Basic Kirwan surjectivity for K-contact manifolds (Q2407993)

Kirwan surjectivity asserts that if \(\Psi\) is a moment map for a Hamiltonian action of a compact group \(G\) on a compact symplectic manifold \(N\) and \(0\) a regular value, then the Kirwan map \(H^*_G(N)\longrightarrow H^*_G(\Psi^{-1}(0))\) induced by inclusion is an epimorphism [\textit{F. C. Kirwan}, Cohomology of quotients in symplectic and algebraic geometry. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press (1984; Zbl 0553.14020)]. The purpose of the present paper is to give a modification of the Kirwan map for contact manifolds such that surjectivity holds. Let \(M\) be a contact manifold with contact form \(\alpha\) and Reeb vector field \(\xi\). Let \(\mathcal F\) denote the one-dimensional foliation induced by \(\xi\). A Riemannian metric \(g\) is said to be a \textit{contact metric} if (i) \(\text{ker}\, \alpha \perp_g \text{ker}\, d\alpha\), (ii) \(g|_{\text{ker}\, d\alpha}=\alpha\otimes\alpha\) and (iii) \(g|_{\text{ker}\,\alpha}\) is compatible with the symplectic form \(d\alpha\) on \(\text{ker}\, \alpha\). The contact metric structure is said to be \textit{K-contact} if the Reeb vector field is a Killing vector field. The main result of the paper is the following. Let \((M,\alpha)\) be a K-contact manifold and \(\xi\) its Reeb vector field. Let \(G\) be a torus that acts on \(M\) preserving \(\alpha\). Denote by \(\Psi:M\longrightarrow {\mathfrak g}^*\) the contact moment map and suppose that \(0\) is a regular value of \(\Psi\). Then the inclusion \(\Psi^{-1}(0)\subset M\) induces an epimorphism in equivariant basic cohomology \(H^*_G(M,{\mathcal F})\longrightarrow H^*_G(\Psi^{-1}(0), {\mathcal F})\). The paper gives extensive discussions of contact moment maps and equivariant basic cohomology leading up to the proof. The paper closes with examples, discussion of the kernel of the Kirwan map and equivariant formality.