The teleparallel complex

Abstract

We formalise the teleparallel version of extended geometry (including gravity) by the introduction of a complex, the differential of which provides the linearised dynamics. The main point is the natural replacement of the two-derivative equations of motion by a differential which only contains terms of order 0 and 1 in derivatives. Second derivatives arise from homotopy transfer (elimination of fields with algebraic equations of motion). The formalism has the advantage of providing a clear consistency relation for the algebraic part of the differential, the “dualisation”, which then defines the dynamics of physical fields. It remains unmodified in the interacting BV theory, and the full non-linear models arise from covariantisation. A consequence of the use of the complex is that symmetry under local rotations becomes as good as manifest, instead of arising for a specific combination of tensorial terms, for less obvious reasons. We illustrate with a derivation of teleparallel Ehlers geometry, where the extended coordinate module is the adjoint module of a finite-dimensional simple Lie group.