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De Rham model for string topology
S.A. Merkulov
0. Introduction. Let M be a simply connected closed oriented n-dimensional manifold,
and LM := Map
C
(S
1
, M) the associated free loop space. String topology of Chas and Sul-
livan [CS] deals with an ample family of algebraic operations on the ordinary and equivariant
homologies of LM, the most important being a graded commutative associative product,
: H
p
(LM) H
q
(LM) H
p+q
(LM),
on the shifted ordinary homology
1
, H

(LM) := H
+n
(LM). The product is compatible with
(in general, non-commutative) Pontrjagin product,
: H
p
(M) H
q
(M) H
p+q
(M),
in the homology of the subspace, M, of LM consisting of loops based at some xed point in
M, and the same product is also an extension of the classical intersection product in H

(M):
the natural chain of linear maps
(H

(M), )
constant
loops
(H

(LM), )
intersection with
the subspace M
(H

(M), )
is a chain of homomorphisms of algebras.
Let (
M
=

n
i=0

i
M
, d) be the De Rham dierential graded (dg, for short) algebra of M.
With the help of simplicial techniques it was established in [J] that
H

(LM) = Ext

op
M
(
M
,

M
) , ()
i.e. that morphisms in the derived category, D(
M
), of
M
-bimodules between the two objects,

M
and its dual

M
:= Hom
R
(
M
, R), have a nice free loop space interpretation. As M is
closed oriented, the Poincare duality asserts that

M
and
M
[n] are isomorphic in D(
M
) so
that () can be rewritten equivalently as
H

(LM) = Ext

op
M
(
M
,
M
) .
Moreover, as it was shown in [CJ, C] using ring spectra and simplicial methods, the latter
isomorphism is actually an isomorphism of algebras,
(H

(LM), ) =
_
Ext

op
M
(
M
,
M
) , Yoneda product
_
, ()
1
In this paper all homologies are assumed to be over R.
1
i.e. the Chas-Sullivan product is the same thing as the composition in the endomorphism ring of
the object
M
in the derived category of
M
-bimodules. The isomorphism () was also studied
in the thesis of Tradler [Tr].
This paper oers new geometrically transparent (and down-to-earth) proofs of the string
topology main theorems which are based on the theory of iterated integrals [Ch]. In particular,
the isomorphism () gets incarnated as the holonomy map. Which combined with the Thom
class of M explains why () is an isomorphism of algebras. As a by-product, the resulting
De Rham model for string topology provides us with new algorithms for computing both the
free loop space homology and the Chas-Sullivan product; see also [CJY, FTV, R] for other
approaches.
In fact, our approach to string topology easily generalizes to its brane version. Let
f : Z M be a smooth map from a compact oriented p-dimensional manifold to a compact
simply connected manifold M, and let L
f
be dened by the associated pullback diagram,
L
f

LM

Z
f

M .
The shifted homology, H

(L
f
) := H
+p
(L
f
), is naturally an associative (but, in general, non-
commutative) algebra with respect to the obvious analogue, , of the Chas-Sullivan product.
If Z is a point, then L
f
M and (H

(L
f
), ) = (H

(M), ). Chen [Ch] has found a nice

model for the algebra (H

(M), ) as the homology of the free dierential algebra (R[X], ),

where R[X] :=

(M)[1] is the tensor algebra generated by the reduced homology (with

shifted degree) of M and is a dierential on R[X] which can be computed by a certain iterative
procedure (see Lemma 2.1 below). In this paper we generalize Chens model of (H

(M), ) to
the case of the Chas-Sullivan algebra, (H

(L
f
), ), for an arbitrary smooth map f : Z M.
More precisely, we establish two isomorphisms of algebras,
(H

(L
f
), ) = (
Z
R[X], d
f
) ,
and
(
Z
R[X], d
f
) = (Hoch

(
M
,
Z
) , Hochschild product) ,
where
Z
is the De Rham algebra of Z and d
f
is a certain twisting of the natural dierential
d + on
Z
R[X]. In the case f = Id : M M the above two results imply (). In the
case f : point M the same results reproduce the Chen model for the homology algebra of the
based loop space.
The paper is organized as follows: In Sections 1 and 2 we review basic facts of Chens theory
of iterated integrals and of a formal power series connection. In Section 3 we use the latter to
give a suitable model for the Hochschild cohomology of a dg algebra with nite dimensional
cohomology and then illustrate its work in two standard examples. In Section 4 we use the
theory of iterated integrals to give a new proof of the isomorphism theorem (). The sections
6-10 are devoted to a new proof of the isomorphism of algebras theorem (). In the nal section
11 we discuss the de Rham model for the string topology on a brane f : Z M.
2
1. Iterated integrals. Let M be a smooth n-dimensional manifold and PM the space of
piecewise smooth paths : [0, 1] M. For each simplex, k = 0, 1, 2, . . . ,

k
:=
_
(t
1
, . . . , t
k
) R
k
| 0 t
1
t
2
. . . t
k
1
_
,
consider a diagram,
PM
k
ev
k

M
k+2
PM
where p is just the projection on the rst factor and ev
k
is the evaluation map,
ev
k
: PM
k
M
k+2
(t
1
, . . . , t
k
) ((0), (t
1
), . . . , (t
k
), (1)).
According to Chen [Ch], the space of iterated integrals, Ch(PM), on PM is a subspace of
the de Rham space,
PM
, of smooth dierential forms on PM. By denition, Ch(PM) is the
image of the following composition of pull-back and push-forward maps,

k=0
p

ev

k
:

k=0

M

k
M

M

PM
.
Chen reserved a special symbol,
_
w
1
w
2
. . . w
k
:= p

ev

k
(1 w
1
w
2
. . . w
k
1),
for the restriction of p

ev

k
to the subspace 1
k
M
1
M

k
M

M
. The latter is a
dierential form on PM of degree |w
1
|+. . . +|w
k
|k where |w
i
| stands for the degree of the form
w
i

M
, i = 1, . . . , k. If we denote the composition of ev
k
with the projection, M
k+2
M, to
the rst (respectively, last) factor by
0
(respectively,
1
), then we can write,
Ch(PM) = span
_

0
w
0

_
w
1
w
2
. . . w
k

1
w
k+1
_
,
where {w
i
}
0ik+1
are arbitrary dierential forms on M.
The Stokes theorem,
dp

= p

d + p

k ,
implies [Ch]
d
_
w
1
w
2
. . . w
k
=
k

i=1
(1)
|w
1
|+...+|w
i1
|i
_
w
1
. . . dw
i
. . . w
k

k1

i=1
(1)
|w
1
|+...+|w
i
|i
_
w
1
. . . (w
i
w
i+1
) . . . w
k

0
w
1

_
w
2
. . . w
k
+(1)
|w
1
|+...+|w
k1
|k+1
_
w
1
. . . w
k1

1
w
k
.
3
The wedge product of iterated integrals is again an iterated integral [Ch],
_
w
1
. . . w
k

_
w
k+1
. . . w
k+l
=

Sh(k,l)
(1)

_
w
(1)
w
(2)
. . . w
(k+l)
,
where the summation goes over the set, Sh(k, l), of all shue permutations of type (k, l), and
(1)

is the Koszul sign computed as usually but with the assumption that the symbols w
i
have
shifted degree |w
i
| + 1.
This all means that Ch(PM) is a dg subalgebra of the de Rham algebra
PM
. In fact, this
subalgebra (together with variants, Ch(LM) := Ch(PM) |
LM
and Ch(M) := Ch(PM) |
M
)
encodes much of the essential information about the free path space PM and its more important
subspaces, LM and M, of free loops and based loops respectively:
1.1. Fact [Ch]. If M is simply connected, then the cohomology of Ch(M) (respectively,
Ch(LM)) equals the de Rham cohomology H

(M) (respectively, H

(LM)).
2. Formal power series connection and holonomy map. Let (A, d) be a unital
dg algebra over a eld k with nite dimensional cohomology, say dimH

(A) = n + 1. Let
{[1], [e
i
]}
1in
be a homogeneous basis of the graded vector space H

(A), and {1

, x
i
}
1in
the associated dual basis of the shifted dual vector space Hom
k
(H

(A), k)[1]. Let kX :=

kx
1
, . . . , x
n
be the free graded associative algebra generated by non-commutative
2
indeter-
minates x
1
, . . . , x
n
, and kX := kx
1
, . . . , x
n
its formal completion. Finally, let {e
i
} be
arbitrary lifts of the cohomology classes {[e
i
]} to cycles in A.
2.1. Lemma [Ch]. There exists a degree one element in the algebra A kX and a
degree one dierential, , of the algebra kX such that
I I
2
, where I is the maximal ideal in kX;
mod AI
2
=

n
i=1
e
i
x
i
;
the Maurer-Cartan equation,
d + + = 0,
is satised.
The proof goes by induction in the tensor powers of I (cf. [Ch, H]).
2.2. Remark. If (A, d) is a non-negatively graded connected and simply connected (i.e.
H
0
(A, d) = k and H
1
(A, d) = 0) dierential algebra, then the above result holds true with
A kX A kX. This case is of major interest to us as it covers the particular
example when A is the De Rham algebra
M
of a connected and simply connected compact
manifold. A geometric signicance of the dierential for A =
M
was discovered by Chen in
the following beautiful
2.3. Fact [Ch]. Let M be a compact simply connected manifold. Then there is a canonical
isomorphism of algebras,
(H

(M), Pontrjagin product ) = H

(RX, ).
2
As opposite to kx1, . . . , xn, the free graded commutative associative algebra generated by homogeneous
indereterminants x1, . . . , xn will be denoted by k[x1, . . . , xn].
4
Chens proof of this statement employs the notion of the holonomy map,
Hol : (C

(M), ) (RX, )
simplex :
k
M (1)
||
_

(T),
from the complex of (negatively graded) smooth singular chains in the based loop space M
to the complex (RX, ). The centerpiece is the restriction to M of the degree zero element,
T
PM
kx
1
, . . . , x
n
, given by the following iterated integral
T := 1 +
_
+
_
+
_
+ . . . .
This element is called the transport of a formal power series connection from Lemma 2.1, and
has two useful properties [Ch]:
dT +T +

0
() T T

1
() = 0, and
given any two smooth simplices,
1
:
k
PM and
2
:
l
PM, such that for any
v
k
, w
l
the path
2
(w) begins where the path
1
(v) ends (so that the Pontrjagin
product
1

2
:
k

l
PM makes sense), then
_

l
(
1

2
)

(T) =
_

1
(T)
_

2
(T).
As T restricted to M satises dT = T, it is now obvious that Hol : (C

(M), )
(RX, ) is a morphism of dg algebras. Some extra work involving Adams cobar construction
shows that Hol is a quasi-isomorphism; see [Ch] for details.
2.4. Remark. The dual of the nitely generated dg algebra (kX, ) is a dg coalgebra,
i.e. an A

-structure on the vector space H

(A). The latter is precisely a cominimal

3
model
for the original dg algebra (A, d) and Chens formal power series connection A kX is
nothing but an A

morphism
(H

(A), cominimal A

structure) (A, d).

Thus Chens Lemma 2.1 is tantamount to saying that the cohomology, if nite dimensional,
of a dg k-algebra has an induced structure of an A

-algebra. A fact proved later in greater

generality and independently by Kadeishvili [K].
2.5. Remark. A formal power series connection as described in Lemma 2.1 is not
canonical but depends on a number of choices. There is, however, a canonical object underlying
this power series which is best described using the language of non-commutative dierential
geometry.
First we replace the pair (kx
1
, . . . , x
n
, ) by a germ of the n-dimensional formal non-
commutative smooth graded manifold X equipped with a degree one smooth vector eld .
3
An A structure on a vector space V , that is a codierential Q of the free coalgebra

V [1], is called
cominimal if the restriction of Q to the linear bit V [1]

V [1] vanishes. Any A algebra over a eld of

characteristic zero can be represented as a direct sum of a cominimal and a contractible ones, the former being
determined uniquely up to an isomorphism.
5
This means essentially that we enlarge the automorphism group of (kx
1
, . . . , x
n
, ) from
GL(n, k) (a change of basis x
i

a
ij
x
j
in H(A)[1]

) to arbitrary formal dieomorphisms

(x
i

a
ij
x
j
+ a
ijk
x
j
x
k
+ . . . ), i.e. we forget the at structure in H(A)[1]

.
Next we observe that denes a at connection,

+ d + , along the vector eld

in the trivial bundle over X with typical bre A. It is this at -connection

which is dened
canonically and invariantly. Chens formal power series is nothing but a representative of

in a particular coordinate chart (x

1
, . . . , x
n
) on X.
This whole paper (more precisely, everything starting with Theorem 3.1 below) should have
been written using the geometric language of at -connections
4

on the non-commutative
dg manifold (X, ). After some hesitation we decided not to do it and work throughout in
a particular coordinate patch (x
1
, . . . , x
n
); this makes our formulae more transparent but at a
price of using a non-canonical, a choice of coordinates dependent object . Of course, ultimately
nothing depends on that choice.
3. A model for Hochschild cohomology. Let (A, d) be a unital dg k-algebra with nite
dimensional cohomology. Lemma 2.1 says that there is a canonical (see the remark just above)
deformation, d + + , of the dierential d in AkX. We shall need below its Lie bracket
version,
d

a := da +a + [, a], a AkX.
Clearly, the Maurer-Cartan equation implies d
2

= 0. If (M, d) is a dg bi-module over (A, d),

then formally the same expression as above denes a dierential d
M

in M kX.
The following result should be well-known though the author was not able to trace a
reference.
3.1. Theorem. (i) The Hochschild cohomology Hoch

(A, A) is canonically isomorphic as

an associative algebra to the cohomology H

(A kX, d

).
(ii) The Hochschild cohomology Hoch

(A, M) is canonically isomorphic as

a vector space to the cohomology H

(M kX, d
M

).
Proof. We show the proof of (i) only (the proof of statement (ii) is analogous). The idea
is simple: we shall construct a continuous morphism of topological dg algebras,
_
C

(A, A) :=
n1
Hom
k
(A
n
, A)[n],
Hoch
, d
Hoch
_
(AkX, product product, d

) ,
which induces an isomorphism in cohomology.
Usually C

(A, A) gets identied with the vector space of coderivations of the bar construc-
tion on A as it nicely exposes the dg Lie algebra structure. We are interested, however, in the
dg associative algebra structure on C

(A, A) and thus have to look for something else.

Let A
1
and A
2
be A

-algebras, that is, a pair of co-free codierential coalgebras

(B(A
1
), , Q
1
) and (B(A
2
), , Q
2
), where B stands for the bar construction,
B(A
i
) :=

n1
(A
i
[1])
n
,
4
Let (X, ) be a smooth dg manifold, that is, a graded manifold X equipped with a degree one smooth vector
eld such that [, ] = 0. Let E be a vector bundle over X which we understand as a locally free sheaf of
OX-modules, OX being the structure sheaf on X. An -connection on E is a linear map

: E E such that

(fe) = (1)
|f|
f

(e) + (f)e for any f OX, e E. It is called at if

2

= 0.
6
for the coproduct,
: B(A
i
) B(A
i
) B(A
i
)
[a
1
|a
2
| . . . |a
n
]

n1
k=1
[a
1
, . . . , a
k
] [a
k+1
| . . . |a
n
],
and Q
i
: B(A
i
) B(A
i
) for a degree 1 coderivation of (B(A
i
), ) satisfying the equation
Q
2
i
= 0. For example, if, say, A
2
is just a dg algebra (which we now assume from now on)
with the dierential d : A
2
A
2
and the product
2
: A
2
A
2
A
2
, then the associated
codierential is given by
Q
2
[a
1
|a
2
| . . . |a
n
] :=
n

k=1
(1)
|a
1
|+...+|a
k1
|k
[a
1
| . . . |da
k
| . . . |a
n
]

n1

k=1
(1)
|a
1
|+...+|a
k
|k
[a
1
| . . . |
2
(a
k
, a
k+1
)| . . . |a
n
].
The vector space of all coalgebra maps,
Comap(A
1
, A
2
) := Hom
Coalg
(B(A
1
), B(A
2
)),
is naturally isomorphic to Hom
k
(B(A
1
), A
2
[1]) =
n1
Hom
k
(A
n
1
, A
2
)[1 n]. Then one can
turn Comap(A
1
, A
2
)[1] into an associative algebra with the product given by (see e.g. [HMS])
f g :=
2
(f g) , f, g Hom
k
(B(A
1
), A
2
).
A remarkable fact is that every A

morphism, i.e. every element of the set

Hom
A
(A
1
, A
2
) := { Hom
Coalg
(B(A
1
), B(A
2
)) : || = 0, Q
1
= Q
2
} ,
makes (Comap(A
1
, A
2
)[1], ) into a dg algebra. Indeed, the dening equation Q
1
= Q
2

for (understood as a degree 1 element of Hom
k
(B(A
1
), A
2
)) takes the form of a twisting cochain
equation,
d + Q
1
+ D + = 0,
where D is the natural dierential in Hom
complexes
((B(A
1
), Q
1
), (A
2
, d)).
Then (Comap(A
1
, A
2
)[1], ,

) with the dierential dened by

(f) := Df + f (1)
|f|
f
is obviously a topological dg algebra.
For example, for any dg algebra A, (Comap(A, A)[1], ,
Id
) is nothing but the Hochschild
dg algebra of A.
Now we assume, in the above notations, that A
2
is the dg algebra of Theorem 3.1 and
A
1
is its cohomology H(A, d) equipped with an induced A

-structure Q. As H(A, d) is nite-

dimensional, the dualization of the standard completion of (B(H(A, d)), Q) is a free topological
dg algebra which is nothing but (kX, ). Thus the dg algebra,
(AkX, product product, d

),
7
is canonically isomorphic to (Comap(H(A, d), A)[1], ,

). On the other hand, the composi-

tion with the A

-morphism Comap(H(A, d), A) induces a natural continuous map

: Comap(A, A)[1] Comap(H(A, d), A)[1].

A straightforward calculation shows that

is actually a continuous morphism of topological

dg algebras,
(Comap(A, A)[1], ,
Id
) (Comap(H(A, d), A)[1], ,

),
that is, a continuous morphism of the topological dg algebras
(C

(A, A),
Hoch
, d
Hoch
)

(A kX, product product, d

).
Being continuous, this morphism preserves the decreasing ltrations, C
r
(A, A) and A I
r
, I
being the maximal ideal in kX, and, as it is easy to see, induces an algebra isomorphism of
the E
1
terms of the associated spectral sequences. As ltrations are complete and exhaustive,
the spectral sequences converge to Hoch

(A, A) and H

(AkX, d

) respectively. Then the

Comparison Theorem establishes the required isomorphism. 2
3.2. Remark. If A is connected and simply connected, then kX can be replaced in
the above theorem by kX.
3.3. Example. Let M be an n-dimensional sphere S
n
. Let A = R[] be a dg subalgebra
of the de Rham algebra
M
generated over R by a volume form . As A is quasi-isomorphic to

M
, Hoch

(A, A) = Hoch

(
M
,
M
).
Clearly, the data = 0, = x, |x| = 1n, is a solution of the Maurer-Cartan equation
for A,
d + + = 0.
Hence, by Theorem 3.1, one gets immediately
Hoch

(
M
,
M
) =
Ker : [ x, ] : R[] R[x] R[] R[x]
Im : [ x, ] : R[] R[x] R[] R[x]
=
_
R[, x]/(
2
), || = n, |x| = 1 n, if n is odd,
R[, , ]/(
2
,
2
, , ), || = n, || = 1, || = 2 2n if n is even.
Which is in accordance with the earlier calculations [CJY, FTV]. The key to the n even case is
x, 1 x
2
.
3.4. Example. Let M be an n-dimensional complex projective space CP
n
. Let A =
R[h]/h
n+1
be a dg subalgebra of the de Rham algebra
M
generated over R by the standard
K ahler form h. As A is quasi-isomorphic to
M
, Hoch

(A, A) = Hoch

(
M
,
M
).
The data,
=
n

i=1
h
i
x
i
, |x
i
| = 1 2i,
8
and
=
n

i=2
i1

j=1
x
j
x
ij

x
i
,
give a solution of the Maurer-Cartan equations for A. Plugging these into Theorem 3.1, one gets
after a straightforward inspection,
Hoch

(
M
,
M
) = R[h, , ]/(h
n+1
, h
n
, h
n
), |h| = 2, || = 1, || = 2n.
This is in agreement with a spectral sequence calculation made earlier in [CJY]. The key to the
answer is
h h 1,
n

i=1
ih
i
x
i
,

i+j=n+1
1 x
i
x
j
.
4. Holonomy map for the free loop space. Let M be a compact smooth manifold,
and
M
RX a formal power series connection of the de Rham algebra (
M
, d) (see
Lemma 2.1 and Remark 2.4). As

M
is naturally a dg bi-module over (
M
, d), the connection
gives rise to a dierential, d

= d

++[, . . . ], on Hom
R
(
M
, RX) (cf. section 3). Explicitly,
for any f Hom
R
(
M
, RX) and any (. . . )
M
,
(d

f)(. . . ) = (1)
|f|
f(d . . . ) +f(. . . ) +

l
(1)
|f||
l
|
[p
l
X, f(w
l
. . . )],
where we used a decomposition of a formal power series connection RX
M
into a
sum of tensor products, =

l
p
l
X w
l
.
The transport T of when restricted to the free loop subspace, LM, of the path space
PM satises the equation,
dT +T +

()T T

() = 0,
where : LM M is the evaluation map
0
|
LM
=
1
|
LM
.
Let (C

(LM), ) be the complex of (negatively graded) smooth singular chains in the free
loop space.
4.1. Theorem. The map
Hol : (C

(LM), ) (Hom
R
(
M
, RX), d

)
simplex :

LM Hol() :
M
RX
(. . . ) (1)
||
_

(. . . ) T) ,
is a morphism of complexes. Moreover, it induces an isomorphism in cohomology if M is simply
connected.
Proof. That Hol commutes with the dierentials is nearly obvious,
Hol() = (1)
||1
_

(. . . ) T)
= (1)
||1
_

(. . . ) T)
= (1)
||
_

(d . . . ) T +

(. . . ) (T +

()T T

())
= d

Hol().
9
For the second part, consider two increasing ltrations,
F
p
Hom
R
(
M
, RX) :=
_
f Hom
R
(
M
, RX) | f(w) = 0 w
p
M
_
and
F
p
C

(LM) :=
_
_
_
simplexes

LM whose composition with

land in the skeleton M
p
for an appropriate smooth triangulation of M
_
_
_
Clearly, the map Hol preserves the ltrations. The Leray-Serre spectral sequence associated
with the ltration F
p
C

(LM) has
E
2
,
= H

(M) H

(M).
As M is simply connected, the formal power series connection w =

l
p
l
(x
1
, . . . , x
n
) w
l
has all w
l

2
M
. Then using Fact 2.3, it is easy to compute the E
2
term of the spectral sequence
associated to F
p
Hom
R
(
M
, RX),

E
2
,
= (H

(M))

(M).
Thus Hol provides an isomorphism of the E
2
terms. Then the standard spectral sequences
comparison argument nishes the proof. 2
The above Theorem in conjunction with Theorem 3.1(ii) immediately implies the Jones
isomorphism [J]:
4.2. Corollary. If M is simply connected, the holonomy map induces the isomorphism,
H

(LM, R) = Ext

M
(
M
,

M
) .
5. BV operator and an odd holonomy map. The holonomy map Hol can also be
understood as a degree 0 morphism of complexes,

Hol : (
M
, d)
_

LM
RX, d

()
:= d + + [

(), . . . ]
_

() T
Consider now a degree -1 linear map

:
M
RX
LM
RX

n=0

n
i=0
_
. . .
. .
i
. . .
. .
ni
5.1. Lemma. For any
M
RX,
[T,

()] = d

()

() +

(d

).
Proof is a straightforward calculation of the r.h.s.
Note that (
M
1, d) is naturally a subcomplex of (
M
RX, d

).
10
5.2. Corollary. The map

0
:=

|

M
1
induces a degree 1 morphism of complexes,
(
M
, d)
_

LM
RX, d

()
_
,
and, through pairing with chains, a degree 1 morphism of complexes,
: (C

(LM), ) (Hom
R
(
M
, RX), d

)
simplex :

LM () :
M
RX
(. . . )
_

0
(. . . )
_
.
There is a natural action of the circle group S
1
on the free loop space,
Rot : LM S
1
LM,
by rotating the loops, Rot : ((t), s) (t + s). This action induces a degree 1 operator on
(negatively graded) chains,

BV
: C

(LM) C
+1
(LM)
:

LM
BV
() :

S
1
LM
(z, s) Rot((z), s).
This operator commutes with the dierential and hence induces an operator on singular
homology,
BV
: H

(LM) H
+1
(LM), which satises the condition
2
= 0 as its iteration

k2
BV
increases the geometric dimension of the input simplex only by one [CS].
5.3. Proposition. Hol
BV
= .
Proof. Let q : LM S
1
LM be the natural projection. It was shown in [GJP] that the
S
1
rotation aects an arbitrary iterated integral as follows,
q

Rot

(w
0
)
_
w
1
w
2
. . . w
k
_
=

i=0
(1)
r
_
w
i
. . . w
k
w
0
w
1
. . . w
i1
,
where r = (|w
0
| + |w
1
| + . . . + |w
i1
| i)(|w
i
| + . . . + |w
k
| k + i. Applying this formula to

(. . . ) T, (. . . )
M
, one immediately obtains the required result. 2
6. Poincare duality. Here is a deformed version of the classical duality:
6.1. Theorem. For any smooth compact oriented manifold M the linear map
P : (
M
RX, d

) (Hom
R
(
M
, RX), d

)
P() :
M
X,
(. . . )
_
M
(. . . ) ,
is a degree n quasi-isomorphism of complexes.
Proof. Checking commutativity with dierentials is just an elementary application of the
Stokes theorem. The map P obviously preserves natural ltrations of both sides by powers of
11
the maximal ideal in RX. At the E
,
1
level of the associated spectral sequences this map
induces, by the classical Poincare duality, a degree n isomorphism,
P : H

(M) RX

Hom
R
(H

(M), R) RX

.
Hence the spectral sequences comparison theorem delivers the required result. 2
6.2. Corollary. If M is simply connected, then, for any cycle :

LM in
(C

(LM), ), there exists a cycle

(
M
RX, d

) such that,
(1)
||
_

(T

(. . . )) =
_
M

(. . . ) + d

H(. . . ),
for all (. . . )
M
and some H Hom
R
(
M
, RX).
Our next task is to nd an explicit expression of such a cycle

in terms of iterated
integrals and a formal power series connection.
7. Thom class and a suitable homotopy. Let i : M M M be the diagonal
embedding, and [U] H
n
(M M, M M \ i(M)) the associated Thom class. For any tubular
neighbourhood, Tub, of i(M) in M M one can represent [U] by a closed n-form U
MM
such that
support U Tub, and
pr

(U) = 1, where pr : M M M is the projection to the rst factor and 1 is the

constant function on M.
Let us consider consider a commutative diagram of maps,
M LM
py

u
u
u
u
u
u
u
u
u
u
py

W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
px

LM

M M
where p
x
and p
y
are natural projections to, respectively, the rst and second factors, and let us
introduce a list of notations,

Tub := (p
x
p
y
)
1
(Tub) M LM,

T
y
:= ( p
y
)

T
LMM
RX,

U
x,y
:= (p
x
p
y
)

(U)
n
MLM
,

x
:= (p
x
)

LMM
RX,

y
:= (p
y
)

LMM
RX,
(so that a symbol with the hat always stands for the object living on MLM). A point in

Tub
is a pair (x, l
y
) consisting of a point x M and a loop l
y
in LM based in y := (l) such that
(x, y) Tub.
12
Let be an arbitrary smooth connection on M. For any two suciently close to each other
points x, y M there is a unique vector V T
x
M such that y = exp
x
V . For any s [0, 1]
dene the path
P
sx,y
: [0, 1] M
t exp
x
((1 s)tV + sV )
which is just a [0, 1]-parameterized geodesic from s x := exp
x
(sV ) to y = exp
x
V . Such a path
allows us in turn to introduce a smooth map
F :

Tub [0, 1]

Tub
(x, l
y
) s
_
x, (P
sx,y
l) P
1
sx,y
_
where is the Pontrjagin products of paths.

s x

y
Note that F
1
= F|

Tub1
is the identity map

Tub

Tub, while F
0
= F|

Tub0
factors through
the based diagonal,
.

Tub M LM LM
Id
M LM
(x, l
y
) (P
x,y
l) P
1
x,y
In particular, the pullback map F

0
:

Tub

Tub
vanishes on any dierential form which has a
factor of the type p

y
(. . . ) p

x
(. . . ), (. . . )
M
.
Next we decompose, as usual, the pullback map,
F

=

F

,
into a bit,

F

, containing ds and a bit,

F

, not containing ds and introduce a homotopy

operator,
h :

Tub

1

Tub
(. . . )
_
1
0

(. . . ),
such that
Id = F

0
+ dh + hd.
There are lots of homotopy operators satisfying the above equation, but the one we described
above is particularly suitable:
7.1. Fact. h :

Tub

1

Tub
is a morphism of p

x
(
M
)-modules.
13
Extending by zero dierential forms with compact support in

Tub to the whole M LM
we can summarize our achievements in this section as follows.
7.2. Fact. There exists a morphism of p

x
(
M
)-modules,
H = (1)
n

U
x,y
h :

MLM

+n1
MLM
,
such that, for any (. . . )
M
and any
MLM
,

U
x,y

_
p

y
(. . . ) p

x
(. . . )
_
= dH
_

_
p

y
(. . . ) p

x
(. . . )
__
+(1)
n
H
_
d
_
p

y
(. . . ) p

x
(. . . )
__
+(1)
n+||
H
_

_
p

y
(d . . . ) p

x
(d . . . )
__
In particular, extending H by RX-linearity to
MLM
RX, taking =

T
y
and
using the equation, d

T
y
+

T
y
+ [

y
(),

T
y
] = 0, we get

U
x,y


T
y

_
p

y
(. . . ) p

x
(. . . )
_
= (d +)H
_

T
y

_
p

y
(. . . ) p

x
(. . . )
_
_
+(1)
n1
H
_
[
y
,

T
y
]
_
p

y
(. . . ) p

x
(. . . )
_
_
+(1)
n
H
_

T
y

_
p

y
(d . . . ) p

x
(d . . . )
_
_
= (1)
n
H
_
[
y

x
,

T
y
]
_
p

x
(. . . )
+(d +)H
_

T
y

_
p

y
(. . . ) p

x
(. . . )
_
_
+(1)
n1
H
_
[p

y
( . . . ) p

y
( . . . ),

T
y
]
_
+(1)
n
H
_

T
y

_
p

y
(d . . . ) p

x
(d . . . )
_
_
8. An inversion of the deformed Poincare duality map. We assume from now on
that M is a compact simply connected manifold. For any cycle :

LM in (C

(LM), )
there is associated a diagram of maps,
M

Id

x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
p
.u
u
u
u
u
u
u
u
u
M M LM
Then, for any (. . . )
M
, we have
(1)
||
Hol()(. . . ) =
_

(T

(. . . ))
=
_
M

(Id )

U
x,y


T
y
p

y
(. . . )
_
=
_
M

(Id )

U
x,y


T
y
p

x
(. . . )
_
+
_
M

(Id )

U
x,y


T
y
(p

y
(. . . ) p

x
(. . . ))
_
14
Hence, setting

= p

(Id )

U
x,y


T
y
+ (1)
n
H
_
[
y

x
,

T
y
]
__

M
RX
and,
H

:
M
RX
(. . . )
_
M

H
_

T
y

_
p

y
(. . . ) p

x
(. . . )
_
_
we get,
(1)
||
Hol()(. . . ) =
_
M

(. . . ) + d

(. . . ),
where we have used a calculation at the end of 7.2.
We almost proved the following
8.1. Theorem. The degree n linear map
(C

(LM), ) (
M
RX, d

)
(1)
||

is a quasi-isomorphism of complexes whose composition with P induces on cohomology the map

Hol:
H

(LM)
Hol

H
+n
(
M
RX, d

))
P

(Hom
R
(
M
RX, d

)
Proof. We need only to check that the map is well dened, i.e. that

is a cycle. The
latter can be suitably represented as

= p

(Id )

U
x,y

_

T
y
+ h([
y

x
,

T
y
])
__
where we understand

T
y
+h([
y

x
,

T
y
]) as a dierential form on

Tub and

U
x,y
(

T
y
+h([
y

x
,

T
y
])) as a dierential form on M LM (extended by zero from

Tub).
As opposite to d
y

T
y
= 0, we have,
d
x
_

T
y
+ h([
y

x
,

T
y
])
_
=
_

y

x
,

T
y
_
+ (d +)h([
y

x
,

T
y
])
_

x
, h([
y

x
,

T
y
])
_
= h(d[
y

x
,

T
y
]) +h([
y

x
,

T
y
]) + h(
_

x
, [
y

x
,

T
y
])
_
= h([
y

y

x

x
,

T
y
]) h([
y

x
, [
y
,

T
y
]]) h(
_

x
, [
y

x
,

T
y
])
_
= 0.
Pushing down this equation along :

LM nally gives d

= 0. 2
9. Inverse Poincare map revised. As the calculation in beginning of Section 8 shows,
the class

= p

(Id )

U
x,y

_

T
y
+ h([
y

x
,

T
y
])
__
provides us with a natural lift of
15
the holonomy map [Hol] : H

(LM) H

(Hom
R
(
M
RX, d

) along the deformed Poincare

duality map, [P] : H

(
M
RX, d

) H

(Hom
R
(
M
RX, d

). However, it is not unique.

We shall use below another geometrically transparent lift of [P]
1
[Hol] from the coho-
mology to the chain level. Note in this connection that

has to be specied only up to a

d

-exact term implying that the form

T
y
+ h([
y

x
,

T
y
]) on

Tub has to be specied only up
to a d
x
-exact term.
Recall that for a tubular neighbourhood, Tub, of the diagonal in M M, the subspace

Tub M LM consists of pairs (x, l

y
), x being a point x M and l
y
a loop in LM based at
y := (l
y
), such that (x, y) Tub. Let P
x,y
be the geodesic from x to y for some xed ane
connection on M. Consider a map,
i
x,y
:

Tub LM
(x, l
y
) (P
x,y
l
y
) P
1
x,y
.
9.1. Proposition.

T
y
+ h([
y

x
,

T
y
]) = i

x,y
T mod Imd
x
.
Proof. Comparing the map i
x,y
with the homotopy F in Section 7, one notices that F
0
is
precisely the composition of i
x,y
with the natural embedding,
emb : LM M LM
l ((l), l).
Then applying the equality of maps, Id = i
x,y
emb + dh + hd, to

T
y
one obtains,
i

x,y
T =

T
y
dh(

T
y
)) h(d

T
y
))
=

T
y
+ h([
y

x
,

T
y
) d
x
h(

T
y
).
2
9.2. Corollary. The degree n linear map
Hol : (C

(LM), ) (
M
RX, d

)
(1)
||

:= p

(Id )

U
x,y
i

x,y
T
_
is a quasi-isomorphism of complexes making the following diagram
H
+n
(
M
RX, d

))
P

(LM)
Hol

Hol

j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
j
H

(Hom
R
(
M
RX, d

)
commutative.
10. Compatibility with products. Now we have all the threads to show a new proof
of a remarkable result of [CJ, C, Tr] which establishes an isomorphism of algebras,
(H

(LM), Chas-Sullivan product ) =

_
Ext

M
(
M
,
M
) , Yoneda product
_
.
16
It follows immediately from Theorem 3.1(i) and the following
10.1. Theorem. The degree 0 linear map
Hol : (C
+n
(LM), ) (
M
RX, d

)
(1)
||

induces on cohomology a quasi-isomorphism of algebras,

(H

(LM), ) H

(
M
RX, d

).
Proof. We shall use small Latin letters, coordinate variables, to distinguish various
copies of M and LM, e.g. M
x
, M
y
, LM
y
, etc.
Let
y
:

LM
y
and
z
:

z
LM
z
be any two cycles in (C
+n
(LM), ) such that
their projections,
y

y
:

y
M
y
and
z

z
:

z
M
z
intersect transversally at a cycle

y

y

z

z
:

yz
M, where

yz
:= (
y

y

z

z
)
1
__

y

y
(

y
)
z

z
(

z
)
_
{diagonal in M
y
M
z
}
_
.
Chas and Sullivan [CS] dene the product chain,
y

z
, as

1

2
:

xy
LM
z
1
(z)
2
(z).
The theorem will follow if we show that

y

z
=
yz
mod Imd

. ()
In the obvious notations associated with the commutative diagram,
M
x

z
Idyz

p
.q
q
q
q
q
q
q
q
q
q
q
M
x
M
x
LM
y
LM
z
we can represent the l.h.s. of () as follows

y

z
= p

(Id
x

y

z
)

U
x,y
i

x,y
T

U
x,z
i

x,z
T
_
.
Using homotopy 7.2 we can transform . . .

U
x,z
. . . into . . .

U
y,z
. . . modulo d
x
-exact
terms:

U
x,y


U
x,z
i

x,y
T i

x,z
T =

U
x,y


U
y,z
i

x,y
T i

x,z
T + dH
x,y
_
(

U
x,z


U
y,z
) i

x,y
T i

x,z
T
_
+H
_
(

U
x,z


U
y,z
) d(i

x,y
T i

x,z
T)
_
=

U
x,y


U
y,z


T
x,y


T
x,z
+ d
x
H
x,y
_
(

U
x,z


U
y,z
) i

x,y
T i

x,z
T
_
.
Hence

y

z
= p

(Id
y

z
)

U
x,y


U
y,z
i

x,y
T i

x,z
T
_
mod Imd

.
17
Let Tub
y,z
be a tubular neighbourhood of the diagonal in M
y
M
z
and let

Tab
y,z
be its
pre-image under the natural evaluation projection,

y

z
: LM
y
LM
z
M
y
M
z
.
Similarly, let Tub
x,y,z
be a tubular neighbourhood (supporting the form U
x,y
U
y,z
) of the small
diagonal in M
x
M
y
M
z
and let

Tab
x,y,z
be its pre-image under the natural map,
Id
x

y

z
: M
x
LM
y
LM
z
M
x
M
y
M
z
.
The form

U
y,z
i

x,y
T i

x,z
T is supported in M
x

Tab
y,z
M
x
LM
y
LM
z
. As Tub
y,z
is homotopy equivalent to M
y
, there exists a one parameter family of maps,
G :

Tub
y,z
[0, 1]

Tub
y,z
with the property that G
1
= G|

Tuby,z1
is the identity map while G
0
= G|

Tuby,z0
factors through
the composition

Tub
y,z
r
LM
y

My
LM
y
LM
y
LM
z
for a smooth map r. Then one applies the associated to Id
x
G homotopy equality of linear
maps,
Id = Id
x
(G

0
+ dh
G
+ h
G
d) :

Tub
x,y,z

Tub
x,y,z
,
to the form i

x,y
T i

x,z
T and gets
i

x,y
T i

x,z
T =

x,y
(q

1
T q

2
T) mod Imd
x
,
where q
1
and q
2
are the natural projections,
LM
x

Mx
LM
x
q
2

y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
q
1
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
LM
x
LM
x
and

i
x,y
is given by (cf. with i
x,y
in the beginning of Sect. 9)

i
x,y
:

Tub
x,y,z
LM
x

Mx
LM
x
(x, l
y
, l
z
) (P
x,y
r(l
y
, l
z
)) P
1
x,y
.
There is a natural Pontrjagin product map
LM
x

Mx
LM
x

LM
x
,
and the basic property of the transport of a formal power series connection says that

T = p

1
(T) p
2
(T).
Hence we can eventually write

U
x,y


U
x,z
i

x,y
T i

x,z
T =

U
x,y


U
y,z

x,y
T mod Imd
x
,
18
which implies

y

z
= p

(Id
x

y

z
)

U
x,y


U
y,z

x,y
T
_
mod Imd

.
Recalling the denition of
y

z
and using transversality of p
y

y
and p
z

z
to get rid of
the Thom class U
y,z
through z-integration one nally obtains

y

z
= p

(Id
x

y

z
)

U
x,y
i

x,y
(T)
_
mod Imd

.
Which is precisely the desired result (). 2
11. Loops based at a brane. If f : Z M is a smooth map from a compact oriented
p-dimensional manifold to a compact simply connected manifold M, then one can consider a
space, L
f
, dened by the pullback diagram,
L
f

LM

Z
f

M .
The shifted homology, H

(L
f
) := H
+p
(LM), is obviously an associative algebra with respect
to the Chas-Sullivan product (see [CS, S]). If f is an embedding, then L
f
is a subspace of
LM consisting of loops in M which are based at Z M.
The pull-back map on dierential forms, f

:
M

Z
, is naturally extended to the tensor
product
M
RX as f

Id and is denoted by the same symbol f

. The map
f

: (
M
RX, d

)
_

Z
RX, d
f

()
_
is obviously a morphism of dg algebras.
The proofs of Theorems 4.1, 6.1 and 10.1 apply with trivial changes to their brane
versions:
11.1. Theorem. The map
Hol : (C

(L
f
), )
_
Hom
R
(
Z
, RX), d

()
_
simplex :

L
f
Hol() :
Z
RX
(. . . ) (1)
||
_

(. . . )

(T)} ,
is a quasi-isomorphism of complexes.
11.2. Theorem. The linear map
P :
_

Z
RX, d
f

()
_

_
Hom
R
(
Z
, RX), d

()
_
P() :
Z
RX,
(. . . )
_
Z
(. . . ) ,
is a degree p quasi-isomorphism of complexes.
19
11.3. Theorem. The degree p linear map
Hol : (C

(L
f
), ) (
Z
RX, d
f

()
)
(1)
||
p

(f )

U
x,y
i

x,y
T
_
associated with the diagram,
Z

y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
y
p
.w
w
w
w
w
w
w
w
w
Z
M LM ,
is a morphism of complexes inducing on cohomology an isomorphism of algebras,
(H

(L
f
), ) H

(
Z
RX, d
f

()
).
Moreover, if f is an embedding, then the pull-back map f

: H

(
M
RX, d

) H

(
Z

RX, d
f

()
) corresponds to the intersection map
[L
f
]
: H

(LM) H

(L
f
).
11.4. Example. Let Z be the projective space CP
m
and let f : Z M = CP
n
, m < n,
be a linear embedding. A straightforward calculation using Theorem 11.3 gives,
(H

(L
f
, ) = H

_
R[h]/h
m+1
Rx
1
, . . . , x
n
, d
f

()
= +
_
m

i=1
h
i
x
i
, . . .
__
= R[h, , x]/h
m+1
, |h| = 2, || = 2n, |x| = 1,
where is the same as in Example 3.4. (The key to the r.h.s. is x =

m+1
i=1
ih
i1
x
i
,

i+j=n+1
1 x
i
x
j
.) Moreover the intersection map
H

(LCP
n
)

[L
f
]

(L
f
)
R[h, , ]/(h
n+1
, h
n
, h
n
)

R[h, x, ]/h
m+1
is given on generators as follows (see Example 3.4 again for the notations used in the l.h.s.),
h h

hx.
Acknowledgement. It is a pleasure to thank Ralph Cohen, Thomas Tradler and especially Dennis
Sullivan for valuable correspondences and remarks.
20
References
[CS] M. Chas and D. Sullivan, String topology, preprint math.GT/9911159.
[Ch] K.-T. Chen, Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 83 (1977), 831-879.
[C] R.L. Cohen, Multiplicative properties of Atiyah dual, preprint 2003.
[CJ] R.L. Cohen and J.D.S. Jones, A homotopy theoretic realization of string topology, Math. Ann. 324
(2002), 773-798.
[CJY] R.L. Cohen, J.D.S. Jones and J. Yan, The loop homology algebra of sphere and projective spaces,
preprint math.AT/0210353.
[FTV] Y. Felix, J.-C. Thomas and M. Vigue-Poirrier, Structure of the loop algebra of a closed manifold,
preprint math.AT/0203137.
[GJP] E. Getzler, J.D.S. Jones and S. Patrick, Dierential forms on loop spaces and the cyclic bar
complex, Topology 30 (1991), 339-371.
[H] R. Hain, Iterated integrals and homotopy periods, Mem. Amer. Math. Soc. 291 (1984), 1-98.
[HMS] D. Husemoller, J.C. Moore and J. Stashe, Dierential homological algebra and homogeneous
spaces, J. Pure Appl. Alg. 5 (1974), 113-185.
[J] J.D.S. Jones, Cyclic homology and equivariant homology, Inv. Math. 87 (1987), 403-423.
[K] T.V. Kadeishvili, The algebraic structure in the cohomology of A()-algebras, Soobshch. Akad. Nauk
Gruzin. SSR 108 (1982), 249-252.
[R] Jan-Erik Roos, Homology of free loop spaces, cyclic homology and nonrational Poincare-Betti series
in commutative algebra, Lecture Notes in Math., 1352 (1988), 173-189, Springer, Berlin, 1988.
[S] D. Sullivan, Open and closed string eld theory interpreted in classical algebraic topology, preprint
math.QA/0302332.
[Tr] T. Tradler, Ph. D. thesis, CUNY, (2002).
Department of Mathematics
Stockholm University
10691 Stockholm
Sweden
21