The Atiyah-Jones conjecture for rational surfaces (Q927674)

Roughly speaking, the Atiyah-Jones conjecture asserts that the inclusion of the moduli space of framed instantons with charge \(k\) over a four manifold in the corresponding space of all connections induces an isomorphism in homology and homotopy through a range that grows with \(k\). The conjecture holds true for the sphere, the complex projective plane and ruled surfaces by the work of \textit{C. P. Boyer, J. C. Hurtubise, B. M. Mann} and \textit{R. J. Milgram} [Ann. Math. (2) 137, No. 3, 561--609 (1993; Zbl 0816.55002)] and \textit{J. C. Hurtubise} and \textit{R. J. Milgram} [J. Reine Angew. Math. 466, 111--143 (1995; Zbl 0827.58009)]. The author shows that if the Atiyah-Jones conjecture holds for a complex surface \(X\), then also holds true for the blow-up of \(X\) at a point. From this follows that the conjecture is true for all rational surfaces. The author uses the Hitchin-Kobayashi correspondence, hence the problem changes into a problem of stable holomorphic bundles. For the proof, the author makes a careful study of the polarization on the blow-up of \(X\). She shows that removing the singular points in the moduli spaces does not change the homology of the space of instantons in a suitable way. The relation between instantons on \(X\) and its blow up is described.