Symplectic structures on gauge theory (Q1268038)

This paper contains a discussion of symplectic structures and some generalizations on the space of linear connections \(\mathcal{A}\) on a vector bundle \(E\) over a compact manifold \(X\). For example, the tangent space \(T_A\mathcal{A}\) of \(\mathcal{A}\) at \(A\in\mathcal{A}\) can be identified with the set of \(\text{End}(E)\)-valued 1-forms on \(X\), and the set of automorphisms \(\mathcal{G}\) of \(E\) which is an infinite-dimensional Lie group has as its Lie algebra the sections of the bundle \(\text{End}(E)\) over \(X\). The basic objects studied, derived from the local family index theorem, are differential forms on \(\mathcal{A}\) of the type \[ \Omega^{[2k]}(A)(B_1,B_2,\ldots,B_{2k}) = \left(\frac{i}{2\pi}\right)^{2k}\int_X \text{Tr}[e^{\frac{i}{2\pi}F_A}B_1B_2\cdots B_{2k}]_{\text{sym}}\widehat{A}(X) \] where \(X\) is now a spin manifold of dimension \(2n\), \(F_A\) is the curvature of the connection \(A\), \(B_i\in T_A\mathcal{A}\), and \(\widehat{A}(X)\) is the genus of \(D_A\), a twisted Dirac operator. These forms are closed and \(\mathcal{G}\)-invariant and vanish if \(k>n\). When \((X,\omega)\) is a symplectic manifold with integral \(\omega\), the author then studies the behavior of \(\Omega^{[2]}\) on the space of connections \(\mathcal{A}(E\otimes L^k)\) where \(L\) is a line bundle whose curvature is \(-2\pi i\omega\) and \(k\) an integer. For large \(k\), this \(\Omega^{[2]}\) will then be nondegenerate and therefore symplectic. A moment map \(\Phi_k\) for the \(\mathcal{G}\)-action is constructed which is a map from \(\mathcal{A}\) into the \(\text{End}(E)\)-valued volume forms on \(X\), and it is shown that the equivariant second cohomology class of \(\Omega^{[2]}+\Phi_k\) is independent of the Hermitian connection of the line bundle used in the construction. Several constructions simplify when \(k\) tends to infinity and a symplectic reduction of orbits in the dual of the Lie algebra of \(\mathcal{G}\) can be carried out. The author then establishes some relationships to Hermite-Einstein and Hermite-Yang-Mills equations and makes several generalizations of connections, Chern-Simons forms and equivariant extensions of the moment maps to \(\Omega^{[2k]}\).