A Hitchin connection on nonabelian theta functions for parabolic \(G\)-bundles (Q6060799)

The aim of this paper is to prove the existence of a flat projective connection on spaces of generalized theta functions on the moduli spaces of parabolic bundles for a family of smooth projective curves with marked points. More precisely, for a simple, simply connected complex affine algebraic group \(G\), the authors prove the existence of a flat projective connection on the bundle of nonabelian theta functions on the moduli spaces of semistable parabolic \(G\)-bundles for families of smooth projective curves with marked points. This paper is organized as follows: The first Section is an introduction to the subject and statement of results. Section 2 deals with flat projection connection following Hitchin-van Geemen-de Jong. Here, the authors review the construction of the projectively flat connection in the general set-up following \textit{N. J. Hitchin} [Commun. Math. Phys. 131, No. 2, 347--380 (1990; Zbl 0718.53021)] and \textit{B. van Geemen} and \textit{A. J. de Jong} [J. Am. Math. Soc. 11, No. 1, 189--228 (1998; Zbl 0920.32017)]. In Section 3, they begin by recalling the notion of a parabolic Atiyah algebra. Then they discuss the parabolic analog of the Hitchin symbol. This will turn out to be the symbol of a natural second-order differential operator. The original case of (nonparabolic) vector bundles is due to Hitchin. The authors follow and generalize the discussion in [\textit{C. Pauly} et al., J. Inst. Math. Jussieu 22, No. 1, 449--492 (2023; Zbl 1517.14022)]. They review the generalizations of Hitchin's symbol and Kodaira-Spencer maps in the parabolic bundle context. The important result here relates the fiducial Hitchin symbol to the relative extension classes of the Atiyah algebras of the \(G\)-bundle and the determinant of cohomology. In Section 4, the authors state and prove a key result that compares the cupping map by the class of the parabolic determinant of cohomology to that of the usual determinant of cohomology. Section 5 is devoted to parabolic Hitchin connection. In this section, the authors prove that the modified Hitchin symbol satisfies the constraint equations of van Geemen-de Jong. This leads to the proof of the main result obtained in this paper. The last three sections contain some definitions and technical results on parabolic bundles, invariant pushforwards, and vanishing theorems, that are used at various points in the paper. For the rest of the article, the authors emphasize that the fundamental field of varieties and schemes is always \(\mathbb{C}\), and freely go back and forth between Zariski and analytical topologies. The paper is supported by three appendices : Appendix A deals with parabolic \(G\)-bundles, Appendix B is devoted to \(\Gamma\)-equivariant G-bundles, where the authors recall the correspondence between parabolic bundles on a curve \(C\) and equivariant bundles on a ramified Galois cover \(\widehat{C}\longrightarrow C\) with Galois group \(\Gamma\), and Appendix C concerning the properness condition and codimension estimates.