Explicit Non-Abelian Gerbes with Connections

Abstract

We define the notion of adjustment for strict Lie 2-groups and provide the complete cocycle description for non-Abelian gerbes with connections whose structure 2-group is an adjusted 2-group. Most importantly, we depart from the common fake-flat connections and employ adjusted connections. This is an important generalisation that is needed for physical applications especially in the context of supergravity. We give a number of explicit examples; in particular, we lift the spin structure on $S^4$, corresponding to an instanton-anti-instanton pair, to a string structure, a 2-group bundle with connection. We also outline how categorified forms of Bogomolny monopoles known as self-dual strings can be obtained via a Penrose-Ward transform of string bundles over twistor space.

v4: 83 pages, presentation significantly improved, results added, published version