Instability of solutions to the Ginzburg-Landau equation on \(S^n\) and \(\mathbb{C} \mathbb{P}^n\) (Q2192344)

Stability of varifolds/currents in \(\mathbb S^n\) and \(\mathbb{CP}^n\) has been studied in [\textit{H. B. Lawson jun.} and \textit{J. Simons}, Ann. Math. (2) 98, 427--450 (1973; Zbl 0283.53049)], and has been extended to Yang-Mills connections and harmonic maps on \(\mathbb S^n\) in [\textit{J.-P. Bourguignon} and \textit{H. B. Lawson jun.}, Commun. Math. Phys. 79, 189--230 (1981; Zbl 0475.53060)] and [\textit{Y. L. Xin}, Duke Math. J. 47, 609--613 (1980; Zbl 0513.58019)]. Let \(\varepsilon>0\) be a given length-scale, \(M\) be either \(\mathbb S^n\) or \(\mathbb {CP}^n\), and \(g\) be the Riemannian metric on \(M\). The author addresses similar questions but for the \((GL_\varepsilon)\) and \((YMH)_\varepsilon\) functionals on the closed Riemannian \(n\)-manifold \((M,g)\). The \((GL_\varepsilon)\) functional is defined on complex-valued functions \(u\in W^{1,2}(M)\) as follows \[E_\varepsilon(u)=\int_M \frac{1}2|\nabla u|^2+\frac1{4\varepsilon^2}(1-|u|^2)^2\,d\mu_g\,.\] Picking a stable critical point \(u\) of \(E_\varepsilon\), the authors prove the following properties: \begin{itemize} \item[--] If \(M=\mathbb S^n\), it is a pure phase, i.e. \(u=e^{{\mathrm i}\theta}\) with \(\theta\in\mathbb R\) a constant. \item[--] If \(M=\mathbb {SP}^n\), and \(E_\varepsilon(u)\approx |\ln\varepsilon|\), then the Morse index of \(u\) is \(\geq 2\). \end{itemize} The \((YMH)_\varepsilon\) functional is defined on configurations \((u,D)\) where \(D\) is a metric connetection on a complex line bundle \(L\) over \(M\), and \(u:M\to L\) is a section of \(L\). Denoting by \(F_D\) the curvature of \(D\) multiplied by the complex number \(\mathrm i=\sqrt{-1}\), the \((YMH)_\varepsilon\) functional is then defined as follows \[F_\varepsilon(u,D)=\int_M \varepsilon^2|F_D|^2+|Du|^2+\frac1{4\varepsilon^2}(1-|u|^2)^2\,d\mu_g\,. \] In the case \(M=\mathbb S^n\), the author proves that, if a stable critical point \((u,D)\) of \(F_\varepsilon\) exists within a certain class, then the bundle \(L\) is trivial, and the configuration \((u, D)\) is gauge equivalent to the trivial configuration \((1, d)\).