The $L_\infty$-deformations of associative Rota-Baxter algebras and homotopy Rota-Baxter operators

Abstract: A relative Rota-Baxter algebra is a triple $(A, M, T)$ consisting of an algebra $A$, an $A$-bimodule $M$, and a relative Rota-Baxter operator $T$. Using Voronov's derived bracket and a recent work of Lazarev et al., we construct an $L_\infty [1]$-algebra whose Maurer-Cartan elements are precisely relative Rota-Baxter algebras. By a standard twisting, we define a new $L_\infty [1]$-algebra that controls Maurer-Cartan deformations of a relative Rota-Baxter algebra $(A,M,T)$. We introduce the cohomology of a relative Rota-Baxter algebra $(A, M, T)$ and study infinitesimal deformations in terms of this cohomology (in low dimensions). As an application, we deduce cohomology of coboundary skew-symmetric infinitesimal bialgebras and discuss their infinitesimal deformations. Finally, we define homotopy relative Rota-Baxter operators and find their relationship with homotopy dendriform algebras and homotopy pre-Lie algebras.