Spin(7)-instantons, Cayley submanifolds and Fueter sections (Q521992)

A \(\mathrm{Spin}(7)\)-manifold \(M\) is a Riemannian \(8\)-manifold with holonomy \(\mathrm{Spin}(7)\). The rich geometric structure carried by any \(\mathrm{Spin}(7)\)-manifold can be used to define interesting systems of first-order non-linear PDEs in submanifold geometry and gauge theory whose solutions are, respectively, a special class of volume minimising 4-dimensional submanifolds called Cayley submanifolds, and a special class of Yang-Mills connections (in fact, absolute minimisers of the Yang-Mills energy) called \(\mathrm{Spin}(7)\)-instantons. Cayley submanifolds are examples of calibrated submanifolds in the sense of \textit{R. Harvey} and \textit{H. B. Lawson} [Acta Math. 148, 47--157 (1982; Zbl 0584.53021)], while the \(\mathrm{Spin}(7)\)-instanton equations generalise the anti-self-duality (ASD) equations in 4 dimensions and play an important role in the Donaldson-Thomas programme [\textit{S. K. Donaldson} and \textit{R. P. Thomas}, in: The geometric universe: science, geometry, and the work of Roger Penrose. Proceedings of the symposium on geometric issues in the foundations of science, Oxford, UK, June 1996 in honour of Roger Penrose in his 65th year. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 31--47 (1998; Zbl 0926.58003)] to develop gauge theory in higher dimensions. A foundational compactness theorem of \textit{G. Tian} [Ann. Math. (2) 151, No. 1, 193--268 (2000; Zbl 0957.58013)] predicts that a sequence of \(\mathrm{Spin}(7)\)-instantons could degenerate by concentrating curvature along a Cayley submanifold \(Q\), with a family of \(4\)-dimensional ASD connections arising as a blow-up limit of the sequence transverse to \(Q\). The paper under review uses singular perturbation methods to provide a general existence theorem (Theorem 1.1) of families of \(\mathrm{Spin}(7)\)-instantons exhibiting this degeneration phenomenon. The existence result can be applied in particular (Theorem 1.3) to a non-empty set of \(\mathrm{Spin}(7)\)-manifolds (those containing a Cayley submanifold which is diffeomorphic to a K3 surface, has vanishing self-intersection number and is such that the induced metric/connection on the normal bundle is approximately hyper-Kähler/flat) to produce large families of \(\mathrm{Spin}(7)\)-instantons, in a result reminiscent of \textit{C. H. Taubes}' gluing construction [J. Differ. Geom. 17, 139--170 (1982; Zbl 0484.53026)] of ASD connections with curvature concentrating around an arbitrary finite collection of points on a negative definite \(4\)-manifold. The proof of the main theorem involves constructing a family of approximate solutions starting from an unobstracted \(\mathrm{Spin}(7)\)-instanton \(A_0\) (which is the trivial connection in the application of Theorem 1.3), an unobstructed Cayley submanifold \(Q\) and a section \(\mathfrak{J}\) of a bundle of ASD moduli spaces on the normal bundle to \(Q\). We must also assume that \(\mathfrak{J}\) is an unobstructed solution to a certain non-linear first-order operator, called the Fueter operator, which arises as the adiabatic limit of the \(\mathrm{Spin}(7)\)-instanton equations under a blow-up of a tubular neighbourhood of \(Q\) in normal directions. For sufficiently small gluing parameter, the approximate solutions are then perturbed into genuine \(\mathrm{Spin}(7)\)-instantons via a fixed point argument in appropriately chosen weighted Hölder spaces. As usual in singular perturbation problems, the main challenge is to construct a bounded right inverse of the linearised operator patching together right inverses of model linearised operators on the building blocks. The most delicate part of the argument is the analysis of the model linear problem near \(Q\), which involves adiabatic limit techniques similar to unpublished work by \textit{S. Brendle} [``Complex anti-self-dual instantons and Cayley submanifolds'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:math/0302094v2}; ``On the construction of solutions to the Yang-Mills equations in higher dimensions'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:math/0302093v3}] on the Yang-Mills equation in higher dimensions and work by \textit{F. Pacard} and \textit{M. Ritoré} [J. Differ. Geom. 64, No. 3, 359--423 (2003; Zbl 1070.58014)] on the Allen-Cahn equation.