Geometry of higher connections (Q4488482)

In a previous paper [Prog. Math. 172, 195-235 (1999; Zbl 0943.53032)] the author showed the chain of isomorphisms \[ L^\infty(X,B^{p-2}{\mathbb C}^\ast,\nabla^{p-1})\equiv{\text{Hom}}^\infty(G^{p-2}(G(X)_{\text{ab}}),{\mathbb C}^\ast)\equiv \widehat{H}^p(X,{\mathbb Z}). \] Here the term on the left is the group of concordance classes of differentiable principal \(B^{p-2}{\mathbb C}^\ast\)-bundles with differentiable \((p-2)\)-connections over a smooth manifold \(X\), the middle term is the group of holomorphic homomorphisms from the \((p-2)\)-fold geometric loop group of the pointed space of loops \(G(X)\) on \(X\) abelianized, and the term on the right is the \(p\)th Cheeger-Simons group of differential characters of \(X\). It is known through work of Brylinski that \(2\)-connections on \(B{\mathbb C}^\ast\)-bundles correspond to gerbs with connective structure and curving and play an important role in the geometric descriptions of the first Pontryagin class and the regulator map \(K_1(X)\to H^3(X,{\mathbb R}(2)_{\mathcal D})\), the right-hand side being smooth Deligne cohomology. There is an alternative description of the \(L^\infty\) term of the above chain in terms of the smooth Deligne cohomology of \(X\), and there is a similar description for the group \(L^{\overline{\partial}}\) of isomorphism classes of holomorphic line bundles with holomorphic connections over a complex manifold \(X\) in terms of the analytic Deligne colomology. In the present paper the author investigates holonomies of higher holomorphic connections on complex manifolds, which cannot be approached using the methods of this earlier paper [op. cit.]. The main result is that for every complex manifold \(X\) and every \(p\geq 2\) holonomies of higher connections induce isomorphisms \[ L^{\overline{\partial}}(X,B^{p-2}{\mathbb C}^\ast,\nabla^{p-1})\equiv {\text{Hom}}^{\overline{\partial}}(G^{p-2}(G(X)_{\text{ab}}), {\mathbb C}^\ast)\equiv \widehat{H}^p_{\overline{\partial}}(X,{\mathbb Z}). \] Here \({\text{Hom}}^{\overline{\partial}}(G,{\mathbb C}^\ast)\) is the group of holomorphic characters of the holomorphic group \(G\), and \(\widehat{H}^p_{\overline{\partial}}(X,{\mathbb Z})\) is the group of holomorphic Cheeger-Simons \(p\)-characters of \(X\). The main tools are a geometric cobar construction and a version of the universal holomorphic parallel transport structure.