In mathematics, and in particular differential geometry and gauge theory, Hitchin's equations are a system of partial differential equations for a connection and Higgs field on a vector bundle or principal bundle over a Riemann surface, written down by Nigel Hitchin in 1987. Hitchin's equations are locally equivalent to the harmonic map equation for a surface into the symmetric space dual to the structure group. They also appear as a dimensional reduction of the self-dual Yang–Mills equations from four dimensions to two dimensions, and solutions to Hitchin's equations give examples of Higgs bundles and of holomorphic connections. The existence of solutions to Hitchin's equations on a compact Riemann surface follows from the stability of the corresponding Higgs bundle or the corresponding holomorphic connection, and this is the simplest form of the Nonabelian Hodge correspondence.
The moduli space of solutions to Hitchin's equations was constructed by Hitchin in the rank two case on a compact Riemann surface and was one of the first examples of a hyperkähler manifold constructed.
The nonabelian Hodge correspondence shows it is isomorphic to the Higgs bundle moduli space, and to the moduli space of holomorphic connections.
Using the metric structure on the Higgs bundle moduli space afforded by its description in terms of Hitchin's equations, Hitchin constructed the Hitchin system, a completely integrable system whose twisted generalization over a finite field was used by Ngô Bảo Châu in his proof of the fundamental lemma in the Langlands program, for which he was afforded the 2010 Fields medal.
The definition may be phrased for a connection on a vector bundle or principal bundle, with the two perspectives being essentially interchangeable. Here the definition of principal bundles is presented, which is the form that appears in Hitchin's work.
Let be a principal -bundle for a compact real Lie group over a compact Riemann surface. For simplicity we will consider the case of or , the special unitary group or special orthogonal group.
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In mathematics, and especially differential geometry and mathematical physics, gauge theory is the general study of connections on vector bundles, principal bundles, and fibre bundles. Gauge theory in mathematics should not be confused with the closely related concept of a gauge theory in physics, which is a field theory which admits gauge symmetry. In mathematics theory means a mathematical theory, encapsulating the general study of a collection of concepts or phenomena, whereas in the physical sense a gauge theory is a mathematical model of some natural phenomenon.
Nigel James Hitchin (né le à Holbrook, Derbyshire, Angleterre) est un mathématicien britannique, spécialiste de géométrie différentielle et algébrique, qu'il applique notamment à la physique théorique. Il est actuellement professeur émérite à l'Université d'Oxford. Après des études élémentaires à l'école d'Ecclesbourne à Duffield, Hitchin obtient son BA en mathématiques à l'Université d'Oxford (Jesus College) en 1968.