The degree of maps of free G-manifolds and the average

Suppose that G is a compact Lie group, M and N are orientable, free G-manifolds and f : M → N is an equivariant map. We show that the degree of f satisfies a formula involving data given by the classifying maps of the orbit spaces M/G and N/G. In particular, if the generator of the top dimensional cohomology of M/G with integer coefficients is in the image of the cohomology map induced by the classifying map for M, then the degree is one. The condition that the map be equivariant can be relaxed: it is enough to require that it be “nearly equivariant”, up to a positive constant. We will also discuss the G-average construction and show that the requirement that the map be equivariant can be replaced by a somewhat weaker condition involving the average of the map. These results are applied to maps into real, complex and quaternionic Stiefel manifolds. In particular, we show that a nearly equivariant map of a complex or quaternionic Stiefel manifold into itself has degree one. Dedicated to the memory of Jean Leray     

The biinvariant diagonal class for Hamiltonian torus actions

Suppose that an algebraic torus G acts algebraically on a projective manifold X with generically trivial stabilizers. Then the Zariski closure of the set of pairs {(x,y)∈X×X|y=gx for some g∈G} defines a nonzero equivariant cohomology class . We give an analogue of this construction in the case where X is a compact symplectic manifold endowed with a Hamiltonian action of a torus, whose complexification plays the role of G. We also prove that the Kirwan map sends the class [ΔG] to the class of the diagonal in each symplectic quotient. This allows to define a canonical right inverse of the Kirwan map.     

Witten's nonabelian localization for noncompact Hamiltonian spaces

For a finite-dimensional (but possibly noncompact) symplectic manifold with a compact group acting with a proper moment map, we show that the square of the moment map is an equivariantly perfect Morse function in the sense of Kirwan, show that certain integrals of equivariant cohomology classes localize as a sum of contributions from these compact critical sets, and bound the contribution from each critical set. In the case (1) that the contribution from higher critical sets grows slowly enough that the overall integral converges rapidly and (2) that 0 is a regular value of the moment map, we recover Witten's result [E. Witten, Two dimensional gauge theories revisited, J. Geom. Phys. 9 (1992) 303-368; http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/hep-th/9204083] identifying the polynomial part of these integrals as the ordinary integral of the image of the class under the Kirwan map to the symplectic quotient.     

The Kirwan Map for Singular Symplectic Quotients

Let M be a Hamiltonian K-space with proper moment map µ.The symplectic quotient X = µ^–1(0)/K is a singularstratified space with a symplectic structure on the strata.In this paper we generalise the Kirwan map, which maps the Kequivariant cohomology of µ^–1(0) to the middle perversityintersection cohomology of X, to this symplectic setting. The key technical results which allow us to do this are Meinrenken'sand Sjamaar's partial desingularisation of singular symplecticquotients and a decomposition theorem, proved in Section 2 ofthis paper, exhibiting the intersection cohomology of a ‘symplecticblowup’ of the singular quotient X along a maximal depthstratum as a direct sum of terms including the intersectioncohomology of X.     

The universality of equivariant complex bordism

We show that if A is an abelian compact Lie group, all A-equivariant complex vector bundles are orientable over a complex orientable equivariant cohomology theory. In the process, we calculate the complex orientable homology and cohomology of all complex Grassmannians. Received: 14 February 2000; in final form: 4 August 2000 / Published online: 19 October 2001     

Induced Hamiltonian maps on the symplectic quotient

Let (M,ω) be a symplectic manifold and G a compact Lie group that acts on M. Assume that the action of G on M is Hamiltonian. Then a G-equivariant Hamiltonian map on M induces a map on the symplectic quotient of M by G. Consider an autonomous Hamiltonian H with compact support on M, with no non-constant closed trajectory in time less than 1 and time-1 map fH. If the map fH descends to the symplectic quotient to a map Φ(fH) and the symplectic manifold M is exact and Ham(M,ω) has no short loops, we prove that the Hofer norm of the induced map Φ(fH) is bounded above by the Hofer norm of fH.     

Equivariant evaluation on free loop spaces

There is a natural evaluation map on the free loop space which sends a loop to its values at the kth roots of unity. This map is equivariant with respect to the action of the cyclic group on k elements . We study the induced map in -equivariant cohomology with mod two coefficients in the cases where for . Received: 17 February 2000; in final form: 28 February 2001 / Published online: 18 January 2002     

Symplectic convexity for orbifolds

Let a connected compact Lie group G act on a connected symplectic orbifold of orbifold fundamental group Г. If the action preserves the symplectic structure and there is a G-equivariant and mod-Г proper momentum map for the lifted action on the universal branch covering orbifold, and if the lifted G-action commutes with that of Г, then the symplectic convexity theorem is still true for this kind of lifted Hamiltonian action.     

Equivariant quantum Schubert calculus

We study the T-equivariant quantum cohomology of the Grassmannian. We prove the vanishing of a certain class of equivariant quantum Littlewood-Richardson coefficients, which implies an equivariant quantum Pieri rule. As in the equivariant case, this implies an algorithm to compute the equivariant quantum Littlewood-Richardson coefficients.     

Group-valued equivariant localization

We prove a localization formula for group-valued equivariant de Rham cohomology of a compact G-manifold. This formula is a non-trivial generalization of the localization formula of Berline-Vergne and Atiyah-Bott for the usual equivariant de Rham cohomology. We derive from this result a Duistermaat-Heckman formula for group valued moment maps. As an application, we prove part of Witten’s conjectures about intersection pairings on moduli spaces of flat connections on 2-manifolds. Oblatum 24-VI-1999 & 29-X-1999?Published online: 21 February 2000     

Geometric quantization for proper actions

We first introduce an invariant index for G-equivariant elliptic differential operators on a locally compact manifold M admitting a proper cocompact action of a locally compact group G. It generalizes the Kawasaki index for orbifolds to the case of proper cocompact actions. Our invariant index is used to show that an analog of the Guillemin-Sternberg geometric quantization conjecture holds if M is symplectic with a Hamiltonian action of G that is proper and cocompact. This essentially solves a conjecture of Hochs and Landsman.     

Invariants de Maslov équivariants

We construct two cohomological invariants associated to pairs of Lagrangian sub-bundles of a symplectic bundle on a compact manifold upon which a compact Lie group is acting. The first invariant, which we call the classical equivariant Maslov H-invariant, provides an obstruction to Lagrangian transversality and lives in the Borel cohomology. The second invariant, which we call the equivariant Maslov U-invariant, generalises the author's results in K-Theory 13 (1998), 347–361 to the equivariant context and provides a necessary and sufficient condition for equivariant Lagrangian transversality, up to homotopic stability, and lives in the U-theory (intermediate between the real complex K-theories). As an application, we show that two Lagrangian sub-bundles of a symplectic bundle on a homogeneous space are always stably transverse.     

Actions of Totally Disconnected Groups and Equivariant Singular Cohomology

In this work, we study the special properties of the equivariant singular cohomology of a G-space X, where G is a totally disconnected, locally compact group. We prove that any short exact sequence of coefficient systems for G, over a ring R, gives a long exact sequence of the associated equivariant singular cohomology modules. We establish the relationship between the ordinary singular cohomology modules and the equivariant singular cohomology modules with the natural contravariant coefficient system. Moreover, under some conditions, we give an isomorphism of the equivariant singular cohomology modules of the G-space X onto the ordinary singular cohomology modules of the orbit space X/G.     

The Chern character of a transversally elliptic symbol and the equivariant index

Let G be a compact Lie group acting on a compact manifold M. In this article, we associate to a G-transversally elliptic symbol on M a G-invariant generalized function on G, constructed in terms of equivariant closed differential forms on the cotangent bundle T ^* M. Oblatum 24-VII-1995     

A Littelmann-type formula for Duistermaat-Heckman measures

Given a compact Hamiltonian T-manifold M, some component of whose moment map is a Palais-Smale Morse function, we give a formula for the Duistermaat-Heckman measure (the Fourier transform of the equivariant symplectic volume) as a sum of volumes of simplices. Unlike previous formulae for this measure, this sum has only positive terms. In the case of M a flag manifold, our results are an asymptotic version of Littelmann's multiplicity result in representation theory [9]. Oblatum 5-I-1998 & 25-I-1998 / Published online: 14 October 1998     

Action hamiltonienne d’un tore et formule de localisation en cohomologie équivariante

Using an idea of Witten (see [8]), we give a localization formula in equivariant cohomology in the case of an Hamiltonian torus action on a compact symplectic manifold χ. The integral over χ of an equivariant closed form can be written as an integral over the submanifold of critical points of the square of the moment map.