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Abstract

We begin with a short presentation of the basic concepts related to Lie groupoids and Lie algebroids, but the main part of this paper deals with Lie algebroids. A Lie algebroid over a manifold is a vector bundle over that manifold whose properties are very similar to those of a tangent bundle. Its dual bundle has properties very similar to those of a cotangent bundle: in the graded algebra of sections of its exterior powers, one can define an operator $d_E$ similar to the exterior derivative. We present the theory of Lie derivatives, Schouten–Nijenhuis brackets and exterior derivatives in the general setting of a Lie algebroid, its dual bundle and their exterior powers. All the results (which, for the most part, are already known) are given with detailed proofs. In the final sections, the results are applied to Poisson manifolds, whose links with Lie algebroids are very close.