Fusion of symmetric $D$-branes and Verlinde rings

Abstract

We explain how multiplicative bundle gerbes over a compact, connected and simple Lie group $G$ lead to a certain fusion category of equivariant bundle gerbe modules given by pre-quantizable Hamiltonian $LG$-manifolds arising from Alekseev-Malkin-Meinrenken's quasi-Hamiltonian $G$-spaces. The motivation comes from string theory namely, by generalising the notion of $D$-branes in $G$ to allow subsets of $G$ that are the image of a $G$-valued moment map we can define a `fusion of $D$-branes' and a map to the Verlinde ring of the loop group of $G$ which preserves the product structure. The idea is suggested by the theorem of Freed-Hopkins-Teleman. The case where $G$ is not simply connected is studied carefully in terms of equivariant bundle gerbe modules for multiplicative bundle gerbes.