On deformations of Hamiltonian actions

In this paper we generalize to coisotropic actions of compact Lie groups a theorem of Guillemin on deformations of Hamiltonian structures on compact symplectic manifolds. We show how one can reconstruct from the moment polytope the symplectic form on the manifold. Received: 21 March 2006     

Poisson Lie Groups and Non-Linear Convexity Theorems

In this paper we describe how one can derive nonlinear convexity theorems which are similar to Kostant's nonlinear convexity theorem for the Iwasawa decomposition from Hamiltonian actions on Poisson Lie groups. Our results generalize those of LU and Ratiu ([24]) and aim at a unified symplectic framework for the convexity theorem in [32] and the linear convexity theorems for coadjoint orbits of convex type in [15].     

Toeplitz operators and Hamiltonian torus actions

This paper is devoted to semi-classical aspects of symplectic reduction. Consider a compact prequantizable Kähler manifold M with a Hamiltonian torus action. In the seminal paper [V. Guillemin, S. Sternberg, Geometric quantization and multiplicities of group representations, Invent. Math. 67 (3) (1982) 515-538], Guillemin and Sternberg introduced an isomorphism between the invariant part of the quantum space associated to M and the quantum space associated to the symplectic quotient of M, provided this quotient is non-singular. We prove that this isomorphism is a Fourier integral operator and that the Toeplitz operators of M descend to Toeplitz operators of the reduced phase space. We also extend these results to the case where the symplectic quotient is an orbifold and estimate the spectral density of a reduced Toeplitz operator, a result related to the Riemann-Roch-Kawasaki theorem.     

On Riemann-Roch Formulas for Multiplicities

A theorem of Guillemin and Sternberg about geometric quantization of Hamiltonian actions of compact Lie groups on compact Kähler manifolds says that the dimension of the -invariant subspace is equal to the Riemann-Roch number of the symplectic quotient. Combined with the shifting-trick, this gives explicit formulas for the multiplicities of the various irreducible components. One of the assumptions of the theorem is that the reduction is regular, so that the reduced space is a smooth symplectic manifold. In this paper, we prove a generalization of this result to the case where the reduced space may have orbifold singularities. The result extends to non-Kählerian settings, if one defines the representation by the equivariant index of the -Dirac operator associated to the quantizing line bundle.

     

Convexity of Multi-valued Momentum Maps

A famous theorem of Atiyah, Guillemin and Sternberg states that, given a Hamiltonian torus action, the image of the momentum map is a convex polytope. We prove that this result can be extended to the case in which the action is non-Hamiltonian. Our generalization of the theorem states that, given a symplectic torus action, the momentum map can be defined on an appropriate covering of the manifold and its image is the product of a convex polytope along a rational subspace times the orthogonal vector space. We also prove that this decomposition in direct product is stable under small equivariant perturbations of the symplectic structure; this, in particular, means that the property of being Hamiltonian is locally stable. The technique developed allows us to extend the result to any compact group action and also to deduce that any symplectic n-torus action, with fixed points, on a compact 2n-dimensional manifold, is Hamiltonian.     

Isotropy of symplectic involutions

We prove the symplectic analogue of the isotropy theorem for orthogonal involutions. We apply (a modification of) a method due to J.-P. Tignol originally applied to prove the symplectic analogue of the hyperbolicity theorem for orthogonal involutions.     

Hamiltonian Gromov-Witten invariants

In this paper we introduce invariants of semi-free Hamiltonian actions of S¹ on compact symplectic manifolds using the space of solutions to certain gauge theoretical equations. These equations generalise both the vortex equations and the holomorphicity equation used in Gromov-Witten theory. In the definition of the invariants we combine ideas coming from gauge theory and the ideas underlying the construction of Gromov-Witten invariants.     

Embedded Surfaces for Symplectic Circle Actions

The purpose of this article is to characterize symplectic and Hamiltonian circle actions on symplectic manifolds in terms of symplectic embeddings of Riemann surfaces.More precisely, it is shown that(1) if(M, ω) admits a Hamiltonian S~1-action, then there exists a two-sphere S in M with positive symplectic area satisfying c1(M, ω), [S] 0,and(2) if the action is non-Hamiltonian, then there exists an S~1-invariant symplectic2-torus T in(M, ω) such that c1(M, ω), [T] = 0. As applications, the authors give a very simple proof of the following well-known theorem which was proved by Atiyah-Bott,Lupton-Oprea, and Ono: Suppose that(M, ω) is a smooth closed symplectic manifold satisfying c1(M, ω) = λ· [ω] for some λ∈ R and G is a compact connected Lie group acting effectively on M preserving ω. Then(1) if λ 0, then G must be trivial,(2) if λ = 0, then the G-action is non-Hamiltonian, and(3) if λ 0, then the G-action is Hamiltonian.     

An application of Guillemin-Abreu theory to a non-abelian group action

This note is a step towards demonstrating the benefits of a symplectic approach to studying equivariant Kähler geometry. We apply a local differential geometric framework from Kähler toric geometry due to Guillemin and Abreu to the case of the standard linear SU(n) action on Cn?{0}. Using this framework we (re)construct certain Kähler metrics from data on moment polytopes.     

The symplectic reduced spaces of a Poisson actionLes espaces réduits symplectiques d'une action de Poisson

During the last thirty years, symplectic or Marsden–Weinstein reduction has been a major tool in the construction of new symplectic manifolds and in the study of mechanical systems with symmetry. This procedure has been traditionally associated to the canonical action of a Lie group on a symplectic manifold, in the presence of a momentum map. In this Note we show that the symplectic reduction phenomenon has much deeper roots. More specifically, we will find symplectically reduced spaces purely within the Poisson category under hypotheses that do not necessarily imply the existence of a momentum map. In other words, the right category to obtain symplectically reduced spaces is that of Poisson manifolds acted upon canonically by a Lie group. To cite this article: J.-P. Ortega, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 334 (2002) 999–1004.     

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.     

Structure groups and holonomy in infinite dimensions

We give a theorem of reduction of the structure group of a principal bundle P with regular structure group G. Then, when G is in the classes of regular Lie groups defined by T. Robart in [Can. J. Math. 49 (4) (1997) 820-839], we define the closed holonomy group of a connection as the minimal closed Lie subgroup of G for which the previous theorem of reduction can be applied. We also prove an infinite dimensional version of the Ambrose-Singer theorem: the Lie algebra of the holonomy group is spanned by the curvature elements.     

The Euler-Poincaré-Hopf theorem for flat connections in some transitive Lie algebroids

This paper is a continuation of [19], [21], [22]. We study flat connections with isolated singularities in some transitive Lie algebroids for which either ℝ or sl(2, ℝ) or so(3) are isotropy Lie algebras. Under the assumption that the dimension of the isotropy Lie algebra is equal to n + 1, where n is the dimension of the base manifold, we assign to any such isolated singularity a real number called an index. For ℝ-Lie algebroids, this index cannot be an integer. We prove the index theorem (the Euler-Poincaré-Hopf theorem for flat connections) saying that the index sum is independent of the choice of a connection. Multiplying this index sum by the orientation class of M, we get the Euler class of this Lie algebroid. Some integral formulae for indices are given.     

Compact Kähler quotients of algebraic varieties and Geometric Invariant Theory

Given an action of a complex reductive Lie group G on a normal variety X, we show that every analytically Zariski-open subset of X admitting an analytic Hilbert quotient with projective quotient space is given as the set of semistable points with respect to some G-linearised Weil divisor on X. Applying this result to Hamiltonian actions on algebraic varieties, we prove that semistability with respect to a momentum map is equivalent to GIT-semistability in the sense of Mumford and Hausen. It follows that the number of compact momentum map quotients of a given algebraic Hamiltonian G-variety is finite. As further corollary we derive a projectivity criterion for varieties with compact Kähler quotient.     

Higher asymptotics of unitarity in ��quantization commutes with reduction��

Let M be a compact K?hler manifold equipped with a Hamiltonian action of a compact Lie group G. Guillemin and Sternberg (Invent Math 67:515?C538, 1982, no. 3), showed that there is a geometrically natural isomorphism between the G-invariant quantum Hilbert space over M and the quantum Hilbert space over the symplectic quotient M //G. This map, though, is not in general unitary, even to leading order in ${\hslash}$ . Hall and Kirwin (Commun Math Phys 275:401?C422, 2007, no. 2), showed that when the metaplectic correction is included, one does obtain a map which, while not in general unitary for any fixed ${\hslash}$ , becomes unitary in the semiclassical limit ${\hslash\rightarrow0}$ (cf. the work of Ma and Zhang (C R Math Acad Sci Paris 341:297?C302, 2005, no. 5), and (Astérisque No. 318:viii+154, 2008). The unitarity of the classical Guillemin?CSternberg map and the metaplectically corrected analogue is measured by certain functions on the symplectic quotient M //G. In this paper, we give precise expressions for these functions, and compute complete asymptotic expansions for them as ${\hslash\rightarrow0}$ .     

The symplectic normal space of a cotangent-lifted action

For the cotangent bundle T^∗Q of a smooth Riemannian manifold acted upon by the lift of a smooth and proper action by isometries of a Lie group, we characterize the symplectic normal space at any point. We show that this space splits as the direct sum of the cotangent bundle of a linear space and a symplectic linear space coming from reduction of a coadjoint orbit. This characterization of the symplectic normal space can be expressed solely in terms of the group action on the base manifold and the coadjoint representation. Some relevant particular cases are explored.     

A non-fixed point theorem for Hamiltonian lie group actions

We prove that, under certain conditions, if a compact connected Lie group acts effectively on a closed manifold, then there is no fixed point. Because two of the main conditions are satisfied by any Hamiltonian action on a closed symplectic manifold, the theorem applies nicely to such actions. The method of proof, however, is cohomological; and so the result applies more generally.

     

Openness of momentum maps and persistence of extremal relative equilibria

We prove that for every proper Hamiltonian action of a Lie group G in finite dimensions the momentum map is locally G-open relative to its image (i.e. images of G-invariant open sets are open). As an application we deduce that in a Hamiltonian system with continuous Hamiltonian symmetries, extremal relative equilibria persist for every perturbation of the value of the momentum map, provided the isotropy subgroup of this value is compact. We also demonstrate how this persistence result applies to an example of ellipsoidal figures of rotating fluid. We also provide an example with plane point vortices which shows how the compactness assumption is related to persistence.     

A wall-crossing formula for the signature of symplectic quotients

We use symplectic cobordism, and the localization result of Ginzburg, Guillemin, and Karshon to find a wall-crossing formula for the signature of regular symplectic quotients of Hamiltonian torus actions. The formula is recursive, depending ultimately on fixed point data. In the case of a circle action, we obtain a formula for the signature of singular quotients as well. We also show how formulas for the Poincaré polynomial and the Euler characteristic (equivalent to those of Kirwan can be expressed in the same recursive manner.