Group actions and deformations for harmonic maps into symmetric spaces (Q1345376)

The author studies the group actions and deformations for harmonic maps of Riemann surfaces \(\Sigma\) into symmetric spaces \(N\). After a review of the construction of extended solutions of harmonic maps into Lie groups and the natural action of the complex loop group on harmonic maps into Lie groups, he considers the group actions on harmonic maps into symmetric spaces of inner type. Next, he uses the Morse-Bott deformations of harmonic maps to obtain some further results on the connectedness and the fundamental group of certain spaces of harmonic 2-spheres in symmetric spaces.