Covariance in the Batalin–Vilkovisky formalism and the Maurer–Cartan equation for curved Lie algebras

Abstract

We express covariance of the Batalin–Vilkovisky formalism in classical mechanics by means of the Maurer–Cartan equation in a curved Lie superalgebra, defined using the formal variational calculus and Sullivan’s Thom–Whitney construction. We use this framework to construct a Batalin–Vilkovisky canonical transformation identifying the Batalin–Vilkovisky formulation of the spinning particle with an AKSZ field theory.