Operators, Fuchsian groups, and automorphic bundles (Q2640112)

This paper is concerned with the study of bounded linear operators T on a Hilbert space \({\mathcal H}\) with the property that \(\gamma\) (T) is well- defined and is unitarily equivalent to T for all elements \(\gamma\) of some group \(\Gamma\) of Möbius transformations that map the unit disk onto itself. The main problem addressed is that of determining whether or not there exists some unitary representation \(\gamma\mapsto U(\gamma)\) of \(\Gamma\) such that \(\gamma (T)=U(\gamma)^*TU(\gamma)\) for all \(\gamma\in \Gamma\). It is shown that, if T is an irreducible Cowen- Douglas operator with the property that \(\gamma\) (T) is unitarily equivalent to T for all \(\gamma\in \Gamma\), then such a unitary representation always exists for a Fuchsian group \(\Gamma\) with noncompact orbit space. If \(\Gamma\) is a Fuchsian group with compact orbit space, and if the index of T is 1, then the existence of such a unitary representation depends on a quantity \(c_ 1(T,\Gamma)\), the Chern invariant of T, introduced in the paper: the required unitary representation of \(\Gamma\) exists if and only if \(n(\Gamma)c_ 1(T,\Gamma)\) is an integer, where n(\(\Gamma\)) is the lowest common multiple of the orders of the isotropy groups of elliptic fixed points of \(\Gamma\). Moreover the Cowen-Douglas bundle of T is the pullback of a Hermitian holomorphic line bundle on the orbit space of \(\Gamma\) if and only if the Chern invariant \(c_ 1(T,\Gamma)\) is an integer. Also introduced is the concept of an automorphic vector bundle: a Hermitian holomorphic vector bundle over the unit disk is said to be \(\Gamma\)-automorphic with respect to some Fuchsian group \(\Gamma\) if and only if every Möbius transformation in \(\Gamma\) lifts to an automorphism of the bundle. For Cowen-Douglas operators T, the problem of determining whether or not there exists a unitary representation \(\gamma\to U(\gamma)\) of \(\Gamma\) satisfying \(\gamma (T)=U(\gamma)^*TU(\gamma)\) reduces to that of determining whether or not the action of \(\Gamma\) on the unit disk lifts to an action of \(\Gamma\) as a group of automorphisms of a given \(\Gamma\)-automorphic vector bundle. Cohomology groups \(H^ i(\Gamma,G)\) are calculated for any Fuchsian group \(\Gamma\), where the coefficient group G is any Abelian group on which \(\Gamma\) acts trivially. The groups \(H^ i(\Gamma,G)\) are calculated for \(i\geq 3\), and a short exact sequence involving \(H^ 2(\Gamma,G)\) is derived, allowing one to determine \(H^ 2(\Gamma,G)\) for appropriate choices of the coefficient group G. The results obtained concerning the cohomology groups of \(\Gamma\) are then used in the study of the lifting problems for automorphic bundles and for projective unitary Hilbert space representations of \(\Gamma\) determined by Cowen- Douglas operators. A complete classification is given of (adjoints of) Cowen-Douglas operators T of index 1 with the property that \(\gamma\) (T) is well-defined and is unitarily equivalent to T for all Möbius transformations \(\gamma\) of the unit disk.