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String structures on loop bundles

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Differential geometry and topology of principal loop bundles (bundles of loop groups over loop spaces) are investigated. String structures, defined as bundle extensions corresponding to the central extension of the structure group, do not always exist. Various methods for deriving the obstruction to the existence of string structures are discussed.

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Communicated by L. Alvarez-Gaumé

Supported in part by the U.S. Department of Energy under Grant #DE-FG02-84ER40158 with Harvard University.

Supported in part by the NSF Grant #87-08447 and by the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract #DE-AC02-76ER-03069.

On leave from the University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland

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Coquereaux, R., Pilch, K. String structures on loop bundles. Commun.Math. Phys. 120, 353–378 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01225503

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