Questions tagged [gauge-theory]

Gauge theory in physics and mathematics refers to a field theory whose fields include principal bundles with connection.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
3 votes
1 answer
313 views

What can be an appropriate notion of principal bundle over a category (with an appropriate notion of local trivialisation)?

Motivation for my question: It is a well-known fact that there exists a bijection between the set of isomorphism class of principal $G$ bundles over a nice topological space $X$ and the set $[X,B'G]$ ...
Adittya Chaudhuri's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
402 views

Derivative of the Bott-Chern forms

The Bott-Chern forms are constructed formally in Bismut's "Analytic Torsion and Holomorphic Determinant Bundle I" (page 74). This construction can be found as well in "Lectures on Arakelov Geometry" ...
BinAcker's user avatar
  • 767
2 votes
1 answer
240 views

Canonical connection on $\mathcal{A}\times X$

Let $E\rightarrow X$ be a vector bundle and let $\mathcal{A}$ denote the space of connections on $E$. Pulling back $E$ by the second projection we obtain a vector bundle $\mathbb{E}=p_2^*E\rightarrow ...
BinAcker's user avatar
  • 767
2 votes
0 answers
47 views

Solving equations of motion of holomorphic BF theory - pure gauge in complex coordinates

In this paper by Bailieu and Tanzini, aspects of holomorphic BF theory are presented. Holomorphic BF theory on a four dimensional Kahler manifold is discussed from page 5, and on page 8 the ...
Mtheorist's user avatar
  • 1,135
7 votes
0 answers
244 views

Weak 2-groups and non-abelian gerbe over a manifold

In literature, a strict 2-group is defined as a group object in the category of categories or groupoids. It has many well known equivalent descriptions viz: 1. A strict monoidal category in which all ...
Adittya Chaudhuri's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
88 views

Poincaré connection encode torsion and curvature

I'm trying to understand something that is written in Baez & Wise paper "Teleparallel Gravity as a Higher Gauge Theory". In section 4, they discuss Poincaré connection and, first of all, split ...
BVquantization's user avatar
5 votes
0 answers
117 views

Uniqueness of Witten-Dijkgraaf 2D TQFT at 0th dimension

If I understand correctly, Dijkgraaf-Witten TQFT in dimension 2 is the following. Fix any finite group $G$, we define a field over a closed 2-manifold to be a principle $G$ bundle (it's automatically ...
Student's user avatar
  • 5,008
6 votes
2 answers
790 views

1-dimensional pure gauge theory

I am learning TQFT from compact Lie groups by Freed, Hopkins, Lurie, and Teleman: https://arxiv.org/abs/0905.0731 , and got stuck very hard even in the first section ($n = 1$), which was "trivial but ...
Student's user avatar
  • 5,008
6 votes
3 answers
594 views

Electromagnetism as a $U(1)$-gauge theory

I would like to learn gauge theory, starting from the simplest case. I have heard that I should start with electromagnetism, which is just the $U(1)$-gauge theory. All the references I know are ...
Student's user avatar
  • 5,008
5 votes
0 answers
146 views

Inverse semigroups and partial symmetries

I recently ran across the idea of inverse semi-groups in the context of partial symmetries, where the symmetry only acts on part of the system and not the entire system (e.g., in quasi-crystals). My ...
Aegon's user avatar
  • 173
4 votes
1 answer
182 views

Self-dual differential on $4$-manifold with boundary

Let $(M,g)$ be an oriented compact Riemannian $4$-manifold with boundary $\partial M$. Let $a\in \Omega^1$ such that $*a\big|_{\partial M}=0$, i.e. $a(\nu)=0$ on $\partial M$, where $\nu$ denotes the ...
DLIN's user avatar
  • 1,905
5 votes
0 answers
229 views

Does Dijkgraaf-Witten theory have a time-reversal symmetry?

By having a time-reversal symmetry I mean that there is a local anti-unitary symmetry (representing the non-trivial element of $Z_2$) of the state-sum construction (or, if you want, of the associated ...
Andi Bauer's user avatar
  • 2,901
2 votes
1 answer
203 views

Construction of $G$-invariant map between manifolds

Let $M,N$ be two closed differential manifolds and let $G$ be a compact Lie group. Assume that $G$ acts on both manifolds $M,N$ nicely (i.e. free and proper so that $M/G$ and $N/G$ have the structure ...
Stan's user avatar
  • 21
12 votes
1 answer
663 views

Reference request: Gauge natural bundles, and calculus of variation via the equivariant bundle approach

Let $P\rightarrow M$ be a principal fibre bundle with structure group $G$, $F$ a manifold and $\alpha: G\times F\rightarrow F$ a smooth left action. There is an associated fibre bundle $E\rightarrow ...
Bence Racskó's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
220 views

Orientability of moduli space and determinant bundle of ASD operator

Setting In instanton gauge theory, given a $G$-principal bundle $P\to X^4$, the orientability of the moduli space of ASD connections $$\mathcal{M}_k = \{A \in L^{2}_{k}(X, \Lambda^1 \otimes\mathrm{...
Overflowian's user avatar
  • 2,523
3 votes
2 answers
577 views

When is the action of the gauge group on the space of connections free?

Let $G$ be a compact Lie group. Let $\mathcal{A}$ be the space of connections on the principal trivial $G$-bundle $G\times \mathbb{R}^4$ possibly with some growth condition (to specify it is a part of ...
asv's user avatar
  • 21.1k
3 votes
0 answers
293 views

Gauge structure of teleparallel gravity

I am interested in references that treat teleparallel gravity in a mathematically rigorous manner, especially in regards to it being a "gauge theory of the translation group". The standard reference ...
Bence Racskó's user avatar
4 votes
0 answers
128 views

Airy stress, Beltrami stress and gauge fields

The following problem comes from the theory of elasticity, but reduces to a pure geometric problem. Consider a $d$-dimensional Riemannian manifold $(M,g)$ with boundary representing the intrinsic ...
Raz Kupferman's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
644 views

Gauge invariance of Chern-Simons functional integral for a 3-manifold with boundary

I am trying to understand how the functional integral for Chern-Simons theory for a possibly non-compact 3-manifold with boundary is made gauge invariant. For a compact 3-manifold, $M$, without ...
Mtheorist's user avatar
  • 1,135
1 vote
1 answer
722 views

Reference request: Gauge theory [closed]

What are some good introductory texts to gauge theory? I have some basic differential geometry knowledge, but I don’t know any algebraic geometry. Also, as a side question, what intuitively is a ...
James Baxter's user avatar
  • 2,029
8 votes
1 answer
362 views

On the classification of $\mathrm{SU}(mn)/\mathbb{Z}_n$ principal bundles over 4-complexes

In The Classification of Principal PU(n)-bundles Over a 4-complex, J. London Math. Soc. 2nd ser. 25 (1982) 513–524, doi:10.1112/jlms/s2-25.3.513 Woodward proposed a classification of $\mathrm{PU}...
fvcalvera's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
464 views

Curvature of tautological connections over the space of connections

My question is about computing the curvature of a quotient connection, specifically for the case of the quotient of the tautological connection of a universal bundle on the moduli space of connections....
Andrew's user avatar
  • 201
4 votes
0 answers
195 views

3d Chern-Simons TQFT of gauge group (E8)$_1$ = SO(16)$_1 \otimes$ a trivial spin TQFT = Cartan E$_8$ matrix

In this post, we like to relate the following 3 bosonic TQFTs that can be defined on generic non-spin manifold $M^3$. Given a non-abelian Chern-Simons (CS) TQFT of a gauge group $G$ and the $k$ named ...
wonderich's user avatar
  • 10.3k
10 votes
1 answer
606 views

Gauge theory on schemes

Gauge theories are traditionally formulated in space-time, superspace, manifolds, or supermanifolds. Are there formulations of gauge theory in the context of algebraic geometry (e.g. defining fields ...
Emily's user avatar
  • 10k
1 vote
1 answer
339 views

Is conjugation by gauge transformation of $G$-bundle contained in $\mathfrak{g}$?

Before painstakingly defining all these terms, let me ask my question in plain english: given a $G$-bundle, is every conjugate of a vector field by a gauge transformation an element of the Lie algebra?...
pre-kidney's user avatar
  • 1,289
2 votes
0 answers
216 views

Reference Request: A "Chevalley-Eilenberg"-style formulation of the $L_\infty$ algebra minimal model theorem?

The nicest definition of $L_\infty$-algebras ---which I will call a "Chevalley-Eilenberg" style definition after the obvious analogy with the Chevalley-Eilenberg differential of Lie algebras--- is the ...
AlexArvanitakis's user avatar
6 votes
0 answers
216 views

Infinite-dimensional manifold $ΩG$ of loops and the complex projective $n$-space

In a review seminar today, I heard the speaker takes the below for granted, but I have no enough background "Yang-Mills (YM) instantons in 4D can be naturally identified with (i.e. have the same ...
wonderich's user avatar
  • 10.3k
5 votes
0 answers
80 views

Does $\Lambda^2_{+}$ generate a differential ideal for a self-dual $4$-manifold?

Let $(X, g)$ be a smooth, oriented, Riemannian 4-diemnsional manifold. Let $\Lambda^2$ denote the bundle of 2-forms on $X$. Then the Hodge-star operator decomposes $\Lambda^2$ into the space of self-...
Zhaoting Wei's user avatar
  • 8,657
1 vote
0 answers
119 views

Determine all possible magnetic monopole of gauge theories

In Wikipedia, it states about the magnetic monopole of the gauge theory is determined by the fact: This argument for monopoles is a restatement of the lasso argument for a pure U(1) theory. It ...
wonderich's user avatar
  • 10.3k
1 vote
1 answer
278 views

compact manifold as a hyperkahler quotient of an infinite-dimensional affine space

Is it possible to obtain K3 (or any other compact hyperkahler manifold) with its hyperkahler structure as a hyperkahler quotient of an infinite-dimensional affine quaternionic vector space with an ...
Misha Verbitsky's user avatar
7 votes
0 answers
371 views

$U(1)$ v.s. $SU(N)$ v.s. $SO(N)$ instantons

I am interested in knowing the details of the comparison between $U(1)$, $SU(N)$ and $SO(N)$ instantons for their gauge theories in 4 spacetime dimensions., in terms of: Chern class (1st, 2nd), and ...
annie marie cœur's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
38 views

Fourier Lapalacian over periodic end

This is a technical question on Taubes' paper: Gauge theory over periodic end. on Page 378. Recall that: Let $Y$ be a closed manifold, with $b_1=1$, and $\tilde Y$ be the $\mathbb Z$-covering of $...
DLIN's user avatar
  • 1,905
4 votes
2 answers
831 views

$spin_{\mathbb{C}}$ Connection and Charge Parity

From the paper "Gapped Boundary Phases of Topological Insulators via Weak Coupling" on page 11, https://arxiv.org/abs/1602.04251 the authors states that on a curved manifold with a $spin_{\mathbb{C}}...
Valac's user avatar
  • 615
2 votes
1 answer
160 views

Extend a gauge transformation

Suppose $M$ is a smooth manifold and $P$ is a principal bundle on $M$. Let $U^\prime\Subset U\Subset M$ be strictly contained precompact open subsets. Let $g\in C^\infty(U, \hbox{Ad}P|_U)$ be a ...
user188722's user avatar
6 votes
0 answers
231 views

Correspondence between $O(n)$-instantons on $S^4$ and holomorphic bundles over $\mathbb{P}^3$

Theorem 2.9 on page 49 of Atiyah's Geometry of Yang-Mills Fields states that there is a natural correspondence between $U(n)$-instantons on $S^4$ and holomorphic vector bundles of rank $n$ over $\...
Augusto Pereira's user avatar
13 votes
1 answer
571 views

SO(3) monopole Floer homology

From what I understand about work on the Witten conjecture relating Donaldson and Seiberg-Witten invariants, the main strategy has been to relate them with the use of the "SO(3) monopole" theory ...
Rohil Prasad's user avatar
  • 1,591
17 votes
3 answers
3k views

What is an "Instanton" in classical gauge theory? (to a mathematician)

There's already a question about the same topic but I think its aim is different. Classical (non-quantum) gauge theory is a completely rigorous mathematical theory. It can be phrased in completely ...
Saal Hardali's user avatar
  • 7,549
9 votes
0 answers
613 views

Hartshorne's Conjectures about Algebraic Bundles?

In 1978 Hartshorne published a list of 26 open problems about algebraic bundles on projective spaces [Hart], proceeding from an Oxford conference organized by Atiyah. I understand that many of these ...
user avatar
13 votes
0 answers
359 views

Finite dimensional approximation of Donaldson theory

In addition to the Seiberg-Witten invariant there has been further success with "finite dimensional approximations" of the Seiberg-Witten theory: Bauer-Furuta's stable (co)homotopy invariants, and ...
Chris Gerig's user avatar
  • 17.1k
4 votes
0 answers
110 views

The topology of subgroups of gauge groups

I am reading Atiyah and Bott's classic paper "Yang-Mills Equations over Riemann surfaces" and struggling with proposition 2.16 (p. 542) Let $P$ be a principal $U(n)$-bundle over a compact Riemann ...
YYF's user avatar
  • 201
8 votes
1 answer
301 views

Deformation-Obstruction Theory of YM Instantons

In Donaldson-Kronhiemer Section 4.2.5. (local models of the moduli space of YM instantons) they first get local models of the moduli space $M$ inside the space of all connections modulo gauge $\...
user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
520 views

Gauge group of tangent bundle and diffeomorphism group

I'm not exactly a differential geometer, so I hope this isn't too elementary a question. From a naive point of view, it seems as if there are two natural group actions on the space of connections on ...
user111650's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
321 views

Extension problem for Seiberg-Witten solutions

Let $X$ be a compact $4$-manifold, possibly with boundary. Theorem 17.1.2 of Kronheimer-Mrowka's book "Monopoles and Three-Manifolds" states Let $X' \subset X$ be a codimension-zero submanifold ...
Rohil Prasad's user avatar
  • 1,591
6 votes
0 answers
169 views

Are 2d gauge anomalies determined by genus-one data?

Let $G$ be a (finite, say) group and $\alpha \in \mathrm{H}^3(\mathrm{B}G; \mathrm{U}(1))$ a 3-cohomology class. For each oriented 3-manifold $X^3$ equipped with a $G$-bundle $P : X \to \mathrm{B}G$, ...
Theo Johnson-Freyd's user avatar
13 votes
1 answer
258 views

Example of ''annihilation'' of Seiberg-Witten Equation solutions

The proof that the Seiberg-Witten invariants of a 4-manifold $X$ with fixed Spin$^c$ structure really are invariant wrt the metric used to define them goes roughly as follows (for simplicity let $b_2^+...
Todd N's user avatar
  • 313
4 votes
0 answers
150 views

tertiary characteristic class: integration of the Chern-Simons form

Let $P \to M$ be a trivial principal circle bundle with connection $A$ over a closed 3-manifold $M$. The Chern-Simons 3-form of the connection is defined by $\mathrm{CS}(A) = A \wedge dA$. Suppose ...
Tobias Diez's user avatar
  • 5,442
8 votes
1 answer
200 views

Todd genus of symplectic $4$-manifolds a smooth invariant?

Suppose that $(M_{1},\omega_{1})$ and $(M_{2},\omega_{2})$ are compact symplectic $4$-manifolds, that are (oriented) diffeomorphic. Is it true that the Todd genus ($\frac{1}{12} (c_{1}^{2} + c_{2})(M_{...
Nick L's user avatar
  • 6,923
2 votes
2 answers
928 views

Elliptic operator becomes Fredholm

Let $X$ be a Riemannian $n$-manifold with tubular end $\mathbb R^+\times Y$, where $Y$ is a closed $n-1$-manifold. Suppose $L:L^{p,w}_2(X)\to L^{p,w}(X)$ is the Laplacian operator which is ...
DLIN's user avatar
  • 1,905
11 votes
3 answers
3k views

About Simon Donaldson's book on four dimensional manifold

Recently I'm reading Donaldson's Geometry of four manifolds. It seems to me that the book requires a lot for background. Additionally, the proof in the book is too sketchy without too much detail. I ...
Jack's user avatar
  • 397
2 votes
0 answers
646 views

A Question about Hermitian Yang-Mills Equations

Let E be a holomorphic bundle over algebra surface X, let $H$ be a Hermitian metric of $E$, recall the Hermitian-Yang-mills equation is $\wedge F_H=\lambda.1$. Let $H_t$ be Hermitian metrics over $E$ ...
Siqi He's user avatar
  • 693