A characterization of invariant connections (Q2447883)

If \(\pi:P\to M\) is a smooth surjective map between manifolds \(P\) and \(M\), \(F_x=\pi^{-1}(x)\subset P\) is the fiber over \(x\in M\) in \(P\), \((S,R)\) is a Lie group that acts from the right on \(P\), \(\{U_\alpha\}\) is an open covering of \(M\), and \(\{\varphi_\alpha\}\) is a family of diffeomorphisms \(\varphi_\alpha:\pi^{-1}(U_\alpha)\to U_\alpha\times S\), then \((P,\pi,M,S)\) is a principal fiber bundle with total space \(P\), projection map \(\pi\), base manifold \(M\), and structure group \(S\). An \(\mathfrak{s}\)-valued \(1\)-form \(\omega\) on \(P\) is called a connection if it satisfies \(R_s^*\omega=\text{Ad}_{s^{-1}}\circ\omega\) and \(\omega_p(\widetilde s(p))=\vec{s}\) for all \(s\in S\) and \(\vec{s}\in\mathfrak{s}\), where \(\mathfrak{s}\ni\vec{s}\to\widetilde{s}(p)\in T_{v_p}P\) is a vector space isomorphism for all \(p\in P\). A Lie group of automorphisms \((G,\Phi)\) of \(P\) is a Lie group \(G\) together with a left action \(\Phi\) of \(G\) on \(P\) such that the map \(\Phi_g:P\to P\) is an automorphism for each \(g\in G\). The induced action \(\varphi\) is defined as \(\varphi:G\times M\to M,\;(g,m)\mapsto (\pi\circ\Psi)(g,p_m)\). \(\Phi\) defines the canonical structure \(\Theta\) on \(G\times S\) as \(\Theta:(G\times S)\times P\to P,\;((g,s),p)\mapsto\Psi(g,p\cdot s^{-1})\). A submanifold \(N\) of \(M\) is called \(\Psi\)-patch if for each \(x\in N\) there is an open neighbourhood \(N_x\) in \(N\) and a submanifold \(H\) of \(G\) through \(e\) such that the restriction \(\Psi_{\mid H\times N}\) is a diffeomorphism to an open subset \(U\) of \(M\). A family of \(\Theta\)-patches \(\{P_\alpha\}\) is said to be a \(\Psi\)-covering of \(P\) if each \(\varphi\)-orbit intersects at least one of the sets \(\pi(P_\alpha)\). A connection \(\omega\) is called \(\Phi\)-invariant if \(\Phi^*_g\omega=\omega\) for all \(g\in G\). In this paper, the author proves that if \((P,\pi,M,S)\) is a principal fiber bundle and \((G,\Phi)\) is a Lie group of automorphisms, then each \(\Phi\)-covering \(\{P_\alpha\}\) admits a bijection between the \(\Phi\)-invariant connections on \(P\) and the families \(\{\psi_\alpha\}\) of smooth maps \(\psi_\alpha:\mathfrak{g}\times TP_\alpha\to\mathfrak{s}\) for which \({\psi_\alpha}_{\mid \mathfrak{g}\times T_{p_\alpha}P_\alpha}\) is linear for all \(p_\alpha\in P_\alpha\) and satisfies the following conditions: (i) \(\widetilde{g}(p_\beta)+\vec w_{p_\beta}-\widetilde s(p_\beta)=dL_q\vec w_{p_\alpha}\) implies \(\psi_\beta(\vec g,\vec w_{p_\beta}-\vec s= \rho(q)\circ\psi_\alpha(\vec 0_{\mathfrak{g}},\vec w_{p_\alpha})\), and (ii)\,\(\psi_\beta(\text{Ad}_q(\vec g),\vec 0_{p_\beta})=\rho(q)\circ\psi_\alpha(\vec g,\vec 0_{p_\alpha})\), where \(\rho:G\times S\to\text{Aut}(\mathfrak{s}),\;q=(g,s)\mapsto\text{Ad}_s\), and \(p_\beta=q\cdot p_\alpha\). Also, the author shows how to construct \(\Phi\)-coverings in special cases, the almost-fiber transitive case, trivial principal fiber bundles, and Lie groups of gauge transformations. Some applications to loop quantum gravity are given.