Harmonic gauges on Riemann surfaces and stable bundles (Q1124185)

Associated with a principal U(N)-bundle \(P\to M\) over a compact Riemann surface M, the author studies the equations \(F(A)+(1/2)[\Phi,\Phi]=-2i\pi *\mu (P),\) \(d_ A\Phi =0\), \(d_ A*\Phi =0\), with unknown A and \(\Phi\), where A is a unitary connection on P with curvature F(A), \(\Phi\) is a section of \(T^*M\otimes ad P\), and \(\mu\) is the normalized 1st Chern class of P. These generalize the equations for harmonicity of the maps \(M\to U(N)\). The author defines an ``Uhlenbeck loop'' of connections from a subbundle of the vector bundle V associated with P. By this, if one starts with any solution, applying flag transformations (or adding unitons), one reaches a semistable vector bundle V. In case M is \({\mathbb{P}}^ 1\), this produces all the solutions.