-Schwarzbach in an unpublished paper, where it is shown that the Courant bracket is obtained by using $`\sigma _{|\mathrm{\Gamma }(TMT^{}M)}`$.

## 3  Nambu-Poisson Structures

### 3.1 Nambu-Poisson Structures on Manifolds

Let $`M`$ be a smooth $`n`$-dimensional manifold. A Nambu-Poisson structure on $`M`$ of order $`p`$ (with $`2pn`$) is given by a $`p`$-vector field $`\mathrm{\Pi }`$ which satisfies the fundamental identity:

$`\{f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1},\{g_1,\mathrm{},g_p\}__\mathrm{\Pi }\}__\mathrm{\Pi }={\displaystyle \underset{k=1}{\overset{p}{}}}\{g_1,\mathrm{},g_{k1},\{f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1},g_k\}__\mathrm{\Pi },g_{k+1},\mathrm{},g_p\}__\mathrm{\Pi }`$
for any $`f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1},g_1,\mathrm{}g_pC^{\mathrm{}}(M)`$, where $`\{\}__\mathrm{\Pi }`$ is defined by

$$\{f_1,\mathrm{},f_p\}__\mathrm{\Pi }=\mathrm{\Pi }(df_1,\mathrm{},df_p)f_1,\mathrm{},f_pC^{\mathrm{}}(M).$$

A manifold equipped with such a structure is called Nambu-Poisson manifold. Nambu-Poisson structures of order 2 On $`M`$ are Poisson structures. It is easy to see that the fundamental identity is equivalent to $`[X_{f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1}},\mathrm{\Pi }]_{_{SN}}=0,\text{for any }f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1}C^{\mathrm{}}(M),`$ where $`[,]_{_{SN}}`$ is the Schouten-Nijenhuis on multi-vector fields and $`X_{f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1}}`$ is the Hamiltonian vector field given by $`X_{f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1}},dg=\{f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1},g\}__\mathrm{\Pi }.`$

### 3.2 Nambu-Poisson structures on Lie algebroids

It is known that, given a a Lie algebroid $`(E,[,]__E,\varrho )`$ over $`M`$, the algebra $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}E)`$ endowed with the exterior product and the generalized Schouten bracket determines a Gerstenhaber algebra. Consider a smooth section $`\mathrm{\Pi }\mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^pE)`$. We say that $`\mathrm{\Pi }`$ is a Nambu-Poisson structure of order $`p`$ on $`E`$ if

$$[\mathrm{\Pi }\alpha ,\mathrm{\Pi }]__E\beta =\mathrm{\Pi }(i_{\mathrm{\Pi }\beta }d_E\alpha ),\text{for any}\alpha ,\beta \mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}E^{}).$$

In particular, this property implies that $`[\mathrm{\Pi }\alpha ,\mathrm{\Pi }]=0`$ when $`d_E\alpha =0`$. This definition agrees with that of a Nambu-Poisson structure on a manifold, which is obtained when $`E=TM`$.

It is natural to ask if a Nambu-Poisson structure of order $`p>2`$ on a Lie algebroid $`E`$ is decomposable. It is well know that such a phenomenon occurs for Nambu-Poisson structures of order $`p>2`$ on a smooth manifold $`M`$. It turns out that any Nambu-Poisson structure of order $`p>2`$ on a Lie algebroid $`E`$ is decomposable if $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(E^{})`$ is generated by the sections $`d_Ef`$, for $`fC^{\mathrm{}}(M)`$. Precisely, we have the following result:

###### Theorem 3.1

Let $`\mathrm{\Pi }`$ be a Nambu-Poisson structure of order $`p3`$ on a Lie algebroid $`E`$. For any $`fC^{\mathrm{}}(M)`$, $`\mathrm{\Pi }(d_Ef)`$ is decomposable. In particular, if $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(E^{})`$ is generated by elements of the form $`d_Ef`$ then $`\mathrm{\Pi }`$ is decomposable.

Proof: Assume that $`\mathrm{\Pi }`$ is a Nambu-Poisson structure of order $`p3`$ on $`E`$. Take $`fC^{\mathrm{}}(M)`$, $`\eta \mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}E^{})`$ and set $`\alpha =fd_Ef\eta `$. On the one hand, for any $`\beta \mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p2}E^{})`$ we have

$`[\mathrm{\Pi }\alpha ,\mathrm{\Pi }]__E\beta =\mathrm{\Pi }(i_{\mathrm{\Pi }\beta }d_E\alpha )=f\mathrm{\Pi }\left(i_{\mathrm{\Pi }\beta }(d_Efd_E\eta )\right).`$
On the other hand,

$`[\mathrm{\Pi }\alpha ,\mathrm{\Pi }]__E\beta `$ $`=`$ $`[f\mathrm{\Pi }(d_Ef\eta ),\mathrm{\Pi }]__E\beta `$
$`=`$ $`\left(\pm \mathrm{\Pi }(d_Ef)\mathrm{\Pi }(d_Ef\eta )+f[\mathrm{\Pi }(d_Ef\eta ),\mathrm{\Pi }]__E\right)\beta `$
$`=`$ $`\left(\pm \mathrm{\Pi }(d_Ef)\mathrm{\Pi }(d_Ef\eta )\right)\beta +f\mathrm{\Pi }\left(i_{\mathrm{\Pi }\beta }(d_Efd_E\eta )\right).`$
Therefore,

$$\mathrm{\Pi }(d_Ef)\mathrm{\Pi }(d_Ef\eta )=0,\text{for any}fC^{\mathrm{}}(M),\eta \mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p2}E^{}).$$

Hence, $`\mathrm{\Pi }(d_Ef)`$ is decomposable (see \[MVM\]). There follows the result.

###### Proposition 3.2

Consider a Lie algebroid $`E`$ with base $`M`$. Then $`\mathrm{\Pi }`$ is a Nambu-Poisson structure of order 2 on $`E`$ if and only if $`[\mathrm{\Pi },\mathrm{\Pi }]__E=0`$.

This proposition shows that the definition of Nambu-Poisson structure on $`E`$ agrees with that of a Poisson structure on $`E`$ when $`p=2`$. To prove it, we need the following lemma which has been shown in \[K-SM\] and \[LX\].

###### Lemma 3.3

For any $`\eta _1`$ and $`\eta _2\mathrm{\Gamma }(E^{})`$, we have

$$\mathrm{\Pi }\left(_{_{\mathrm{\Pi }\eta _1}}^^E\eta _2_{_{\mathrm{\Pi }\eta _2}}^^E\eta _1d_E(\mathrm{\Pi }(\eta _1,\eta _2))\right)[\mathrm{\Pi }\eta _1,\mathrm{\Pi }\eta _2]__E=\frac{1}{2}[\mathrm{\Pi },\mathrm{\Pi }]__E(\eta _1\eta _2).$$

Proof of Proposition 3.2: We have $`[\mathrm{\Pi }\eta _1,\mathrm{\Pi }\eta _2]__E=[\mathrm{\Pi }\eta _1,\mathrm{\Pi }]\eta _2+\mathrm{\Pi }(_{_{\mathrm{\Pi }\eta _1}}^^E\eta _2)`$. Add $`\mathrm{\Pi }(i_{_{\mathrm{\Pi }\eta _1}}d_E\eta _2)`$ in both sides of this last equation. We get

$$[\mathrm{\Pi }\eta _1,\mathrm{\Pi }\eta _2]__E\mathrm{\Pi }(_{_{\mathrm{\Pi }\eta _1}}^^E\eta _2)+\mathrm{\Pi }(i_{_{\mathrm{\Pi }\eta _1}}d_E\eta _2)=[\mathrm{\Pi }\eta _1,\mathrm{\Pi }]__E\eta _2+\mathrm{\Pi }(i_{_{\mathrm{\Pi }\eta _2}}d_E\eta _1).$$

Now using Lemma 3.3, we get $`\frac{1}{2}[\mathrm{\Pi },\mathrm{\Pi }]__E(\eta _1\eta _2)=\left([\mathrm{\Pi }\eta _1,\mathrm{\Pi }]__E\eta _2+\mathrm{\Pi }(i_{_{\mathrm{\Pi }\eta _2}}d_E\eta _1)\right)`$. Hence, $`[\mathrm{\Pi },\mathrm{\Pi }]__E=0[\mathrm{\Pi }\eta _1,\mathrm{\Pi }]__E\eta _2+\mathrm{\Pi }(i_{_{\mathrm{\Pi }\eta _2}}d_E\eta _1)=0,`$ for any $`\eta _1`$ and $`\eta _2\mathrm{\Gamma }(E^{})`$.

Now we are going to show that any Nambu-Poisson structure of order $`p`$ on a Lie algebroid $`E`$ with base $`M`$ gives rise to a natural Nambu-Poisson bracket of order $`p`$ on the algebra $`C^{\mathrm{}}(M)`$ of functions on $`M`$. Define the bracket $`\{\mathrm{}.\}__\mathrm{\Pi }`$ by

$$\{f_1,\mathrm{},f_p\}__\mathrm{\Pi }=\mathrm{\Pi }(d_E(f_1)\mathrm{}d_E(f_p)),$$

for $`f_1,\mathrm{},f_pC^{\mathrm{}}(M)`$. Obviously, this bracket is skew-symmetric and $`\{f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1},\}__\mathrm{\Pi }`$ is a derivation with respect to the pointwise product of functions. We denote by $`X_{f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1}}`$ the corresponding vector field. Then, we get

$$_{X_{f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1}}}^^Eg=\{f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1},g\}__\mathrm{\Pi }.$$

Furthermore, since $`[\mathrm{\Pi }(d_E(f_1)\mathrm{}d_E(f_{p1})),\mathrm{\Pi }]=0`$, it follows

$`\{f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1},\{g_1,\mathrm{},g_p\}__\mathrm{\Pi }\}__\mathrm{\Pi }`$ $`=`$ $`_{X_{f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1}}}^^E\{g_1,\mathrm{},g_p\}__\mathrm{\Pi }`$
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{i=1}{\overset{p}{}}}\{g_1,\mathrm{},g_{i1},\{f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1},g_i\}__\mathrm{\Pi },\mathrm{},g_p\}__\mathrm{\Pi }.`$
Therefore, we get the following result:

###### Proposition 3.4

Given a Lie algebroid $`(E,[,]__E,\varrho )`$ with base $`M`$, there is a natural Nambu-Poisson bracket on $`C^{\mathrm{}}(M)`$ arising from any Nambu-Poisson structure on $`E`$.

###### Proposition 3.5

Given a Lie algebroid $`(E,[,]__E,\varrho )`$ over $`M`$ and a Nambu-Poisson structure $`\mathrm{\Pi }`$ on $`E`$, the triplet $`(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}E^{},,_{},\varrho \mathrm{\Pi })`$ determines a Leibniz algebroid, where $`,_{}`$ is defined by

$$\alpha ,\beta _{}=_{\mathrm{\Pi }\alpha }^^E\beta i_{\mathrm{\Pi }\beta }d_E\alpha ,\text{for any}\alpha ,\beta \mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}E^{})$$

Proof: By simple computations, one gets

$$\alpha ,f\beta _{}=f\alpha ,\beta _{}+(\varrho (\mathrm{\Pi }\alpha )f)\beta \text{and}\varrho (\mathrm{\Pi }\alpha ,\beta _{})=[\varrho (\mathrm{\Pi }\alpha ),\varrho (\mathrm{\Pi }\beta )],$$

for any $`\alpha ,\beta \mathrm{\Gamma }(\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}E^{})`$. Moreover, we have:

$`\alpha ,\beta ,\gamma _{}_{}`$ $`=`$ $`_{\mathrm{\Pi }\alpha }^^E(\beta ,\gamma _{})i_{\mathrm{\Pi }\beta ,\gamma _{}}d\alpha `$
$`=`$ $`_{\mathrm{\Pi }\alpha }^^E(L_{\mathrm{\Pi }\beta }\gamma )_{\mathrm{\Pi }\alpha }^^E(i_{\mathrm{\Pi }\gamma }d\beta )`$
$`_{\mathrm{\Pi }\beta }^^E(i_{\mathrm{\Pi }\gamma }d\alpha )+i_{\mathrm{\Pi }\gamma }(L_{\mathrm{\Pi }\beta }d\alpha ).`$
By similar computations we obtain

$`\alpha ,\beta _{},\gamma _{}+\beta ,\alpha ,\gamma _{}_{}`$ $`=`$ $`_{\mathrm{\Pi }\alpha }^^E(_{\mathrm{\Pi }\beta }^^E\gamma )_{\mathrm{\Pi }\alpha }^^E(i_{\mathrm{\Pi }\gamma }d\beta )`$
$`_{\mathrm{\Pi }\beta }^^E(i_{\mathrm{\Pi }\gamma }d\alpha )+i_{\mathrm{\Pi }\gamma }(_{\mathrm{\Pi }\beta }^^Ed\alpha ).`$
Thus, $`\alpha ,\beta ,\gamma _{}_{}=\alpha ,\beta _{},\gamma _{}+\beta ,\alpha ,\gamma _{}_{}`$. The proposition follows immediately.

## 4 Higher order Dirac structures

### 4.1 Linear Dirac structures

Let $`V`$ be an $`n`$-dimensional vector space over $``$ and $`V^{}`$ its dual. Consider the canonical symmetric bilinear form $`,`$ on $`VV^{}`$ given by

$$(v_1,\omega _1),(v_2,\omega _2)=\frac{1}{2}(\omega _1(v_2)+\omega _2(v_1)).$$

A linear Dirac structure on $`V`$ (see \[C\]) is a subspace $`L`$ of $`VV^{}`$ which is maximally isotropic with respect to $`,`$. There are two equivalent characterizations of linear Dirac structures given by the following propositions.

###### Proposition 4.1

\[C\] There is a bijective correspondence between linear Dirac structures on $`V`$ and the pairs $`(P,\mathrm{\Omega })`$ consisting of a subspace $`P`$ of $`V`$ and a skew-symmetric bilinear form $`\mathrm{\Omega }:P\times P`$

Proof: Let $`\pi :VV^{}V`$ and $`\pi ^{}:VV^{}V^{}`$ be the canonical projections. If $`LVV^{}`$ is a linear Dirac structure on $`V`$, then there exists a well defined skew-symmetric bilinear map $`\mathrm{\Omega }_L:\pi (L)\times \pi (L)\pi (L)`$ given by $`\mathrm{\Omega }_L(v_1,v_2)=\omega _1(v_2)`$, for any $`(v_1,\omega _1)`$, $`(v_2,\omega _2)L`$.

Conversely, let $`P`$ be a subspace of $`V`$ equipped with a skew-symmetric bilinear form $`\mathrm{\Omega }:PP^{}`$. Define $`L=\{(v,\omega )VV^{}|vP\mathrm{and}\mathrm{\Omega }(v)=\omega _{|P}\}`$. $`L`$ is isotropic with respect to $`,`$ since $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ is skew-symmetric. Moreover,

$$\text{dim}L=\text{dim}P+\text{dim ker}\pi _{|P}=\text{dim}P+\text{dim Ann}(P)=n,$$

where $`\mathrm{Ann}(P)`$ denotes the annihilator of the subspace $`P`$. Therefore, $`L`$ is a linear Dirac structure on $`V`$.

Similarly, one gets the proposition:

###### Proposition 4.2

\[C\] There is a bijective correspondence between linear Dirac structures on $`V`$ and pairs $`(S,\mathrm{\Pi })`$ consisting of a subspace $`S`$ of $`V^{}`$ and a 2-vector $`\mathrm{\Pi }\mathrm{\Lambda }^2S^{}`$.

### 4.2 Higher order Dirac structures on vector spaces

All vector spaces considered in this section have finite dimension.

Definition. Let $`V`$ and $`W`$ be two vector spaces. A linear quasi Dirac structure of order $`p`$ on $`V`$ relative to $`W`$ consists of a subspace $`P`$ of $`V`$ together with a skew-symmetric $`p`$-form $`\mathrm{\Omega }:P\times \mathrm{}\times PW`$.

For instance, let $`V=W=^n`$. Consider a skew-symmetric bilinear operation $`B`$ on $`^n`$. Then $`(^n,B)`$ is a linear quasi Dirac structure of order 2 on $`^n`$ relative to $`^n`$.

Definition. A linear Dirac structure of order $`p`$ on a real vector space $`V`$ relative to $``$ is a linear quasi Dirac structure $`(P,\mathrm{\Omega })`$ of order $`p`$ on $`V`$ such that for any $`Z_1,\mathrm{},Z_{p1}\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}P`$, there exists $`vP`$ satisfying

$$(i_{Z_1}\mathrm{\Omega })\mathrm{}(i_{Z_{p1}}\mathrm{\Omega })=i_v\mathrm{\Omega }.$$
$`()`$
Obviously, ($``$) is always satisfied when $`p=2`$. In other words, any linear quasi Dirac structure $`(P,\mathrm{\Omega })`$ of order 2 is a linear Dirac structure of order 2.

For a better understanding of the condition ($``$) for $`p>2`$, let us consider the subspace of $`P^{}`$ given by $`E_\mathrm{\Omega }=\mathrm{Span}\{i_{v_1}\mathrm{}i_{v_{p1}}\mathrm{\Omega }|v_iP\}`$. It is known that $`\mathrm{dim}(E_\mathrm{\Omega })p`$ and $`\mathrm{dim}(E_\mathrm{\Omega })=p`$ if and only if $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ is decomposable. Let $`\{\eta _1,\mathrm{},\eta _r\}`$ be a basis for $`E_\mathrm{\Omega }`$. Then,

$$\mathrm{\Omega }=\underset{1i_1<\mathrm{}<i_{p1}r}{}\eta _{i_1}\mathrm{}\eta _{i_{p1}}\nu _{i_1\mathrm{}i_{p1}},$$

where $`\nu _{i_1\mathrm{}i_{p1}}E_\mathrm{\Omega }`$. The condition ($``$) means that none of the 1-forms $`\nu _{i_1\mathrm{}i_{p1}}`$ is zero. We deduce that ($``$) is always true when $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ is decomposable.

Now, consider a linear Dirac structure $`(P,\mathrm{\Omega })`$ of order $`p`$ on a real vector space $`V`$ relative to $``$. On the one hand, $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ can be viewed as a map from $`P`$ to $`\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}P^{}`$. In this case, we associate the subspace $`L`$ of $`V\times \mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}V^{}`$:

$$L=\{(v,\omega )|vP\mathrm{and}i_v\mathrm{\Omega }=\omega _{|\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}P}\}.$$

On the other hand, regarding $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ as a map from $`\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}P`$ to $`P^{}`$, the natural subspace $`L^{}\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}V\times V^{}`$ to be defined is:

$$L^{}=\{(Z,\eta )|Z\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}P\mathrm{and}i_Z\mathrm{\Omega }=\eta _{|P}\}.$$

For any $`(v,\omega )L`$ and for any $`(Z,\eta )L^{}`$, we have

$$\eta _{_{|P}}(v)+(1)^p\omega _{_{|\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}P}}(Z)=0,$$
$`(1.2)`$
since $`\mathrm{\Omega }(Z)(v)=(1)^{p1}\mathrm{\Omega }(v)(Z)`$.

Notation. Let $`\pi ^{}(L^{})`$ denote the projection of $`L^{}`$ onto $`V^{}`$ and $`\pi ^{}(L)`$ the projection of $`L`$ onto $`\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}V^{}`$. Then we have the following lemmas.

###### Lemma 4.3

$$\mathrm{Ann}(\pi ^{}(L^{}))=LV.$$

Proof: In fact, $`v\mathrm{Ann}(\pi ^{}(L^{}))`$ if and only if $`\eta (v)=0,(Z,\eta )L^{}.`$ This is equivalent to say that $`\mathrm{\Omega }(Z)(v)=(1)^{p1}\mathrm{\Omega }(v)(Z)=0,Z\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}P`$. But, $`\mathrm{\Omega }(v)=0`$ means that $`vLV`$. There follows the lemma.

###### Lemma 4.4

$$\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}\left(\pi ^{}(L^{})\right)\pi ^{}(L).$$

Proof: For any $`(Z_1,\eta _1)\mathrm{}(Z_{p1},\eta _{p1})L^{}`$, we have

$$\eta _1\mathrm{}\eta _{p1}{}_{|\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}P}{}^{}=(i_{Z_1}\mathrm{\Omega })\mathrm{}(i_{Z_{p1}}\mathrm{\Omega }).$$

We deduce from the definition of a linear Dirac structure of order $`p`$ the existence of an element $`vP`$ such that $`i_v\mathrm{\Omega }=\eta _1\mathrm{}\eta _{p1}_{|\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}P}`$. Thus $`(v,\eta _1\mathrm{}\eta _{p1})`$ is in $`L`$. There follows the lemma.

Now, we set $`S=\pi ^{}(L^{})`$ and identify $`S^{}`$ with $`V/LV`$. Consider the $`p`$-vector $`\mathrm{\Pi }\mathrm{\Lambda }^pS^{}`$ defined by $`\mathrm{\Pi }(\eta )=Z_{|\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}S}`$, for any $`(Z,\eta )L^{}`$. $`\mathrm{\Pi }`$ is well defined. Indeed, if $`(Z_1,\eta )`$ and $`(Z_2,\eta )`$ are in $`L^{}`$, then $`(Z_1Z_2,0)L^{}`$. Let $`\eta _1,\mathrm{},\eta _{p1}`$ be in $`S`$. There exists $`v`$ in $`P`$ such that $`(v,\eta _1\mathrm{}\eta _{p1})L`$. Thus, $`(Z_1Z_2)(\eta _1\mathrm{}\eta _{p1})=0`$. This shows that $`Z_1=Z_2`$ on $`\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}S`$. Since $`\mathrm{\Pi }`$ is skew-symmetric, we get

$$Z_1(\eta _2)+Z_2(\eta _1)_{|\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p2}S}=0,(Z_1,\eta _1),(Z_2,\eta _2)L^{}.$$

If $`(v,\eta _1\mathrm{}\eta _{p1})L`$, with $`\eta _iS`$, then $`\mathrm{\Pi }(\eta _1\mathrm{}\eta _{p1})=v_{|S}`$. This follows from the fact that, for any $`(Z_p,\eta _p)L^{}`$, we have

$`(\mathrm{\Pi }(\eta _1\mathrm{}\eta _{p1}))(\eta _p)`$ $`=`$ $`(1)^{p1}(\mathrm{\Pi }(\eta _p))(\eta _1\mathrm{}\eta _{p1})`$
$`=`$ $`(1)^{p1}Z_p(\eta _1\mathrm{}\eta _{p1})=v(\eta _p).`$
Furthermore, $`\mathrm{\Pi }`$ has the following property: for any $`\omega _1,\mathrm{},\omega _{p1}\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}S`$, there exists $`\eta S`$ such that

$$\mathrm{\Pi }(\omega _1)\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Pi }(\omega _{p1})=\mathrm{\Pi }(\eta ).$$
$`(^{})`$
In a similar way, one can show that, given any pair $`(S,\mathrm{\Pi })`$ of a subspace $`S`$ of $`V^{}`$ and a $`p`$-vector on $`S`$ that satisfies $`(^{})`$, there corresponds a linear Dirac structure $`(P,\mathrm{\Omega })`$ of order $`p`$ on $`V`$. There follows the result:

###### Proposition 4.5

There is a one-to-one correspondence between linear Dirac structures of order $`p`$ on a real vector space $`V`$ relative to $``$ (with $`2pdimV`$) and the pairs $`(S,\mathrm{\Pi })`$ consisting of a subspace $`SV^{}`$ and a $`p`$-vector $`\mathrm{\Pi }\mathrm{\Lambda }^pS^{}`$ satisfying the property ($`^{}`$).

### 4.3 Higher order Dirac structures on Lie algebroids

Definition. Let $`(E,[,]__E,\varrho )`$ be a Lie algebroid over $`M`$. A Dirac structure of order $`p`$ on $`E`$ is a sub-bundle $`L`$ of $`E\mathrm{\Lambda }^pE^{}`$ which determines a linear Dirac structure of order $`p`$ relative to $``$ at each point and whose sections are closed under the Leibniz bracket $`,__E`$ defined as in (1.1). The fact that $`L`$ determines a linear Dirac structure of order $`p`$ means that there exist a sub-bundle $`P`$ of $`E`$ and a skew-symmetric bilinear form $`\mathrm{\Omega }_L`$ on $`P`$ satisfying ($``$) and such that the fibre of $`L`$ at a point $`xM`$ is

$$L_x=\left\{(X,\alpha )_x\right|X_xP_x\mathrm{and}(\mathrm{\Omega }_L(X))_x=\alpha _{x|_{\mathrm{\Lambda }^{(p1)}P_x}}\}.$$

Observe that if the sections of a sub-bundle $`L`$ of $`E\mathrm{\Lambda }^pE^{}`$ are closed under $`,__E`$ then $`(L,,__E,\varrho _{|L})`$ determines a Leibniz algebroid, where $`\varrho _{|L}(X,\alpha )=\varrho (X)`$ at every point.

Example 2. A Dirac structure of order 2 on $`TM`$ is just a Dirac structure on $`M`$ in the sense of Courant (see \[C\]).

Example 3. Let $`\mathrm{\Pi }`$ be a Nambu-Poisson structure of order $`p2`$ on a Lie algebroid $`E`$. With the notation $`X_{f_1\mathrm{}f_{p1}}=\mathrm{\Pi }(d__Ef_1\mathrm{}d__Ef_{p1})`$, consider

$$L=\mathrm{Span}\{(X_{f_1\mathrm{}f_{p1}},d__Ef_1\mathrm{}d__Ef_{p1})|f_iC^{\mathrm{}}(M)\}.$$

For $`f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1},g_1,\mathrm{},g_{p1}C^{\mathrm{}}(M)`$, we have

$`(X_{f_1\mathrm{}f_{p1}},d__Ef_1\mathrm{}d__Ef_{p1}),(X_{g_1\mathrm{}g_{p1}},d__Eg_1\mathrm{}d__Eg_{p1})__E=`$
$`([X_{f_1\mathrm{}f_{p1}},X_{g_1\mathrm{}g_{p1}}]__E,{\displaystyle \underset{i=1}{\overset{p1}{}}}d__Eg_1\mathrm{}d__E\{f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1},g_i\}__\mathrm{\Pi }\mathrm{}d__Eg_{p1}).`$
Moreover for any $`(X,\alpha )`$ and $`(Y,\beta )\mathrm{\Gamma }(L)`$, $`f,gC^{\mathrm{}}(M)`$,

$$f(X,\alpha ),g(Y,\beta )__E=(fg[X,Y]__E+fd__Eg,XYgd__Ef,YX,\gamma ),$$

where

$$\gamma =fg(_X^^E\beta i_Yd_E\alpha )+fd__Eg,X\beta gd__Ef,Y\alpha +gd__Ef(i_X\beta +i_Y\alpha ).$$

But, one deduces from the fundamental identity that

$$\mathrm{\Pi }(d__Ef(i_X\beta +i_Y\alpha ))=0,$$

for any $`X=X_{f_1\mathrm{}f_{p1}}`$, $`\alpha =d__Ef_1\mathrm{}d__Ef_{p1},`$ $`Y=X_{g_1\mathrm{}g_{p1}}`$, and $`\beta =d__Eg_1\mathrm{}d__Eg_{p1}`$. Therefore, the sections of $`L`$ are closed the bracket $`,__E`$. So, using Proposition 4.5, one sees that $`L`$ determines a Nambu-Poisson structure of order $`p`$ on $`E`$.

Example 4. Let $`M`$ be an $`n`$-dimensional manifold. Recall from \[H\] that an almost Nambu-Dirac structure of order $`p`$ on $`M`$ is a sub-bundle $`LTM\times \mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}T^{}M`$ such that $`\omega _1(X_2)+\omega _2(X_1)_{|\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p2}\pi (L)}=0`$, for any $`(X_1,\omega _1),(X_2,\omega _2)L`$ and $`\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}\pi (L)=\pi (\stackrel{~}{L})`$, where $`\stackrel{~}{L}=\{(Z,\eta )\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}TM\times T^{}M|\omega (Z)+(1)^p\eta (X)=0,(X,\omega )L\}`$, here $`\pi (L)`$ and $`\pi (\stackrel{~}{L})`$ denote the projections from $`L`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{L}`$ onto their first components, respectively. If the sections of $`L`$ are closed under the bracket defined as in (1.1), then $`L`$ is called a Nambu-Dirac structure of order $`p`$ on $`M`$. It is called a strong Nambu-Dirac structure of order $`p`$ on $`M`$ if additionally $`\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}(\pi ^{}(\stackrel{~}{L}))\pi ^{}(L)`$, where $`\pi ^{}(L)`$ and $`\pi ^{}(\stackrel{~}{L})`$ denote the projections from $`L`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{L}`$ onto their second components, respectively. It has been shown in \[H\] that an almost Nambu-Dirac structure of order $`p`$ on $`M`$ induces a skew-symmetric $`p`$-form $`\mathrm{\Omega }_L`$ on $`\pi (L)`$. Any strong Nambu-Dirac structure of order $`p`$ on $`M`$ is a Nambu-Dirac structure of order $`p`$ on the Lie algebroid $`E=TM`$ as defined above.

### 4.4  The Nambu-Poisson Algebra of Admissible Functions

In this section, we give a definition of admissible functions for a Dirac structure of order $`p`$ on a Lie algebroid. Also, we show that, given any arbitrary Dirac structure of order $`p`$ on a Lie algebroid, there exists a Nambu-Poisson bracket defined on the set of admissible functions.

Let $`(E,[,]__E,\varrho )`$ be a Lie algebroid over $`M`$. Consider a sub-bundle $`L`$ of $`E\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p2}E^{}`$. Assume that $`L`$ determines a Dirac structure of order $`p`$ on $`E`$, that is, $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(L)`$ is closed under the bracket $`,__E`$ defined as in (1.1) and there exist a sub-bundle $`P`$ of $`E`$ and a skew-symmetric 2-form $`\mathrm{\Omega }_L`$ on $`P`$ satisfying $`()`$ such that the fibre of $`L`$ at a point $`xM`$ is $`L_x=\left\{(X,\alpha )_x\right|X_xP_x\mathrm{and}(\mathrm{\Omega }_L(X))_x=\alpha _{x|_{\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}P_x}}\}`$. A function $`fC^{\mathrm{}}(M)`$ is said to be $`L`$-admissible if $`d_Ef_{|LE}=0.`$

Now, we denote by $`L^{}`$ the sub-bundle of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}EE^{}`$ whose fibre at a point $`xM`$ is given by:

$$L_x^{}=\left\{(𝐙,\eta )_x\right|(\eta (X)+(1)^p\alpha (𝐙))_x=0,(X,\alpha )_xL_x\}.$$

In view of the above discussion, $`f`$ is $`L`$-admissible if and only if there exists a $`(p1)`$-vector field $`X_f`$ such that $`e_f=(𝐗_f,d_Ef)\mathrm{\Gamma }(L^{})`$. Remark that for a given $`L`$-admissible function $`f`$, $`e_f`$ is unique up to sections of $`L^{}\mathrm{\Lambda }^{p2}E`$. Let $`f_1,\mathrm{},f_pC^{\mathrm{}}(M)`$ be $`L`$-admissible functions. Define

$$\{f_1,\mathrm{},f_p\}=𝐗_{f_1}(d_Ef_2\mathrm{}d_Ef_p)=𝐗_{f_2}(d_Ef_1\mathrm{}d_Ef_p)$$

This skew-symmetric bracket is well defined and is local. The product $`gh`$ of two $`L`$-admissible functions $`g`$ and $`h`$ is $`L`$-admissible since $`(g𝐗_h+h𝐗_g,d_E(gh))`$ becomes a section of $`L^{}`$ when $`e_g=(𝐗_g,d_Eg)`$ and $`e_h=(𝐗_h,d_Eh)`$ are sections of $`\pi (L^{})`$. We have,

$$\{f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1},gh\}=g\{f_1,\mathrm{},f_p,h\}+h\{f_1,\mathrm{},f_p,g\}.$$

Furthermore, we have the following result:

###### Theorem 4.6

Let $`L`$ be a Dirac structure of order $`p`$ on a Lie algebroid $`E`$. Then the set of $`L`$-admissible functions has an induced Nambu-Poisson bracket.

Proof: We only have to prove that the fundamental identity holds. But, this is an consequence of the fact that the sections of $`L`$ are closed under the bracket $`,__E`$. Indeed, if $`f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1},g_1,\mathrm{},g_{p1}`$ are $`L`$-admissible then $`(X_{f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1}},d_Ef_1\mathrm{}d_Ef_{p1})`$ and $`(X_{g_1,\mathrm{},g_{p1}},d_Eg_1\mathrm{}d_Eg_{p1})`$ are sections of $`L`$, where

$$X_{f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1}}=X_{f_1}(d_Ef_2\mathrm{}d_Ef_{p1}).$$

Hence, we have

$$(X_{f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1}},X_{g_1,\mathrm{},g_{p1}}__E,_{X_{f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1}}}^^E(d_Eg_1\mathrm{}d_Eg_{p1}))\mathrm{\Gamma }(L).$$

Since

$$_{X_{f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1}}}^^E\left(d_Eg_1\mathrm{}d_Eg_{p1}\right)=\underset{i=1}{\overset{p1}{}}d_Eg_1\mathrm{}d_E\{f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1},g_i\}\mathrm{}d_Eg_{p1}.$$

We deduce from Equation (1.2) that for any arbitrary $`L`$-admissible function $`h`$, we have

$$d_Eh,X_{f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1}},X_{g_1,\mathrm{},g_{p1}}__E=\underset{i=1}{\overset{p1}{}}\{g_1,\mathrm{},\{f_1,\mathrm{},f_{p1},g_i\},\mathrm{},g_{p1},h\}.$$

There follows immediately the the fundamental identity.

If a sub-bundle $`LE\times \mathrm{\Lambda }^{p1}E^{}`$ determines a Dirac structure of order $`p`$ on $`E`$, then $`\varrho (LE)`$ is an integrable and singular distribution. Let $``$ denote the singular foliation associated with $`\varrho (LE)`$, which is called characteristic foliation of $`L`$. Any $`L`$-admissible function is constant along the leaves of $``$. Assume that the characteristic foliation is simple, that is, $``$ is a regular foliation such that $`M/`$ is a smooth manifold and $`\mathrm{pr}:MM/`$ is a submersion. In this case, $`L`$ is said to be reducible. The set of all $`L`$-admissible functions can be identified with $`C^{\mathrm{}}(M/)`$. Thus, $`M/`$ has a Nambu-Poisson bracket. It would be interesting to get a result analogous to Theorem 3.3 of \[LWX\] by showing that, given an integrable distribution whose foliation $``$ is simple, any Nambu-Poisson structure of order $`p`$ on $`M/`$ gives rise to a reducible Dirac structure of order $`p`$ on $`E`$.

We end this paper by noting that the problem of how to place Nambu-Jacobi manifolds in the setting of Dirac structures is left open. We hope that we will return to this question in the future.

Acknowledgement. I would like to thank J.-C. Marrero and D. Sternheimer for providing me with references and their helpful comments. Thanks go also to J. Stasheff for many stimulating discussions about the Vinogradov bracket during Spring 2001.


format: text

text:
# 1 Introduction

## 1 Introduction

Recently manifolds with exceptional holonomy are receiving much attention. These are $`7`$-dimensional manifolds with $`G_2`$ holonomy and $`8`$-dimensional manifolds with Spin(7) holonomy. They provide interesting compactifications in string theories with minimal spacetime supersymmetry and are described by sigma models. To be consistent string vacua, the supersymmetric sigma models on these manifolds must be described by conformal field theories (CFTs). We can make use of worldsheet CFT techniques to describe the dynamics of these models. As is well-appreciated in the context of Calabi-Yau manifolds, conformal field theories and their chiral algebras are powerful tools to explore string theories. Exactly solvable models provide structural information and are certainly important starting points. Worldsheet description of string theories on these manifolds has been discussed and structures of their extended chiral algebras have been clarified.

Starting with the early work of Shatashvili and Vafa, there have been several papers about features of the superconformal field theories describing strings moving on manifolds with exceptional holonomies. They have derived the extensions of $`𝒩=1`$ superconformal algebras by the tricritical Ising or Ising algebras from free field representations. After their study of the algebras, it becomes a natural problem to look for explicit realizations. Recent works on the subject include constructions of modular invariant partition functions for strings on (non)compact manifolds with special holonomies. Explicit $`G_2`$ manifolds constructed so far are given by certain toroidal orbifolds. Another large class of $`G_2`$ manifolds is supposed to result from anti-holomorphic $`_2`$ quotients of Calabi-Yau manifolds times a circle. Also Spin(7) CFT has been proposed as the $`_2`$ involution of Calabi-Yau four-fold. These classes include models constructed by Joyce.

In this paper we present a new class of exactly solvable superconformal field theories which corresponds to certain point in the moduli space of type II compactification on exceptional holonomy manifolds. We construct modular invariant partition functions of strings compactified on noncompact manifolds with exceptional holonomies. We combine $`𝒩=1`$ Liouville field and $`𝒩=1`$ coset models so that resulting theories possess spacetime supersymmetry. Also we explicitly construct sets of extended chiral currents of these models to realize consistent string theories. The purpose of the paper is to propose new explicit examples of rational conformal field theories with exceptional holonomies.

## 2 Modular invariant partition functions

### 2.1 Partition functions of Spin(7) models

In this subsection, we take, as an ansatz of a Spin(7) conformal field theory, a noncompact $`c=12`$ model described by a coset conformal field theory

$`_\varphi \times {\displaystyle \frac{G\times \mathrm{SO}(n)}{H}}.`$ (2.1)
$`_\varphi `$ is the supersymmetric linear dilaton system containing a free boson $`\varphi `$ and a free fermion $`\psi _\varphi `$. This part has $`𝒩=1`$ superconformal symmetry and associated currents are expressed as the Feigin-Fuchs representation

$`T_L={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}(\varphi )^2{\displaystyle \frac{Q}{2}}^2\varphi {\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\psi _\varphi \psi _\varphi ,G_L=i\psi _\varphi \varphi +iQ\psi _\varphi ,c_L={\displaystyle \frac{3}{2}}+3Q^2.`$ (2.2)
$`Q`$ is the background charge determined by the criticality condition, that is, the total central charge should be $`12`$.

On the other hand, in the coset CFT $`𝒜:=\frac{G\times \mathrm{SO}(n)}{H}`$, $`G`$ is a semi-simple Lie group and $`H`$ is a subgroup of $`G`$ (for the detail of the coset CFT, see  and references there in). When $`n=dimGdimH`$ is satisfied, this coset CFT has $`𝒩=1`$ superconformal symmetry. This condition leads to construct a consistent superstring model. In this subsection we will restrict ourselves to the case $`n=7`$ and study the coset CFT $`𝒜:=\frac{G\times \mathrm{SO}(7)}{H}`$. We shall introduce currents of affine $`G`$ as $`J^A(z),A=1,\mathrm{},dimG`$, and describe the level $`1`$ affine SO(7) algebra by six free fermions $`\psi ^{\overline{a}}(z),\overline{a}=1,\mathrm{},7`$ . Then currents $`\stackrel{~}{J}^a,a=8,\mathrm{},dimG`$ of affine $`H`$ are defined as the subalgebra of affine $`G\times \mathrm{SO}(7)`$ in the form

$`\stackrel{~}{J}^a=J^a+J_\mathrm{f}^a,J_\mathrm{f}^a:={\displaystyle \frac{i}{2}}f_{a\overline{b}\overline{c}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{c}}.`$ (2.3)
$`f_{ABC},A,B,C=1,\mathrm{},dimG`$ is the structure constant of $`G`$. Throughout this subsection, we assume that $`J^a`$’s, $`a=8,\mathrm{},dimG`$ are affine $`H`$ generators. By using these generators of affine algebras, currents of $`𝒩=1`$ superconformal symmetry are constructed by the standard method

$`T_𝒜`$ $`={\displaystyle \frac{1}{k}}\left[J^{\overline{a}}J^{\overline{a}}{\displaystyle \frac{\widehat{k}}{2}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}+if_{a\overline{b}\overline{c}}J^a\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{c}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}f_{\overline{a}\overline{p}\overline{q}}f_{\overline{b}\overline{p}\overline{q}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{4}}f_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{p}}f_{\overline{c}\overline{d}\overline{p}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{c}}\psi ^{\overline{d}}\right],`$
$`G_𝒜`$ $`=\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{2}{k}}}\left[\psi ^{\overline{a}}J^{\overline{a}}{\displaystyle \frac{i}{6}}f_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{c}}\right],c_𝒜={\displaystyle \frac{3\widehat{k}}{2k}}dim(G/H)+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2k}}f_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}}f_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}},`$ (2.4)
where $`\widehat{k}`$ is the level of affine $`G`$, $`k`$ is supersymmetric level defined by $`k:=\widehat{k}+h^{}`$, $`h^{}`$ is the second Casimir of the adjoint representation of $`G`$, defined by $`f_{ACD}f_{BCD}=h^{}\delta _{AB}`$.

The character of the coset CFT can be obtained by branching relations. Let $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ be an integrable highest weight of affine $`G`$ and $`\chi _\mathrm{\Lambda }^G(\tau )`$ be the character of the representation with highest weight $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ . We express the representation of $`\mathrm{SO}(7)`$ by an index $`s=0,1,2`$ which labels basic, spinor and vector representation, respectively. We denote the character of SO(7) in the representation $`s`$ as $`\chi _s^{\mathrm{SO}(7)}(\tau )`$. As for the affine $`H`$, we write the character of the representation with highest weight $`\lambda `$ as $`\chi _\lambda ^H(\tau )`$. With these notations, a module of $`𝒜`$ is labelled by three indices $`\mathrm{\Lambda },s,\lambda `$ and the character $`\chi _{\mathrm{\Lambda },s,\lambda }^𝒜(\tau )`$ of this module is obtained by the branching relation

$`\chi _\mathrm{\Lambda }^G(\tau )\chi _s^{\mathrm{SO}(7)}(\tau )={\displaystyle \underset{\lambda }{}}\chi _{\mathrm{\Lambda },s,\lambda }^𝒜(\tau )\chi _\lambda ^H(\tau ).`$
Now, we consider the type II string theory compactified by the CFT in (2.1). Because we are constructing the Spin(7) CFT, the resulting theory should be supersymmetric in spacetime, but this claim is generally non-trivial. When does this theory have spacetime supersymmetry? We investigate this problem in the following: Let us denote the affine $`H`$ generated by the currents $`J_\mathrm{f}^a`$ in (2.3) by $`\widehat{H}_\mathrm{f}`$. For the existence of spacetime supersymmetry the size of this algebra $`\widehat{H}_\mathrm{f}`$ is crucial. Generally, $`\widehat{H}_\mathrm{f}`$ is a subalgebra of SO(7), but it should be smaller to realize supersymmetry in spacetime. In fact we claim a proposition:

> If $`\widehat{H}_\mathrm{f}G_2`$ , the theory has spacetime supersymmetry.

We will show this by demonstrating the partition function actually vanishes.

Let us first construct the partition function by the method of . When we take the light-cone gauge, the total theory becomes product of two parts $`_\varphi \times 𝒜.`$ Next we introduce the building block $`F_{\mathrm{\Lambda },\lambda }^{\mathrm{Spin}(7)}(\tau )`$ as a combination of characters

$`F_{\mathrm{\Lambda },\lambda }^{\mathrm{Spin}(7)}(\tau )=\chi _{\mathrm{\Lambda },2,\lambda }^𝒜(\tau )\chi _0^{\mathrm{Ising}}(\tau )+\chi _{\mathrm{\Lambda },0,\lambda }^𝒜(\tau )\chi _{1/2}^{\mathrm{Ising}}(\tau )\chi _{\mathrm{\Lambda },1,\lambda }^𝒜(\tau )\chi _{1/16}^{\mathrm{Ising}}(\tau ),`$
where $`\chi _h^{\mathrm{Ising}}(\tau )`$’s with $`h=0,1/16,1/2`$ are characters of Ising model and represent contributions of $`\psi _\varphi `$. With this block, we obtain the total partition function as

$`Z^{\mathrm{Spin}(7)}(\tau ,\overline{\tau })=\left(\sqrt{\mathrm{Im}\tau }|\eta (\tau )|^2\right)^1{\displaystyle \underset{\mathrm{\Lambda },\lambda }{}}\left|F_{\mathrm{\Lambda },\lambda }^{\mathrm{Spin}(7)}(\tau )\right|^2,`$
where $`\left(\sqrt{\mathrm{Im}\tau }|\eta (\tau )|^2\right)^1`$ is the contribution of $`\varphi `$. Also we can show the partition function $`Z^{\mathrm{Spin}(7)}(\tau ,\overline{\tau })`$ vanishes. This is equivalent to $`F_{\mathrm{\Lambda },\lambda }^{\mathrm{Spin}(7)}(\tau )=0`$. Under the assumption $`\widehat{H}_\mathrm{f}G_2`$, $`F_{\mathrm{\Lambda },\lambda }^{\mathrm{Spin}(7)}(\tau )`$ is rewritten as the form

$`F_{\mathrm{\Lambda },\lambda }^{\mathrm{Spin}(7)}`$ $`={\displaystyle \underset{a=0,1}{}}\xi _a^{G_2}(\tau )\chi _{\mathrm{\Lambda },a,\lambda }^{G\times G_2/H}(\tau ).`$ (2.5)
Here $`\chi _{\mathrm{\Lambda },a,\lambda }^{G\times G_2/H}`$’s are characters of the coset model $`G\times G_2/H`$ defined by the branching relation of affine $`G_2`$ characters $`\chi _a^{G_2}`$’s

$`\chi _\mathrm{\Lambda }^G(\tau )\chi _a^{G_2}(\tau )={\displaystyle \underset{\lambda }{}}\chi _{\mathrm{\Lambda },a,\lambda }^{G\times G_2/H}(\tau )\chi _\lambda ^H(\tau ).`$
On the other hand $`\xi _a^{G_2}`$’s $`(a=0,1)`$ are defined by characters $`\chi _h^{\mathrm{Tri}}(\tau )`$ of tri-critical Ising model with $`h=0,3/2,7/16,3/5,1/10,3/80`$

$`\xi _0^{G_2}(\tau ):=\chi _{1/2}^{\mathrm{Ising}}(\tau )\chi _0^{\mathrm{Tri}}(\tau )+\chi _0^{\mathrm{Ising}}(\tau )\chi _{3/2}^{\mathrm{Tri}}(\tau )\chi _{1/16}^{\mathrm{Ising}}(\tau )\chi _{7/16}^{\mathrm{Tri}}(\tau )0,`$
$`\xi _1^{G_2}(\tau ):=\chi _{1/2}^{\mathrm{Ising}}(\tau )\chi _{3/5}^{\mathrm{Tri}}(\tau )+\chi _0^{\mathrm{Ising}}(\tau )\chi _{1/10}^{\mathrm{Tri}}(\tau )\chi _{1/16}^{\mathrm{Ising}}(\tau )\chi _{3/80}^{\mathrm{Tri}}(\tau )0.`$ (2.6)
Actually these vanish identically. It shows that $`F_{\mathrm{\Lambda },\lambda }^{\mathrm{Spin}(7)}(\tau )0`$ and guarantees the spacetime supersymmetry.

We make a remark here: Eqs.(2.6) have typically appeared in the partition functions of $`G_2`$ compactifications. Though we consider the Spin(7) compactifications, our models contain these factors. This fact is related to singularities of our models and enhanced spacetime superconformal symmetry appears in their dual models as indicated in .

A simple example of this type is realized with $`G=\mathrm{SO}(7)`$ and $`H=G_2`$. The model proposed in  is the special case of this example with restriction $`\widehat{k}=0`$ .

### 2.2 Partition functions of $`G_2`$ models

Let us turn to the $`G_2`$ compactifications using linear dilation system and coset CFT. We take the light-cone gauge and consider the transverse theory

$`\times _\varphi \times {\displaystyle \frac{G\times \mathrm{SO}(6)}{H}},`$
with $`dimGdimH=6`$ . The character of $`:=\frac{G\times \mathrm{SO}(6)}{H}`$ is evaluated by the branching relation

$`\chi _\mathrm{\Lambda }^G(\tau )\chi _s^{\mathrm{SO}(6)}(\tau )={\displaystyle \underset{\lambda }{}}\chi _{\mathrm{\Lambda },s,\lambda }^{}(\tau )\chi _\lambda ^H(\tau ),`$
where the index $`s=0,1,2,3`$ represents the affine SO(6) representation and each $`\chi _s^{\mathrm{SO}(6)}`$ is the character of affine SO(6). Other notations are the same as the Spin(7) case. We introduce a set of building blocks $`F_{\mathrm{\Lambda },\lambda }^{G_2}`$ as a combination of characters

$`F_{\mathrm{\Lambda },\lambda }^{G_2}(\tau )=\chi _{\mathrm{\Lambda },2,\lambda }^{}(\tau )\chi _0^{\mathrm{SO}(2)}(\tau )+\chi _{\mathrm{\Lambda },0,\lambda }^{}(\tau )\chi _2^{\mathrm{SO}(2)}(\tau )\chi _{\mathrm{\Lambda },1,\lambda }^{}(\tau )\chi _1^{\mathrm{SO}(2)}(\tau )\chi _{\mathrm{\Lambda },3,\lambda }^{}(\tau )\chi _3^{\mathrm{SO}(2)}(\tau ).`$
$`\chi _s^{\mathrm{SO}(2)}`$ is the character of affine $`\mathrm{SO}(2)`$ and has contributions of $`\psi _\varphi `$ and the free fermion in the transverse direction in spacetime. By using this building block, we can obtain the partition function as

$`Z^{G_2}(\tau ,\overline{\tau })=(\sqrt{\mathrm{Im}\tau }|\eta (\tau )|^2)^2{\displaystyle \underset{\mathrm{\Lambda },\lambda }{}}|F_{\mathrm{\Lambda },\lambda }^{G_2}(\tau )|^2.`$
The factor $`(\sqrt{\mathrm{Im}\tau }|\eta (\tau )|^2)^2`$ represents contributions of $`\varphi `$ and a spacetime boson in $`1`$ dimensional transverse direction.

As for the spacetime supersymmetry in this compactification, we claim the proposition:

> If $`\widehat{H}_\mathrm{f}\mathrm{SU}(3)`$, this theory has supersymmetry in spacetime.

Actually, when $`\widehat{H}_\mathrm{f}\mathrm{SU}(3)`$ the block $`F_{\mathrm{\Lambda },\lambda }^{G_2}(\tau )`$ can be rewritten by using the characters $`\chi _{\mathrm{\Lambda },a,\lambda }^{G\times \mathrm{SU}(3)/H}`$’s of the coset $`G\times \mathrm{SU}(3)/H`$,

$`F_{\mathrm{\Lambda },\lambda }^{G_2}(\tau )={\displaystyle \underset{a=1,0,1}{}}\xi _a^{\mathrm{SU}(3)}(\tau )\chi _{\mathrm{\Lambda },a,\lambda }^{G\times \mathrm{SU}(3)/H}(\tau ).`$
$`\xi _a^{\mathrm{SU}(3)}`$’s are functions constructed from SU(2) classical theta functions $`\mathrm{\Theta }_{m,k}`$’s

$`\xi _a^{\mathrm{SU}(3)}(\tau )={\displaystyle \frac{1}{\eta (\tau )^2}}{\displaystyle \underset{s_4}{}}(1)^s\mathrm{\Theta }_{6+4a3s,6}(\tau )\mathrm{\Theta }_{s,2}(\tau )0.`$ (2.7)
We can show this set of functions vanishes identically. The most simple example is illustrated with $`G=\mathrm{SU}(2)\times \mathrm{SU}(2)\times \mathrm{SU}(2)`$ and $`H=\mathrm{SU}(2)`$. A series of models in  is included in this example. Another typical example is realized with $`G=G_2`$ and H=SU(3).

## 3 Currents of the extended algebras

### 3.1 Currents of Spin(7) CFT algebra

In this subsection, we will study currents of extended superconformal algebra associated with $`8`$ dimensional Spin(7) manifold. The extended symmetry algebra has been found in paper . In addition to a set of $`𝒩=1`$ superconformal currents $`(T,G)`$, it contains operators $`(\stackrel{~}{X},\stackrel{~}{M})`$ with spins $`(2,3/2)`$. $`\stackrel{~}{X}`$ is the energy momentum tensor for the $`c=1/2`$ model.

We construct these currents in our coset models discussed in section 2.1. The super-stress tensor $`T`$ and $`G`$ are given as sums of $`𝒩=1`$ Liouville parts $`T_L`$, $`G_L`$ and coset parts $`T_𝒜`$, $`G_𝒜`$ associated to $`𝒜=\frac{G\times SO(7)}{H}`$ with $`dimGdimH=7`$

$`T=T_L+T_𝒜,G=G_L+G_𝒜.`$
Their explicit formulae are expressed in Eqs.(2.2)(2.4). Next we propose that the current $`\stackrel{~}{X}`$ is simply given by combining fermionic fields of Liouville and coset theories

$`\stackrel{~}{X}={\displaystyle \frac{1}{6}}\mathrm{\Phi }_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{c}}\psi _\varphi +{\displaystyle \frac{1}{24}}\mathrm{\Phi }_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}\overline{d}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{c}}\psi ^{\overline{d}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\psi _\varphi \psi _\varphi ,\overline{a},\overline{b},\mathrm{}=1,\mathrm{},7.`$ (3.1)
In this equation, we use the structure constants of the octonion $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}}`$ and its hodge dual $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}\overline{d}}:=\frac{1}{6}ϵ_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}\overline{d}\overline{e}\overline{f}\overline{g}}\mathrm{\Phi }_{\overline{e}\overline{f}\overline{g}}`$. The form of $`\stackrel{~}{X}`$ in Eq.(3.1) satisfies the following consistency conditions:

* When $`\widehat{H}_\mathrm{f}G_2`$, $`\stackrel{~}{X}`$ is actually an operator in the coset theory $`𝒜`$, that is, the condition $`\stackrel{~}{J}^a(w)\stackrel{~}{X}(z)\text{(regular)}`$ is satisfied.
* $`\stackrel{~}{X}`$ itself has the OPE of the stress tensor in the critical Ising model. The appearance of this statistical model is essential in the reduction of holonomy from $`SO(8)`$ to Spin(7) through a relation $`SO(8)`$/Spin(7) $``$ (Ising model).

The remaining current $`\stackrel{~}{M}`$ is obtained by the OPE $`G(z)\stackrel{~}{X}(w)\frac{G(w)/2}{(zw)^2}+\frac{\stackrel{~}{M}(w)}{zw}`$ as

$`\stackrel{~}{M}={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{2}{k}}}[`$ $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}}J^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{c}}\psi _\varphi +{\displaystyle \frac{1}{3}}\mathrm{\Phi }_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}\overline{d}}J^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{c}}\psi ^{\overline{d}}J^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}+J^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}`$
$`+{\displaystyle \frac{i}{2}}f_{\overline{p}\overline{a}\overline{b}}\mathrm{\Phi }_{\overline{p}\overline{c}\overline{d}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{c}}\psi ^{\overline{d}}\psi _\varphi if_{\overline{p}\overline{q}\overline{a}}\mathrm{\Phi }_{\overline{p}\overline{q}\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi _\varphi {\displaystyle \frac{i}{6}}f_{\overline{p}\overline{a}\overline{b}}\mathrm{\Phi }_{\overline{p}\overline{c}\overline{d}\overline{e}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{c}}\psi ^{\overline{d}}\psi ^{\overline{e}}`$
$`+{\displaystyle \frac{i}{2}}(f_{\overline{p}\overline{q}\overline{a}}\mathrm{\Phi }_{\overline{p}\overline{q}\overline{b}\overline{c}}f_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}})\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{c}}]+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{6}}\mathrm{\Phi }_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{c}}i\varphi {\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\psi _\varphi i\varphi +{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\psi _\varphi i^2\varphi .`$ (3.2)
We have checked that these currents $`(T,G,\stackrel{~}{X},\stackrel{~}{M})`$ actually satisfy the Spin(7) CFT algebra for the example with $`G=\mathrm{SO}(7)`$ and $`H=G_2`$. For general coset cases with $`\widehat{H}_\mathrm{f}G_2`$, we propose that the set of these currents also satisfies the Spin(7) CFT algebra as a conjecture.

### 3.2 Currents of $`G_2`$ CFT algebra

We take a seven manifold with a $`G_2`$ holonomy. The $`G_2`$ structure on this manifold is given by a closed $`G_2`$ invariant $`3`$-form $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$. By including this operator, an extended algebra has been constructed in the paper . In addition to a set of stress tensor $`T`$ and its superpartner $`G`$, the algebra contains sets of chiral currents $`(K,\mathrm{\Phi })`$ with spins $`(2,3/2)`$ and $`(X,M)`$ with spins $`(2,5/2)`$. The $`X`$ is related with a dual $`4`$-form $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ and $`(X,\mathrm{\Phi })`$ is a set of currents of $`𝒩=1`$ additional superconformal algebra. The extra conformal algebra is isomorphic to the algebra of the tricritical Ising model with central charge $`7/10`$ and plays an essential role in the reduction of holonomy of the manifold from $`SO(7)`$ to $`G_2`$ through a relation $`SO(7)/G_2`$ (Tricritical Ising).

In this subsection, we construct these currents in the coset $`G_2`$ model discussed in section 2.2. First the set of currents $`(T,G)`$ is constructed as combinations of Liouville parts $`T_L`$, $`G_L`$ and coset parts $`T_{}`$, $`G_{}`$ associated with $`=\frac{G\times SO(6)}{H}`$ ($`dimGdimH=6`$)

$`T=T_L+T_{},G=G_L+G_{}.`$
Next we take the current $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ as a combination of a Liouville fermion and fermionic fields of the coset model

$`\mathrm{\Phi }={\displaystyle \frac{1}{6}}A_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{c}}+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}H_{\overline{a}\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi _\varphi .`$
Other currents $`X`$, $`K`$, $`M`$ are constructed by the OPEs $`\mathrm{\Phi }(z)\mathrm{\Phi }(w)\frac{7}{(zw)^3}+\frac{6}{zw}X(w)`$, $`G(z)\mathrm{\Phi }(w)\frac{1}{zw}K(w)`$, $`G(z)X(w)\frac{1}{2}\frac{1}{(zw)^2}G(w)+\frac{1}{zw}M(w)`$ respectively

$`X={\displaystyle \frac{1}{24}}H_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}\overline{d}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{c}}\psi ^{\overline{d}}+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{6}}A_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{c}}\psi _\varphi +{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\psi _\varphi \psi _\varphi ,`$
$`K={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{2}{k}}}[A_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}}J^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{c}}+2H_{\overline{a}\overline{b}}J^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi _\varphi {\displaystyle \frac{i}{2}}f_{\overline{p}\overline{a}\overline{b}}A_{\overline{p}\overline{c}\overline{d}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{c}}\psi ^{\overline{d}}`$
$`+if_{\overline{p}\overline{q}\overline{a}}A_{\overline{p}\overline{q}\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}if_{\overline{p}\overline{a}\overline{b}}H_{\overline{p}\overline{c}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{c}}\psi _\varphi +if_{\overline{p}\overline{q}\overline{a}}H_{\overline{p}\overline{q}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi _\varphi ]+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}H_{\overline{a}\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}i\varphi ,`$
$`M={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{2}{k}}}[A_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}}J^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{c}}\psi _\varphi {\displaystyle \frac{1}{3}}H_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}\overline{d}}J^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{c}}\psi ^{\overline{d}}+J^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}J^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}`$
$`{\displaystyle \frac{i}{2}}f_{\overline{p}\overline{a}\overline{b}}A_{\overline{p}\overline{c}\overline{d}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{c}}\psi ^{\overline{d}}\psi _\varphi +if_{\overline{p}\overline{q}\overline{a}}A_{\overline{p}\overline{q}\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi _\varphi +{\displaystyle \frac{i}{6}}f_{\overline{p}\overline{a}\overline{b}}H_{\overline{p}\overline{c}\overline{d}\overline{e}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{c}}\psi ^{\overline{d}}\psi ^{\overline{e}}`$
$`+{\displaystyle \frac{i}{2}}(f_{\overline{p}\overline{q}\overline{a}}H_{\overline{p}\overline{q}\overline{b}\overline{c}}+f_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}})\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{c}}]+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\psi _\varphi i\varphi {\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\psi _\varphi i^2\varphi {\displaystyle \frac{1}{6}}A_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}}\psi ^{\overline{a}}\psi ^{\overline{b}}\psi ^{\overline{c}}i\varphi ,`$
$`\overline{a},\overline{b},\mathrm{}=1,\mathrm{},6.`$
Here we used notations

$`A_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}}:=\mathrm{\Phi }_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}},H_{\overline{a}\overline{b}}:=\mathrm{\Phi }_{\overline{a}\overline{b}7},A_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}}:={\displaystyle \frac{1}{6}}ϵ_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}\overline{d}\overline{e}\overline{f}}A_{\overline{d}\overline{e}\overline{f}},H_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}\overline{d}}:={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}ϵ_{\overline{a}\overline{b}\overline{c}\overline{d}\overline{e}\overline{f}}H_{\overline{e}\overline{f}}.`$
For general coset cases, we propose that these currents satisfy the full $`G_2`$ CFT algebra as a conjecture when $`\widehat{H}_\mathrm{f}\mathrm{SU}(3)`$ is satisfied.

## 4 Conclusion

In this paper, we construct the Spin(7) and $`G_2`$ CFTs combining $`𝒩=1`$ Liouville and supersymmetric coset models. It provides a new class of exactly solvable superconformal field theories that corresponds to type II strings compactified on exceptional holonomy manifolds.

We construct modular invariant partition functions. It is shown that they vanish and we make sure that the resulting theories possess spacetime supersymmetry. These noncompact models include factors $`\xi _a^{G_2}`$, $`\xi _a^{SU(3)}`$ in partition functions as if the models have twice as mamy supersymmetry as expected. When the target manifolds become singular, their dual field theories become interacting superconformal field theories. It suggests the “holographic dual” theories of these string models are superconformal as indicated in  and extra supercharges correspond to superconformal $`S`$ generators in the dual theories. It is interesting to apply present approach to investigation of properties in dual field theories.

We also explicitly construct the sets of the Spin(7) and $`G_2`$ CFT currents in our models to realize consistent string theories. Among the class of the models considered in subsections 2.1 and 3.1, $`_\varphi \times (SO(7)\times SO(7))/G_2`$ is the most typical example. For $`G_2`$ holonomy case, $`_\varphi \times (G_2\times SO(6))/SU(3)`$ is possible in our coset construction. We will make a remark here: In our paper we mainly discuss exceptional holonomy cases and investigate their coset construction in noncompact models. But our construction is not restricted to these exceptional holonomy manifolds. It is also applicable to other special holonomy cases. For example, we can propose $`_\varphi \times (SU(3)\times SO(5))/SU(2)`$, $`_\varphi \times (SU(2)\times SO(3))`$ respectively as SU(3), SU(2) holonomy models. By considering a string of reduction of holonomies, we can show a cascade of special holonomy groups. Typically it appears in these four cases. Their fermionic parts are described by $`SO`$ groups. When the holonomies are reduced, the dimensions of manifolds decrease and the $`SO`$ group parts are changed gradually as $`SO(7)SO(6)SO(5)SO(3)`$. On the other hand, bosonic parts of these cosets are transformed as $`SO(7)/G_2G_2/SU(3)SU(3)/SU(2)SU(2)`$. It represents a string of statistical models indicated in , $`SO(7)/G_2`$(Tricritical Ising), $`G_2/SU(3)`$(3-state Potts), $`SU(3)/SU(2)U(1)`$ and their central charges increase. In these models holonomies are actually reduced as Spin(7) $`G_2SU(3)SU(2)`$. It is an interesting problem to study these strings based on sigma models or gauged WZW models that have an explicit picture of target space geometries.

### Acknowledgement

We would like to thank Tohru Eguchi, Yuji Sugawara and Christian Römelsberger for useful discussions and comments.

The work of K.S. is supported in part by the Grant-in-Aid from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture of Japan (#14740115). The work of S.Y. is supported in part by Soryushi Shogakukai.