Discrete Vector Bundles with Connection
This work provides a foundational framework for discrete differential geometry, enabling the study of bundle-valued forms on simplicial complexes, which is relevant for applications in computational geometry, physics, and numerical analysis.
The paper introduces a combinatorial theory of vector bundles with connection on locally ordered simplicial complexes, establishing a discrete exterior calculus for bundle-valued forms. Key results include that discrete curvature, connection 1-forms, and gauge transformations satisfy all expected algebraic identities (e.g., Bianchi identity), and flat connections yield a cochain complex computing twisted de Rham cohomology with twisted Poincaré duality.
We develop a combinatorial theory of vector bundles with connection on locally ordered simplicial complexes. This is a first step towards a discrete exterior calculus for bundle-valued forms. The basic building block is the discrete exterior covariant derivative, a forward-difference operator defined on bundle-valued cochains. Many standard objects in differential geometry (e.g., curvature, connection 1-forms, gauge transformations) can be understood via the discrete covariant derivative operator, with their defining formulas identical to the smooth setting. These discrete objects satisfy all of the expected algebraic identities, such as naturality with respect to simplicial maps, and a Bianchi identity for discrete curvature. We also show that flat discrete connections determine a cochain complex that computes twisted de Rham cohomology in a local coefficient system determined by the discrete vector bundle, with twisted Poincare duality (of densities) being one application. Finally, a coarsening operation applied to bundle-valued cochains provides a direct and concrete comparison with the recent framework for discrete bundles of Christiansen and Hu.