Conformal blocks and generalized theta functions

Let M(r) be the moduli space of rank r vector bundles with trivial determinant on a Riemann surface X . This space carries a natural line bundle, the determinant line bundle L . We describe a canonical isomorphism of the space of global sections of L^k with a space known in conformal field theory as the ``space of conformal blocks", which is defined in terms of representations of the Lie algebra sl(r, C((z))).Comment: 43 pages, Plain Te

Filtered screens and augmented Teichm\"uller space

We study a new bordification of the decorated Teichm\"uller space for a multiply punctured surface F by a space of filtered screens on the surface that arises from a natural elaboration of earlier work of McShane-Penner. We identify necessary and sufficient conditions for paths in this space of filtered screens to yield short curves having vanishing length in the underlying surface F. As a result, an appropriate quotient of this space of filtered screens on F yields a decorated augmented Teichm\"uller space which is shown to admit a CW decomposition that naturally projects to the augmented Teichm\"uller space by forgetting decorations and whose strata are indexed by a new object termed partially oriented stratum graphs.Comment: Final version to appear in Geometriae Dedicat

On some differential-geometric aspects of the Torelli map

In this note we survey recent results on the extrinsic geometry of the Jacobian locus inside $\mathsf{A}_g$. We describe the second fundamental form of the Torelli map as a multiplication map, recall the relation between totally geodesic subvarieties and Hodge loci and survey various results related to totally geodesic subvarieties and the Jacobian locus.Comment: To appear on Boll. UMI, special volume in memory of Paolo de Bartolomei

Spectral curves and the mass of hyperbolic monopoles

The moduli spaces of hyperbolic monopoles are naturally fibred by the monopole mass, and this leads to a nontrivial mass dependence of the holomorphic data (spectral curves, rational maps, holomorphic spheres) associated to hyperbolic multi-monopoles. In this paper, we obtain an explicit description of this dependence for general hyperbolic monopoles of magnetic charge two. In addition, we show how to compute the monopole mass of higher charge spectral curves with tetrahedral and octahedral symmetries. Spectral curves of euclidean monopoles are recovered from our results via an infinite-mass limit.Comment: 43 pages, LaTeX, 3 figure

A local families index formula for d-bar operators on punctured Riemann surfaces

Using heat kernel methods developed by Vaillant, a local index formula is obtained for families of d-bar operators on the Teichmuller universal curve of Riemann surfaces of genus g with n punctures. The formula also holds on the moduli space M{g,n} in the sense of orbifolds where it can be written in terms of Mumford-Morita-Miller classes. The degree two part of the formula gives the curvature of the corresponding determinant line bundle equipped with the Quillen connection, a result originally obtained by Takhtajan and Zograf.Comment: 47 page

Deformation of canonical morphisms and the moduli of surfaces of general type

In this article we study the deformation of finite maps and show how to use this deformation theory to construct varieties with given invariants in a projective space. Among other things, we prove a criterion that determines when a finite map can be deformed to a one--to--one map. We use this criterion to construct new simple canonical surfaces with different $c_1^2$ and $\chi$. Our general results enable us to describe some new components of the moduli of surfaces of general type. We also find infinitely many moduli spaces $\mathcal M_{(x',0,y)}$ having one component whose general point corresponds to a canonically embedded surface and another component whose general point corresponds to a surface whose canonical map is a degree 2 morphism.Comment: 32 pages. Final version with some simplifications and clarifications in the exposition. To appear in Invent. Math. (the final publication is available at springerlink.com

Analytic calculations of trial wave functions of the fractional quantum Hall effect on the sphere

We present a framework for the analytic calculations of the hierarchical wave functions and the composite fermion wave functions in the fractional quantum Hall effect on the sphere by using projective coordinates. Then we calculate the overlaps between these two wave functions at various fillings and small numbers of electrons. We find that the overlaps are all most equal to one. This gives a further evidence that two theories of the fractional quantum Hall effect, the hierarchical theory and the composite fermion theory, are physically equivalent.Comment: 37 pages, revte

Systems of Hess-Appel'rot type

We construct higher-dimensional generalizations of the classical Hess-Appel'rot rigid body system. We give a Lax pair with a spectral parameter leading to an algebro-geometric integration of this new class of systems, which is closely related to the integration of the Lagrange bitop performed by us recently and uses Mumford relation for theta divisors of double unramified coverings. Based on the basic properties satisfied by such a class of systems related to bi-Poisson structure, quasi-homogeneity, and conditions on the Kowalevski exponents, we suggest an axiomatic approach leading to what we call the "class of systems of Hess-Appel'rot type".Comment: 40 pages. Comm. Math. Phys. (to appear