Extensions of Lie-Rinehart algebras and the Chern-Weil construction
arXiv:dg-ga/9706002
Abstract
A Chern-Weil construction for extensions of Lie-Rinehart algebras is introduced. This generalizes the classical Chern-Weil construction in differential geometry and yields characteristic classes for arbitrary extensions of Lie-Rinehart algebras. Some examples arising from spaces with singularities and from foliations are given that cannot be treated by means of the classical Chern-Weil construction.
AMSTeX 2.1, 30 pages