Formality criteria in terms of higher Whitehead brackets

Abstract

We provide two criteria for discarding the formality of a differential graded Lie algebra in terms of higher Whitehead brackets, which are the Lie analogue of the Massey products of a differential graded associative algebra. We also show that formality of a differential graded Lie algebra is not equivalent to the collapse of the Quillen spectral sequence. Finally, we use $L_\infty$ algebras and Quillen's formulation of rational homotopy theory to recover and improve a classical theorem for detecting higher Whitehead products in Sullivan minimal models and give some applications.