Flat vector bundles and analytic torsion on orbifolds

This chapter describes a general group-theoretical property enjoyed by fundamental groups of compact Kahler manifolds. In general, the condition that an infinitesimal deformation be tangent to an analytic path is equivalent to the existence of a formal power series deformation with the infinitesimal deformation as its leading term. If a k-jet of a deformation exists, the condition that this k-jet of a deformation extend to a -jet of a deformation is given by the vanishing of a certain cohomology class, which depends on the previous k terms of the series. The chapter discusses the Lemma C is proved, the canonical isomorphisms between de Rham cohomology and Eilenberg-MacLane cohomology, Theorem A is reduced to Theorem D. The proofs of Theorems A and C involve the harmonic theory of M with coefficients in a flat vector bundle. The flat vector bundle we shall need is the complexification of the flat vector bundle ad P, denote this flat complex vector bundle by E.

We show an equality between the analytic torsion and the absolute value at zero of the Ruelle dynamical zeta function on a closed odd dimensional locally symmetric space twisted by an acyclic flat vector bundle obtained by the restriction of a representation of the underlying Lie group. This generalises author’s previous result for unitarily flat vector bundles, and the results of Bröcker, Müller, and Wotzke on closed hyperbolic manifolds.

A flat complex vector bundle (E,D) on a compact Riemannian manifold (X,g) is stable (resp. polystable) in the sense of Corlette [C] if it has no D -invariant subbundle (resp. if it is the D -invariant direct sum of stable subbundles). It has been shown in [C] that the polystability of (E,D) in this sense is equivalent to the existence of a so-called harmonic metric in E . In this paper we consider flat complex vector bundles on compact Hermitian manifolds (X,g) . We propose new notions of g -(poly-)stability of such bundles, and of g -Einstein metrics in them; these notions coincide with (poly-)stability and harmonicity in the sense of Corlette if g is a Kähler metric, but are different in general. Our main result is that the g -polystability in our sense is equivalent to the existence of a g -Hermitian-Einstein metric. Our notion of a g -Einstein metric in a flat bundle is motivated by a correspondence between flat bundles and Higgs bundles over compact surfaces, analogous to the correspondence in the case of Kähler manifolds [S1], [S2], [S3].

We summarize the global geometric formulation of Einstein-Scalar-Maxwell theories twisted by flat symplectic vector bundle which encodes the duality structure of the theory. We describe the scalar-electromagnetic symmetry group of such models, which consists of flat unbased symplectic automorphisms of the flat symplectic vector bundle lifting those isometries of the scalar manifold which preserve the scalar potential. The Dirac quantization condition for such models involves a local system of integral symplectic spaces, giving rise to a bundle of polarized Abelian varieties equipped with a symplectic flat connection, which is defined over the scalar manifold of the theory. Generalized Einstein-Scalar-Maxwell models arise as the bosonic sector of the effective theory of string/M-theory compactifications to four-dimensions, and they are characterized by having non-trivial solutions of "U-fold" type.

The direct image of a flat fibration with complex fibers

We present a new proof, as well as a C/Q extension (and also certain C/Z extension), of the Riemann–Roch–Grothendieck theorem of Bismut–Lott for flat vector bundles. The main techniques used are the computations of the adiabatic limits of η-invariants associated to the so-called sub-signature operators. We further show that the Bismut–Lott analytic torsion form can be derived naturally from transgressions of η-forms appearing in the adiabatic limit computations.

We study the asymptotic expansion of the determinants of the graph Laplacians associated to discretizations of a half-translation surface endowed with a unitary flat vector bundle. By doing so, over the discretizations, we relate the asymptotic expansion of the number of spanning trees and the partition function of cycle-rooted spanning forests, weighted by the monodromy of the unitary connection of the vector bundle, to the corresponding zeta-regularized determinants.

The Partition Function for Topological Field Theories

In this paper we give a global version of the Bryant representation of surfaces of constant mean curvature one (cmc-1) in hyperbolic space. This allows to set the associated non-abelian period problem in the framework of flat unitary vector bundles on Riemann surfaces. We use this machinery to prove the existence of certain cmc-1 surfaces having prescribed global monodromy.

Chern–Simons classes for a superconnection

We show that non-abelian quantum statistics can be studied using certain topological invariants which are the homology groups of configuration spaces. In particular, we formulate a general framework for describing quantum statistics of particles constrained to move in a topological space X. The framework involves a study of isomorphism classes of flat complex vector bundles over the configuration space of X which can be achieved by determining its homology groups. We apply this methodology for configuration spaces of graphs. As a conclusion, we provide families of graphs which are good candidates for studying simple effective models of anyon dynamics as well as models of non-abelian anyons on networks that are used in quantum computing. These conclusions are based on our solution of the so-called universal presentation problem for homology groups of graph configuration spaces for certain families of graphs.

Gerbes and higher gerbes are geometric cocycles representing higher degree cohomology classes, and are attracting considerable interest in differential geometry and mathematical physics. We prove that a 2-gerbe has a torsion Dixmier–Douady class if and only if the gerbe has locally constant cocycle data. As an application, we give an alternative description of flat twisted vector bundles in terms of locally constant transition maps. These results generalize to n-gerbes for n=1 and n≥3, providing insights into the structure of higher gerbes and their applications to the geometry of twisted vector bundles.

We report on the construction of secondary invariants in connection with the Atiyah-Singer index theorem for families, and the Theorem of Riemann-Roch-Grothendieck. The local families index theorem plays an important role in the construction. In complex geometry, the corresponding objects are the analytic torsion forms and the analytic torsion currents. These objects exhibit natural functorial properties with respect to composition of maps. Gillet and Soulé have used these objects to prove a Riemann-Roch theorem in Arakelov geometry. Also we state a Riemann-Roch theorem for flat vector bundles, and report on the construction of corresponding higher analytic torsion forms.

We introduce and study a canonical quadratic form, called the torsion quadratic form, of the determinant line of a flat vector bundle over a closed oriented odd-dimensional manifold. This quadratic form caries less information than the refined analytic torsion, introduced in our previous work, but is easier to construct and closer related to the combinatorial Farber-Turaev torsion. In fact, the torsion quadratic form can be viewed as an analytic analogue of the Poincare-Reidemeister scalar product, introduced by Farber and Turaev. Moreover, it is also closely related to the complex analytic torsion defined by Cappell and Miller and we establish the precise relationship between the two. In addition, we show that up to an explicit factor, which depends on the Euler structure, and a sign the Burghelea-Haller complex analytic torsion, whenever it is defined, is equal to our quadratic form. We conjecture a formula for the value of the torsion quadratic form at the Farber-Turaev torsion and prove some weak version of this conjecture. As an application we establish a relationship between the Cappell-Miller and the combinatorial torsions.

We generalise Simpson’s nonabelian Hodge correspondence to the context of projective varieties with Kawamata log terminal (klt) singularities. The proof relies on a descent theorem for numerically flat vector bundles along birational morphisms. In its simplest form, this theorem asserts that given any klt variety $X$ and any resolution of singularities, any vector bundle on the resolution that appears to come from $X$ numerically, does indeed come from $X$ . Furthermore, and of independent interest, a new restriction theorem for semistable Higgs sheaves defined on the smooth locus of a normal, projective variety is established.