Group systems, groupoids, and moduli spaces of parabolic bundles (Q1366698)

The authors describe the moduli space of homomorphisms from systems of fundamental groups of (punctured) surfaces to compact connected Lie groups, which coincides with the moduli space of parabolic holomorphic vector bundles. In particular, they construct a symplectic structure on the top stratum of the moduli space using purely finite dimensional methods. \textit{M. F. Atiyah} and \textit{R. Bott} initiated an infinite dimensional approach using gauge theory and holomorphic vector bundles in Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., Ser. A 308, 523-615 (1983; Zbl 0509.14014). The main results of the paper are the following: The moduli space can be obtained by symplectic reduction from a finite dimensional symplectic manifold. The symplectic form is described in terms of the cup product on group cohomology with values in the Lie algebra. The symplectic structure coincides with the one obtained via gauge theory. The finite dimensional approach implies that some of the results are also valid for noncompact Lie groups. The principal idea is the use of group systems and fundamental groupoids instead of the fundamental group, to allow the boundary of the surface to be non void.