Iterated integrals and cohomology

Abstract

We introduce an extension of the standard cohomology which is characterised by maps that fail to be classical cocycles by products of simpler maps. The construction is motivated by the study of Manin's noncommutative modular symbols and of false theta functions. We use this construction to obtain a cohomological interpretation of important iterated integrals that arise in that study. In another direction, our approach gives modular counterparts to the long-studied relations among multiple zeta values.