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# Symplectic Implosion

## 1. Introduction

According to Cartan and Weyl, a finite-dimensional representation of a compact connected Lie group $`K`$ is determined up to isomorphism by its highest-weight vectors. In the language of the orbit method, the classical analogue of a representation is a symplectic manifold $`M`$ equipped with a Hamiltonian action of the group $`K`$. The classical analogue of the collection of highest weights is then the moment, or Kirwan, polytope of $`M`$. This paper deals with the question, what is the classical analogue of the set of highest-weight vectors?

In answer to this question we construct a space called the *imploded cross-section* of $`M`$. It is defined by fixing a Weyl chamber of $`K`$, taking its inverse image under the moment map, and quotienting the resulting subset of $`M`$ by a certain equivalence relation. While this subquotient construction is reminiscent of symplectic reduction, the imploded cross-section is almost always singular, whereas symplectic quotients often are not. For example, the imploded cross-section of the cotangent bundle $`T^{}K`$ is singular unless the commutator subgroup of $`K`$ is a product of copies of $`\mathrm{𝐒𝐔}(2)`$. It is not even an orbifold unless the universal cover of $`[K,K]`$ is a product of copies of $`\mathrm{𝐒𝐔}(2)`$. (See Section 6.) The singularities are however not completely arbitrary. Like singular symplectic quotients, imploded cross-sections stratify naturally into symplectic manifolds and the structure of the singularities is locally conical. The imploded cross-section is defined in Section 2 and its stratification is studied in Section 5.

Moreover, there is a residual action on $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ of a maximal torus $`T`$ of $`K`$, which is Hamiltonian in a suitable sense. The image of the $`T`$-moment map on $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is equal to the moment polytope of $`M`$. The classical analogue of the Cartan-Weyl theorem is then the following assertion: for each $`\lambda `$ in the Weyl chamber the quotients $`M//_\lambda K`$ and $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}//_\lambda T`$ are symplectomorphic. (The notation $`//_\lambda `$ stands for symplectic reduction at level $`\lambda `$.) In this way the process of symplectic implosion abelianizes Hamiltonian $`K`$-manifolds at the cost of introducing singularities. This issue is dealt with in Section 3.

The imploded cross-section of $`T^{}K`$ enjoys two special properties. The first, which is explored in Section 4, is that $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ carries an additional $`K`$-action which commutes with the $`T`$-action, and that the imploded cross-section of any Hamiltonian $`K`$-manifold $`M`$ can be obtained as a symplectic quotient of the product $`M\times (T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ with respect to $`K`$. For this reason we call $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ the *universal* imploded cross-section. The second property, which is investigated in Section 6, says that $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ possesses the structure of an irreducible complex affine variety and that the symplectic structure is Kähler. The $`K`$-action extends to an algebraic action of the complexified group $`G=K^{}`$ and the $`G`$-orbits are identical to the symplectic strata. The open orbit is of type $`G/N`$, where $`N`$ is a maximal unipotent subgroup of $`G`$. In fact, $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ can be identified with the basic affine variety introduced by Bernstein et al. . Thus implosion is the symplectic counterpart of taking the quotient of a $`G`$-variety by the action of $`N`$.

The result of Section 7 reinforces further the analogy between imploded cross-sections and highest-weight vectors. It asserts that “quantization commutes with implosion” in the following sense. Assuming that $`M`$ is prequantizable, we define its quantization to be the $`K`$-equivariant Riemann-Roch number $`\mathrm{RR}(M)`$ with coefficients in the prequantum line bundle. The quantization of $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is defined as the $`T`$-equivariant Riemann-Roch number of a suitable desingularization. The result is that $`\mathrm{RR}(M_{\mathrm{impl}})`$ is equal as a virtual $`T`$-module to the space of highest-weight vectors in $`\mathrm{RR}(M)`$.

Many of the results in Sections 26 are taken from an unpublished manuscript dating from 1993. They have recently found an application in the theory of vector bundles on Riemann surfaces (see Hurtubise and Jeffrey ), which is why we are making available this updated and expanded version. More precisely, this application involves symplectic implosion for group-valued moment maps, which we hope to take up in a sequel to this paper.

## 2. The construction

Let $`(M,\omega )`$ be a connected symplectic manifold and let $`K`$ be a compact connected Lie group acting on $`M`$ in a Hamiltonian fashion with equivariant moment map $`\mathrm{\Phi }:M𝔨^{}`$, where $`𝔨=\mathrm{Lie}K`$. Our sign convention for the moment map is $`d\mathrm{\Phi }^\xi =\iota (\xi _M)\omega `$, where $`\xi _M`$ denotes the vector field on $`M`$ induced by $`\xi 𝔨`$, and $`\mathrm{\Phi }^\xi =\mathrm{\Phi },\xi `$ the component of the moment map along $`\xi `$.

We choose once and for all a maximal torus $`T`$ of $`K`$ and a closed fundamental Weyl chamber $`𝔱_+^{}`$ in the dual of the Cartan subalgebra $`𝔱=\mathrm{Lie}T`$. The Weyl chamber is the disjoint union of $`2^r`$ open faces (sometimes called walls), where $`r`$ is the rank of the commutator subgroup $`[K,K]`$. The *principal face* $`\sigma _{\mathrm{prin}}`$ for $`M`$ is the minimal face $`\sigma `$ such that $`\mathrm{\Phi }(M)𝔱_+^{}\overline{\sigma }`$. In most cases of interest it is equal to $`(𝔱_+^{})^{}`$, the interior of the Weyl chamber. The symplectic cross-section theorem (see below) says that $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\sigma _{\mathrm{prin}})`$ is a $`T`$-stable symplectic submanifold of $`M`$. We want to “complete” this submanifold by adding lower-dimensional symplectic strata. An obvious guess is to take $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(𝔱_+^{})=\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\overline{\sigma }_{\mathrm{prin}})`$, but to turn this into a symplectic object, we need to contract it along certain directions in the boundary components in the following manner. Two points $`m_1`$ and $`m_2`$ in $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(𝔱_+^{})`$ are *equivalent*, $`m_1m_2`$, if there exists $`k[K_{\mathrm{\Phi }(m_1)},K_{\mathrm{\Phi }(m_1)}]`$ such that $`m_2=km_1`$. By equivariance of the moment map, $`m_1m_2`$ implies $`\mathrm{\Phi }(m_1)=\mathrm{\Phi }(m_2)`$, so $``$ is an equivalence relation.

###### 2.1 Definition.

The *imploded cross-section* of $`M`$ is the quotient space $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}=\mathrm{\Phi }^1(𝔱_+^{})/`$, equipped with the quotient topology. The quotient map $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(𝔱_+^{})M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is denoted by $`\pi `$. The *imploded moment map* $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is the continuous map $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}𝔱_+^{}`$ induced by $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$.

The image of $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is equal to $`\mathrm{\Phi }(M)𝔱_+^{}`$. All points in a face $`\sigma `$ have the same centralizer, denoted $`K_\sigma `$, and therefore $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is set-theoretically a disjoint union of orbit spaces,

(2.2)
$$M_{\mathrm{impl}}=\underset{\sigma \mathrm{\Sigma }}{}\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\sigma )/[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ].$$

Here $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$ denotes the collection of faces of $`𝔱_+^{}`$. We define a partial order on $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$ by putting $`\sigma \tau `$ if $`\sigma \overline{\tau }`$.

###### 2.3 Lemma.

The projection $`\pi `$ is proper and $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is Hausdorff, locally compact, and second countable. If $`M`$ is compact, then so is $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. Each subspace in the decomposition (2.2) is locally closed in $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$.

###### Proof.

First we show that $`\pi `$ is closed. Let $`C\mathrm{\Phi }^1(𝔱_+^{})`$ be closed. We need to show that

$$\pi ^1(\pi (C))=\underset{\sigma \mathrm{\Sigma }}{}\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\sigma )[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]C$$

is closed. Let $`\{m_i\}`$ be a sequence in $`\pi ^1(\pi (C))`$ converging to $`m\mathrm{\Phi }^1(𝔱_+^{})`$. Let $`\sigma `$ be the face containing $`\mathrm{\Phi }(m)`$. After passing to a subsequence we may assume that all $`\mathrm{\Phi }(m_i)`$ are in the same face, say $`\tau `$. Then $`\sigma \tau `$, so $`K_\tau K_\sigma `$ and $`[K_\tau ,K_\tau ][K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$. Since $`[K_\tau ,K_\tau ]`$ is compact, $`[K_\tau ,K_\tau ]C`$ is closed, so $`m[K_\tau ,K_\tau ]C`$. Hence

$$m\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\sigma )[K_\tau ,K_\tau ]C\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\sigma )[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]C\pi ^1(\pi (C)),$$

i.e. $`\pi ^1(\pi (C))`$ is closed. The fact that $`\pi `$ has compact fibres now implies that it is proper. The stated properties of $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ follow easily, and the local closedness of $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\sigma )/[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]=\pi \left(\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\sigma )\right)`$ follows from the observation that $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\sigma )`$ is equal to $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\overline{\sigma })_{\tau <\sigma }\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\tau )`$. ∎

The moment map is determined up to an additive constant vector in $`𝔷^{}`$, where $`𝔷`$ is the Lie algebra of $`Z`$, the unit component of the centre of $`K`$. The choice of this constant does not affect the imploded cross-section. This is most easily seen from the direct-sum decomposition $`𝔨=𝔷[𝔨,𝔨]`$, which, by identifying $`𝔷^{}`$ with the annihilator of $`[𝔨,𝔨]`$ and $`[𝔨,𝔨]^{}`$ with the annihilator of $`𝔷`$, gives rise to a decomposition $`𝔨^{}=𝔷^{}[𝔨,𝔨]^{}`$. Correspondingly, the Weyl chamber decomposes into a product of a vector space and a proper cone, $`𝔱_+^{}=𝔷^{}\times (𝔱_+^{}[𝔨,𝔨]^{})`$. In fact, this argument proves the first assertion of the following lemma. The second assertion is clear.

###### 2.4 Lemma.

The imploded cross-section of $`M`$ with respect to the $`K`$-action is the same as the imploded cross-section with respect to the $`[K,K]`$-action. Likewise, replacing $`K`$ by a finite cover does not alter the imploded cross-section.

To obtain more detailed information we invoke the cross-section theorem, which is essentially due to Guillemin and Sternberg; cf. . The version stated below incorporates some refinements made by Lerman et al. . Consider a face $`\sigma `$ of $`𝔱_+^{}`$ and the $`K_\sigma `$-stable subset $`𝔖_\sigma =K_\sigma \mathrm{star}\sigma `$ of $`𝔨^{}`$, where $`\mathrm{star}\sigma `$ denotes the open star $`_{\tau \sigma }\tau `$ of $`\sigma `$. It is well-known that $`𝔖_\sigma `$ is a slice for the coadjoint action (i.e. $`K𝔖_\sigma `$ is open and $`K`$-equivariantly diffeomorphic to the associated bundle $`K\times ^{K_\sigma }𝔖_\sigma `$), in fact the largest possible slice containing all points of orbit type $`(K_\sigma )`$. The *symplectic cross-section* of $`M`$ over $`\sigma `$ is the subset

$$M_\sigma =\mathrm{\Phi }^1(𝔖_\sigma ).$$

Note that $`\mathrm{\Phi }(M_\sigma )𝔖_\sigma 𝔨_\sigma ^{}`$ and that the saturation $`KM_\sigma `$ of $`M_\sigma `$ is open in $`M`$. The cross-section $`M_{\sigma _{\mathrm{prin}}}`$ is called *principal*.

###### 2.5 Theorem (symplectic cross-sections).

Let $`\sigma `$ be an open face of $`𝔱_+^{}`$.

1. The cross-section $`M_\sigma `$ is a connected $`K_\sigma `$-stable symplectic submanifold of $`M`$. The $`K_\sigma `$-action on $`M_\sigma `$ is Hamiltonian with moment map $`\mathrm{\Phi }_\sigma =\mathrm{\Phi }|_{M_\sigma }`$.
2. The multiplication map $`K\times M_\sigma M`$ induces a symplectomorphism $`K\times ^{K_\sigma }M_\sigma KM_\sigma `$. If $`M_\sigma `$ is nonempty, then $`KM_\sigma `$ is dense in $`M`$.
3. The commutator subgroup of $`K_{\sigma _{\mathrm{prin}}}`$ acts trivially on $`M_{\sigma _{\mathrm{prin}}}`$.

It follows from (iii) that if $`\mathrm{\Phi }(m_1)\sigma _{\mathrm{prin}}`$, then $`m_1m_2`$ implies $`m_1=m_2`$. From (i) it then follows that $`\pi \left(\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\sigma _{\mathrm{prin}})\right)`$ is connected and open and from (ii) that it is dense.

###### 2.6 Corollary.

The restriction of $`\pi `$ to $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\sigma _{\mathrm{prin}})`$ is a homeomorphism onto its image. The image is connected, and open and dense in $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. Hence $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is connected.

By Theorem 2.5(i), the composition of $`\mathrm{\Phi }_\sigma `$ with the projection $`𝔨_\sigma ^{}[𝔨_\sigma ,𝔨_\sigma ]^{}`$ is a moment map for the action of $`[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$ on $`M_\sigma `$. Its zero fibre is $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(𝔷_\sigma ^{})M_\sigma =\mathrm{\Phi }^1(𝔷_\sigma ^{}𝔖_\sigma )=\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\sigma )`$. The decomposition (2.2) can therefore be written more insightfully as follows.

###### 2.7 Corollary.

The imploded cross-section partitions into symplectic quotients, each of which is locally closed,

(2.8)
$$M_{\mathrm{impl}}=\underset{\sigma \mathrm{\Sigma }}{}M_\sigma //_{}[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ].$$

Here the notation $`//_\lambda `$ indicates symplectic reduction at level $`\lambda `$, the subscript being usually omitted when it is $`0`$. For instance, the piece corresponding to the smallest face of the Weyl chamber is $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(𝔷^{})/[K,K]=M//_{}[K,K]`$.

Not all the pieces of the partition (2.8) are symplectic manifolds, but a decomposition into symplectic manifolds can be obtained by subdividing each of the pieces according to orbit type. For any $`\sigma \mathrm{\Sigma }`$ and any closed subgroup $`H`$ of $`K^{}=[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$, let

$$M_{\sigma ,(H)}=\{mM_\sigma K_m^{}\text{ is conjugate within }K^{}\text{ to }H\}$$

be the stratum of orbit type $`(H)`$ in the $`K^{}`$-manifold $`M_\sigma `$. Here $`K_m^{}`$ is the stabilizer of $`m`$ with respect to the $`K^{}`$-action. By \[21, Theorem 2.1\], the intersection $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\sigma )M_{\sigma ,(H)}`$ is a smooth $`K^{}`$-stable submanifold of $`M_\sigma `$ and the null-foliation of the symplectic form restricted to this submanifold is exactly given by the $`K^{}`$-orbits. Hence the quotient

(2.9)
$$\left(\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\sigma )M_{\sigma ,(H)}\right)/K^{}$$

is a symplectic manifold in a natural way. It is more convenient to work with the connected components of these manifolds instead. Let $`\{X_ii\}`$ be the collection of components of all manifolds of the form (2.9), where $`\sigma `$ ranges over all faces of $`𝔱_+^{}`$ and $`(H)`$ over all conjugacy classes of subgroups of $`[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$. We call the $`X_i`$ *strata*, although it will not be proved until Section 5 that they form a stratification of $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. There is a partial order on the index set $``$ defined by $`ij`$ if $`X_i\overline{X}_j`$. By Corollary 2.6, $``$ has a unique maximal element. Moreover, the orbit type decomposition of any manifold with a smooth action of a compact Lie group is locally finite. Together with the fact that the quotient map $`\pi `$ is proper (Lemma 2.3), this implies that the collection of strata is locally finite. We have proved the following result.

###### 2.10 Theorem.

The imploded cross-section is a locally finite disjoint union of locally closed connected subspaces, each of which is a symplectic manifold,

(2.11)
$$M_{\mathrm{impl}}=\underset{i}{}X_i.$$

There is a unique open stratum, which is dense in $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ and symplectomorphic to the principal cross-section of $`M`$.

## 3. Abelianization

The imploded cross-section of a Hamiltonian $`K`$-manifold can be viewed as its abelianization in a sense which we shall now make precise.

Let $`𝒳`$ be a topological space with a decomposition $`𝒳=_i𝒳_i`$ into connected subspaces $`𝒳_i`$, each of which is equipped with the structure of a smooth manifold and a symplectic form $`\omega _i`$. A continuous action of a Lie group $`𝒢`$ on $`𝒳`$ is *Hamiltonian* if it preserves the decomposition and is smooth on each $`𝒳_i`$, and if there exists a continuous $`\mathrm{Ad}^{}`$-equivariant map $`\mathrm{\Phi }_𝒳:𝒳(\mathrm{Lie}𝒢)^{}`$, the *moment map*, such that $`\mathrm{\Phi }_𝒳|_{𝒳_i}`$ is a moment map in the usual sense for the $`𝒢`$-action on $`𝒳_i`$ for all $`i`$. The triple $`(𝒳,\{(𝒳_i,\omega _i)i\},\mathrm{\Phi }_𝒳)`$ is a *Hamiltonian $`𝒢`$-space*. An *isomorphism* from $`𝒳`$ to a second Hamiltonian $`𝒢`$-space $`(𝒴,\{(𝒴_j,\omega _j)j𝒥\},\mathrm{\Phi }_𝒴)`$ is a pair $`(F,f)`$, where $`F`$ is a homeomorphism $`𝒳𝒴`$ and $`f`$ is a bijection $`𝒥`$ subject to the following conditions: $`F`$ is equivariant, $`\mathrm{\Phi }_𝒳=\mathrm{\Phi }_𝒴F`$, $`F`$ maps $`𝒳_i`$ symplectomorphically onto $`𝒴_{f(i)}`$ for all $`i`$.

###### 3.1 Example.

Let $`V`$ be a finite-dimensional unitary $`K`$-module with inner product $`,`$. This is a Hamiltonian $`K`$-manifold with symplectic form $`\omega _V`$ and moment map $`\mathrm{\Phi }_V`$ given by

(3.2)
$$\omega _V=\mathrm{Im},\text{and}\mathrm{\Phi }_V^\xi (v)=\frac{1}{2}\omega _V(\xi v,v),$$

respectively. Let $`𝒳`$ be a $`K`$-stable irreducible complex algebraic subvariety of $`V`$, regarded as a subspace for the classical topology on $`V`$. There is a natural minimal decomposition of $`𝒳`$ into nonsingular $`K`$-stable algebraic subvarieties, each of which inherits a symplectic form and a moment map from the ambient space $`V`$. Let us call the Hamiltonian $`K`$-space $`𝒳`$ thus obtained an *affine Hamiltonian $`K`$-space*. The topology on $`𝒳`$ and its decomposition into manifolds depend only on its coordinate ring $`𝔄`$, and the $`K`$-action is determined by the $`K`$-module structure of $`𝔄`$. The symplectic forms and the moment map, however, depend on the embedding into $`V`$ and the inner product on $`V`$. When the embedding and the inner product are fixed, we will sometimes abuse notation and write $`𝒳=\mathrm{Spec}𝔄`$ to indicate that $`𝒳`$ is the affine Hamiltonian $`K`$-space whose underlying variety is the subvariety of $`V`$ with coordinate ring $`𝔄`$.

For $`\gamma (\mathrm{Lie}𝒢)^{}`$, the *symplectic quotient* (or *reduced space*) at level $`\gamma `$ is the topological space $`𝒳//_\gamma 𝒢=\mathrm{\Phi }_𝒳^1(\gamma )/𝒢_\gamma `$. If $`𝒢`$ is compact (or if $`𝒢_\gamma `$ acts properly on $`\mathrm{\Phi }_𝒳^1(\gamma )`$), the symplectic quotient can be decomposed into connected smooth symplectic manifolds by partitioning each of the pieces $`𝒳_i`$ according to $`𝒢`$-orbit type, $`𝒳_i=_{()}𝒳_{i,()}`$, forming the symplectic manifolds $`\left(\mathrm{\Phi }_𝒳^1(\gamma )𝒳_{i,()}\right)/𝒢_\gamma `$ as in (2.9), and subdividing these into their connected components.

###### 3.3 Example.

Let $`V`$ be as in Example 3.1 and let $`(V)`$ be the associated projective space. As a symplectic manifold $`(V)`$ is isomorphic to the quotient $`V//_1S^1`$, where $`S^1`$ acts by scalar multiplication. Let $`𝒳`$ be a $`K`$-stable irreducible complex algebraic subvariety of $`(V)`$. By partitioning into a minimal set of nonsingular algebraic subvarieties as in Example 3.1, we see that $`𝒳`$ is a Hamiltonian $`K`$-space, called a *projective Hamiltonian $`K`$-space*. The affine cone $`\stackrel{~}{𝒳}=\mathrm{Spec}𝔄V`$ is an affine Hamiltonian $`K`$-space, and we have $`𝒳\stackrel{~}{𝒳}//_1S^1`$ as Hamiltonian $`K`$-spaces.

Now let $`(M,\omega ,K)`$ be an arbitrary Hamiltonian $`K`$-manifold. We claim that the imploded cross-section $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$, equipped with the decomposition (2.11), is a Hamiltonian $`T`$-space. Indeed, the preimage $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(𝔱_+^{})`$ is stable under the action of the maximal torus. In addition, $`m_1m_2`$ implies $`tm_1tm_2`$ for all $`tT`$ and $`m_1`$, $`m_2\mathrm{\Phi }^1(𝔱_+^{})`$, because $`T`$ normalizes each of the groups $`[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$. Thus the action of $`T`$ descends to a continuous action on $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. This action is Hamiltonian with moment map $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. The easiest way to see this is to use the following alternative definition of the $`T`$-action: for each $`\sigma `$ the $`K_\sigma `$-action on $`M_\sigma `$ descends to a $`K_\sigma /[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$-action on the quotient $`M_\sigma //_{}[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$. Via the canonical surjective map $`TK_\sigma /[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$ this induces a (non-effective) $`T`$-action on $`M_\sigma //_{}[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$. Again because $`T`$ normalizes $`[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$, this action preserves the $`[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$-orbit type strata and is Hamiltonian on each such stratum. The moment maps are induced by the restrictions of $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ to the manifolds $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\sigma )M_{\sigma ,(H)}`$; in other words they are the restrictions of $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ to the various strata.

Symplectic reduction of $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ with respect to $`T`$ turns out to be the same as symplectic reduction of $`M`$ with respect to $`K`$. Namely, let $`\lambda 𝔱_+^{}`$ and let $`\sigma `$ be the face of $`𝔱_+^{}`$ containing $`\lambda `$. Then $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{\mathrm{impl}}^1(\lambda )=\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\lambda )/[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$, so there is a quotient map $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\lambda )\mathrm{\Phi }_{\mathrm{impl}}^1(\lambda )`$.

###### 3.4 Theorem.

For every $`\lambda 𝔱_+^{}`$, the canonical map $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\lambda )\mathrm{\Phi }_{\mathrm{impl}}^1(\lambda )`$ induces an isomorphism of symplectic quotients $`M//_\lambda KM_{\mathrm{impl}}//_\lambda T`$.

###### Proof.

Let $`\sigma `$ be the face containing $`\lambda `$. Assume first that all points in $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\lambda )`$ are of the same orbit type for the action of $`K_\lambda =K_\sigma `$, so that $`M//_\lambda K`$ is a smooth symplectic manifold. By reduction in stages, it is naturally symplectomorphic to the iterated quotient

(3.5)
$$(M_\sigma //_0[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ])//_\lambda T.$$

Since $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{\mathrm{impl}}^1(\lambda )M_\sigma //_{}[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$ and the restriction of $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ to $`M_\sigma //_{}[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$ is the moment map for the $`T`$-action, it is clear that (3.5) is naturally symplectomorphic to $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}//_\lambda T`$. If $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\lambda )`$ consists of more than one stratum, the same argument, using stratified reduction in stages (see \[21, §4\]), shows that the quotient map $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\lambda )\mathrm{\Phi }_{\mathrm{impl}}^1(\lambda )`$ induces a homeomorphism $`M//_\lambda KM_{\mathrm{impl}}//_\lambda T`$, which maps strata symplectically onto strata. ∎

###### 3.6 Example.

For all $`\lambda 𝔱_+^{}`$, $`T^{}K//_\lambda KK\lambda `$, the coadjoint orbit through $`\lambda `$, so $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}//_\lambda TK\lambda `$.

## 4. The universal imploded cross-section

As an example we determine the cross-sections and the imploded cross-section of the cotangent bundle $`T^{}K`$. It turns out that the space $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ has a universal property, which greatly facilitates calculations involving symplectic implosion. Another interesting feature is its homogeneous structure. We shall see that if $`K`$ is semisimple, $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is a cone over a compact space, which stratifies into contact manifolds.

Consider the actions of $`K`$ on itself given by $`_gk=gk`$ and $`_gk=kg^1`$, which both lift to a Hamiltonian actions on $`T^{}K`$. Identify $`T^{}K`$ with $`K\times 𝔨^{}`$ by means of left translations. Then the actions are given by $`_g(k,\lambda )=(gk,\lambda )`$ and $`_g(k,\lambda )=(kg^1,g\lambda )`$, where $`g\lambda `$ is an abbreviation for $`\mathrm{Ad}^{}(g)(\lambda )`$. The moment maps (with respect to the symplectic form $`\omega =d\beta `$, where $`\beta `$ is the canonical one-form) are respectively

$$\mathrm{\Phi }_{}(k,\lambda )=k\lambda ,\mathrm{\Phi }_{}(k,\lambda )=\lambda .$$

The inversion map $`kk^1`$ intertwines the left and right actions. Its cotangent lift, given by $`(k,\lambda )(k^1,k\lambda )`$, is a symplectic involution of $`T^{}K`$, which intertwines $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{}`$ and $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{}`$. Therefore the cross-sections for the left action are canonically isomorphic to those for the right action. For simplicity let us use $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{}`$. Clearly

(4.1)
$$\mathrm{\Phi }_{}^1(𝔖_\sigma )=K\times 𝔖_\sigma ,$$

(4.2)
$$(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}=\underset{\sigma \mathrm{\Sigma }}{}(K\times 𝔖_\sigma )//_{}[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]=\underset{\sigma \mathrm{\Sigma }}{}\frac{K}{[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]}\times \sigma ,$$

so in this example the decompositions (2.8) and (2.11) are identical.

As stated in Theorem 2.5(i), the cross-section (4.1) inherits a symplectic structure from $`T^{}K`$. Here is an alternative construction of the symplectic form. For each face $`\sigma `$ the subalgebra $`𝔨_\sigma `$ is equal to the subspace of $`Z_\sigma `$-invariants in $`𝔨`$, where $`Z_\sigma `$ is the identity component of the centre of $`K_\sigma `$. We therefore have a canonical $`K_\sigma `$-invariant projection $`𝔨𝔨_\sigma `$ and hence a connection $`\theta `$ on the principal $`K_\sigma `$-bundle

(4.3)
$$K_\sigma KK/K_\sigma .$$

A connection $`\vartheta \mathrm{\Omega }^1(𝒫,\mathrm{Lie}𝒢)`$ on a principal bundle $`𝒫`$ for a Lie group $`𝒢`$ is *fat* at $`\gamma (\mathrm{Lie}𝒢)^{}`$ if the two-form $`\gamma ,d\vartheta `$ is nondegenerate on the horizontal subspaces of $`𝒫`$. This is a necessary and sufficient condition for the closed two-form $`d\mathrm{pr}_2,\vartheta `$ on $`𝒫\times (\mathrm{Lie}𝒢)^{}`$ to be nondegenerate at $`P\times \{\gamma \}`$, where $`\mathrm{pr}_2:𝒫\times (\mathrm{Lie}𝒢)^{}(\mathrm{Lie}𝒢)^{}`$ is the projection.

###### 4.4 Lemma (\[6, Corollary 2.3.8\]).

The canonical connection $`\theta `$ on the bundle (4.3) is fat at $`\lambda 𝔨_\sigma ^{}`$ if and only if $`\lambda 𝔖_\sigma `$.

Therefore the form $`d\mathrm{pr}_2,\theta `$ on $`K\times 𝔨_\sigma ^{}`$ is symplectic on $`K\times 𝔖_\sigma `$. It is straightforward to check that $`\mathrm{pr}_2,\theta `$ is equal to the restriction to $`K\times 𝔖_\sigma `$ of the canonical one-form $`\beta `$. Hence $`d\mathrm{pr}_2,\theta `$ is equal to the restriction of $`d\beta =\omega `$.

The symplectic form on the stratum $`(K\times 𝔖_\sigma )//_{}[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$ of $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ can therefore be interpreted as the form obtained by reducing $`(K\times 𝔖_\sigma ,d\mathrm{pr}_2,\theta )`$ with respect to $`[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$. A third alternative is to note that the projection $`𝔨𝔨_\sigma `$ descends to a $`Z_\sigma `$-equivariant projection $`𝔨/[𝔨_\sigma ,𝔨_\sigma ]𝔨_\sigma /[𝔨_\sigma ,𝔨_\sigma ]𝔷_\sigma `$, whence we obtain a connection $`\overline{\theta }\mathrm{\Omega }^1(K/[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ],𝔷_\sigma )`$ on the torus bundle

(4.5)
$$K_\sigma /[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]K/[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]K/K_\sigma .$$

Put $`\beta _\sigma =\mathrm{pr}_2,\overline{\theta }`$ and $`\omega _\sigma =d\mathrm{pr}_2,\overline{\theta }`$, where $`\mathrm{pr}_2`$ now stands for the projection $`K/[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]\times \sigma \sigma `$. Lemma 4.4 implies that $`\overline{\theta }`$ is fat at all points of $`𝔖_\sigma 𝔷_\sigma ^{}=\sigma `$, and therefore $`\omega _\sigma `$ is a symplectic form on $`K/[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]\times \sigma =(K\times 𝔖_\sigma )//_{}[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$. The following result asserts that this form is the same as the one defined by symplectic implosion.

###### 4.6 Lemma.

Let $`p`$ be the orbit map $`K\times \sigma (K\times 𝔖_\sigma )//_{}[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$. Then $`\beta |_{K\times \sigma }=p^{}\beta _\sigma `$ and $`\omega |_{K\times \sigma }=p^{}\omega _\sigma `$.

###### Proof.

The second equality is immediate from the first. Because of $`K`$-invariance, the first equality need only be checked at points of the form $`(1,\lambda )K\times \sigma `$. Let $`(\xi ,\mu )T_{(1,\lambda )}(K\times \sigma )=𝔨\times 𝔷_\sigma ^{}`$. Then $`\beta _{(1,\lambda )}(\xi ,\mu )=\lambda (\xi )`$ by the definition of $`\beta `$. (We identify $`𝔷_\sigma ^{}`$ with the annihilator of $`[𝔨_\sigma ,𝔨_\sigma ]𝔱`$ in $`𝔱^{}`$, so that $`\lambda (\xi )`$ is well-defined.) Moreover,

$$(p^{}\beta _\sigma )_{(1,\lambda )}(\xi ,\mu )=(\beta _\sigma )_{p(1,\lambda )}(\xi mod[𝔨_\sigma ,𝔨_\sigma ],\mu )=\lambda \left(\overline{\theta }(\xi mod[𝔨_\sigma ,𝔨_\sigma ])\right),$$

which is equal to $`\lambda (\xi )`$ because $`\lambda 𝔷_\sigma ^{}`$ and $`\overline{\theta }(\xi mod[𝔨_\sigma ,𝔨_\sigma ])`$ is equal to the projection of $`\xi `$ onto $`𝔷_\sigma `$. ∎

Not only is $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ a Hamiltonian $`T`$-space for the $`T`$-action induced by the right $`K`$-action, but the left $`K`$-action on $`T^{}K`$ descends to a $`K`$-action on $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ given by $`g\pi _{}(k,\lambda )=\pi _{}(gk,\lambda )`$, which is Hamiltonian as well. (Here $`\pi _{}`$ denotes the quotient map $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{}^1(𝔱_+^{})(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$.) Its moment map is induced by $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{}`$ and is for simplicity also denoted by $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{}`$. Clearly the two actions commute, so that $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is a Hamiltonian $`K\times T`$-space with moment map $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{}\times (\mathrm{\Phi }_{})_{\mathrm{impl}}`$.

###### 4.7 Example.

Let $`K=\mathrm{𝐒𝐔}(2)`$, which we shall identify with $`S^3`$, the unit quaternions. The Lie algebra is then the set of imaginary quaternions, the unit circle $`S^1`$ is a maximal torus, and the fibration (4.3) is none other than the Hopf fibration $`S^1S^3S^2`$. The symplectic form on $`K\times (𝔱_+^{})^{}=S^3\times (0,\mathrm{})`$ is $`d(t\theta )`$, with $`t`$ being the standard coordinate on $`(0,\mathrm{})`$. The map $`(z,t)\sqrt{2t}z`$ is a symplectomorphism from $`S^3\times (0,\mathrm{})`$ onto $`\{0\}`$ with its standard symplectic structure. The remaining stratum, corresponding to $`\sigma =\{0\}`$, consists of a single point. Consequently, the continuous map $`F:T^{}K=^2`$ defined by $`F(k,\lambda )=\sqrt{2\lambda }k`$ induces a continuous bijection $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}^2`$, which is a homeomorphism because $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is locally compact Hausdorff. In this sense, the isolated singularity is removable and the imploded cross-section is a symplectic $`^2`$. Modulo this identification, the left $`K`$-action on $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is the standard representation of $`\mathrm{𝐒𝐔}(2)`$ on $`^2`$ and the right $`T`$-action is given by $`tz=t^1z`$. This example will be generalized to arbitrary $`K`$ in Section 6.

Now let $`(M,\omega ,\mathrm{\Phi })`$ be any Hamiltonian $`K`$-manifold and define $`j:MM\times T^{}K`$ by $`j(m)=(m,1,\mathrm{\Phi }(m))`$.

###### 4.8 Lemma.

1. The map $`j`$ is a symplectic embedding and induces an isomorphism of Hamiltonian $`K`$-manifolds,

$$\overline{ȷ}:M(M\times T^{}K)//_{}K.$$

Here the right-hand side is the quotient with respect to the diagonal $`K`$-action, where $`K`$ acts on the left on $`T^{}K`$. The $`K`$-action on $`(M\times T^{}K)//_{}K`$ is the one induced by the right action on $`T^{}K`$.
2. For every face $`\sigma `$, $`j`$ maps $`M_\sigma `$ into $`M\times K\times 𝔖_\sigma `$ and induces an isomorphism of Hamiltonian $`K_\sigma `$-manifolds,

$$\overline{ȷ}_\sigma :M_\sigma (M\times K\times 𝔖_\sigma )//_{}K,$$

where the quotient is taken as in (i).

###### Proof.

The map $`m(1,\mathrm{\Phi }(m))`$ sends $`M`$ to the Lagrangian $`𝔨^{}T^{}K`$, so $`j`$ is a symplectic embedding. The moment map for the diagonal $`K`$-action on $`M\times T^{}K`$ is given by $`\mathrm{\Psi }(m,k,\lambda )=\mathrm{\Phi }(m)k\lambda `$, so $`j`$ maps $`M`$ into $`\mathrm{\Psi }^1(0)`$. One checks readily that the induced map $`\overline{ȷ}`$ is a diffeomorphism. It is a symplectomorphism because $`j`$ is a symplectic embedding. Moreover, $`j(km)=(km,1,k\mathrm{\Phi }(m))=_k_kj(m)`$ and $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{}(j(m))=\mathrm{\Phi }(m)`$, so $`\overline{ȷ}`$ is $`K`$-equivariant and intertwines the $`K`$-moment maps on $`M`$ and $`(M\times T^{}K)//_{}K`$. This proves (i). (ii) is proved in exactly the same way. ∎

Observe that $`j`$ maps $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(𝔱_+^{})`$ into $`_\sigma M\times K\times \sigma `$ and therefore induces a continuous map $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(𝔱_+^{})M\times (T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. Because of the following result we call $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ the *universal imploded cross-section*. See Section 3 for the definition of an isomorphism of Hamiltonian $`T`$-spaces.

###### 4.9 Theorem.

The map $`j`$ induces an isomorphism of Hamiltonian $`T`$-spaces,

$$\overline{ȷ}_{\mathrm{impl}}:M_{\mathrm{impl}}(M\times (T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}})//_{}K,$$

where the quotient is taken with respect to the diagonal $`K`$-action.

###### Proof.

The $`K`$-moment map on $`M\times (T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is given by $`\mathrm{\Psi }(m,\pi _{}(k,\lambda ))=\mathrm{\Phi }(m)k\lambda `$, so $`j`$ maps $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(𝔱_+^{})`$ into $`\mathrm{\Psi }^1(0)`$. Moreover, $`m_1m_2`$ implies $`j(m_1)=j(m_2)`$, so $`j`$ induces a continuous map $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}\mathrm{\Psi }^1(0)`$. Upon quotienting by $`K`$ we obtain the map $`\overline{ȷ}_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. As in the proof of Lemma 4.8 one checks that $`\overline{ȷ}_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is a homeomorphism which is $`T`$-equivariant and intertwines the $`T`$-moment maps on $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ and $`(M\times (T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}})//_{}K`$. Note that $`\overline{ȷ}_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ restricts to a map

(4.10)
$$M_\sigma //_{}[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ](M\times (K\times 𝔖_\sigma )//_{}[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ])//_{}K.$$

This is none other than the map induced, upon reduction with respect to $`[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$, by the map $`\overline{ȷ}_\sigma `$ defined in Lemma 4.8(ii). Because $`\overline{ȷ}_\sigma `$ is an isomorphism of Hamiltonian $`K_\sigma `$-manifolds, it preserves the $`[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$-orbit types and therefore (4.10) maps strata onto strata and is a symplectomorphism on each stratum. ∎

###### 4.11 Remark.

Let $`S_\sigma =\mathrm{\Phi }_{}^1(\sigma )`$ denote the stratum of $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ corresponding to a face $`\sigma \mathrm{\Sigma }`$. Furthermore, let $`\tau =\sigma _{\mathrm{prin}}`$ be the principal face of $`M`$. Then the closure of $`S_\tau `$ is equal to $`_{\sigma \tau }S_\sigma `$. Since the moment polytope of $`M`$ is contained in $`\overline{\tau }=_{\sigma \tau }\sigma `$, the proof of Theorem 4.9 shows that $`j`$ induces an isomorphism $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}(M\times \overline{S}_\tau )//_{}K`$.

###### 4.12 Example.

Let $`M`$ be a point. Then the theorem asserts that $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}//_\lambda K`$ consists of a single point for all $`\lambda 𝔨^{}`$. In particular, $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is a multiplicity-free $`K`$-space.

As an application, consider a Hamiltonian action of a second compact Lie group $`H`$ on $`M`$, which commutes with $`K`$. The $`H`$-moment map on $`M`$ is $`K`$-invariant and therefore induces a continuous map on $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ (implosion with respect to the $`K`$-action). This map is a moment map for the $`H`$-action induced on $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. Using Theorem 4.9 and reduction in stages we conclude that reduction commutes with implosion.

###### 4.13 Corollary.

The Hamiltonian $`T`$-spaces $`(M//_\eta H)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ and $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}//_\eta H`$ are isomorphic for every $`\eta 𝔩^{}`$.

###### 4.14 Example.

Consider the $`K\times K`$-space $`M\times T^{}K`$, where the first copy of $`K`$ acts diagonally (and by left multiplication on $`T^{}K`$), and the second copy acts by right multiplication on $`T^{}K`$. Reducing with respect to the first copy, imploding with respect to the second, and applying Lemma 4.8(i) we find

$$M_{\mathrm{impl}}((M\times T^{}K)//_{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}(M\times (T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}})//_{}K.$$

In other words, Corollary 4.13 is equivalent to Theorem 4.9.

###### 4.15 Example.

If $`H`$ is finite, then $`(M/H)_{\mathrm{impl}}M_{\mathrm{impl}}/H`$. In particular, let $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ be the finite central subgroup $`Z[K,K]`$ of $`K`$. Then $`K=(Z\times [K,K])/\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ and $`T^{}K=T^{}Z\times ^\mathrm{\Gamma }T^{}[K,K]`$. Since implosion relative to $`K`$ is the same as implosion relative to $`[K,K]`$, we see that

(4.16)
$$(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}(T^{}Z\times T^{}[K,K])_{\mathrm{impl}}/\mathrm{\Gamma }T^{}Z\times ^\mathrm{\Gamma }(T^{}[K,K])_{\mathrm{impl}},$$

a bundle with fibre $`(T^{}[K,K])_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ over the cotangent bundle of the torus $`Z/\mathrm{\Gamma }`$. In turn, $`(T^{}[K,K])_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ can be written as $`(T^{}[K,K]^\mathrm{~})_{\mathrm{impl}}/\mathrm{\Delta }`$, where $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ is the fundamental group of $`[K,K]`$ and $`[K,K]^\mathrm{~}`$ its universal cover. For instance, if $`K=\mathrm{𝐒𝐎}(3)=\mathrm{𝐒𝐔}(2)/\{\pm 1\}`$, then Example 4.7 shows that $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is the symplectic orbifold $`^2/\{\pm \mathrm{id}\}`$, and if $`K=𝐔(2)`$ we find $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}=^\times \times ^{\{\pm \mathrm{id}\}}^2`$.

Because of (4.16), to describe the singularities of $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ we can focus our attention on the fibre $`(T^{}[K,K])_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. So let us assume for the remainder of this section that $`K`$ is semisimple. For $`t0`$ let $`𝒜_t`$ be fibrewise multiplication by $`t`$ in $`T^{}K`$. Let

$$T^\times K=T^{}K\{\text{zero section}\}=K\times (𝔨^{}\{0\})$$

be the punctured cotangent bundle and $`^\times =(0,\mathrm{})`$ the multiplicative group of positive reals. Then for $`t>0`$ $`𝒜_t`$ defines a proper free action of $`^\times `$ on $`T^\times K`$. Let $`\zeta `$ be its infinitesimal generator. Then $`\zeta `$ is a Liouville vector field, i.e. $`(\zeta )\omega =\omega `$, and therefore we call $`𝒜`$ a *Liouville action*. We can write the canonical one-form as $`\beta =\iota (\zeta )\omega `$. Recall that if $`\nu `$ is a contact form on a manifold, then the associated *Reeb vector field* is the vector field $`\chi `$ defined by $`\iota (\chi )d\nu =0`$ and $`\iota (\chi )\nu =1`$.

###### 4.17 Lemma.

Let $`\zeta `$ be a global Liouville vector field on a symplectic manifold $`(M,\omega )`$ and let $`\beta `$ be the potential one-form $`\iota (\zeta )\omega `$. Let $`\mathrm{\Xi }`$ be a symplectic vector field on $`M`$ that commutes with $`\zeta `$.

1. The function $`\phi =\iota (\mathrm{\Xi })\beta `$ is a Hamiltonian for $`\mathrm{\Xi }`$ and satisfies $`(\zeta )\phi =\phi `$.
2. Any $`c0`$ is a regular value of $`\phi `$, the restriction of $`\beta `$ to the hypersurface $`\phi ^1(c)`$ is a contact form, and the restriction of $`c^1\mathrm{\Xi }`$ is its Reeb vector field.

###### Proof.

By assumption

$$(\mathrm{\Xi })\beta =(\mathrm{\Xi })\iota (\zeta )\omega =\left(\iota (\zeta )(\mathrm{\Xi })+\iota ([\mathrm{\Xi },\zeta ])\right)\omega =0,$$

and hence

$$d\phi =d\iota (\mathrm{\Xi })\beta =(\mathrm{\Xi })\beta +\iota (\mathrm{\Xi })d\beta =\iota (\mathrm{\Xi })d\beta =\iota (\mathrm{\Xi })\omega ,$$

$$(\zeta )\phi =\iota (\zeta )d\phi =\iota (\zeta )\iota (\mathrm{\Xi })\omega =\iota (\mathrm{\Xi })\beta =\phi ,$$

so (i) holds. It follows that $`d\phi _m(\zeta )=(\zeta )\phi _m=\phi (m)`$, so any $`c0`$ is a regular value and $`\zeta `$ is transverse to $`\phi ^1(c)`$. It is now easy to see that $`\beta `$ is a contact form on $`\phi ^1(c)`$; see e.g. McDuff and Salamon \[16, Proposition 3.57\]. Furthermore, on $`\phi ^1(c)`$ we have $`\iota (\mathrm{\Xi })d\beta =\iota (\mathrm{\Xi })\omega =d\phi =0`$ and $`\iota (\mathrm{\Xi })\beta =\phi (m)=c`$, so $`c^1\mathrm{\Xi }|_{\phi ^1(c)}`$ is the Reeb vector field, which proves (ii). ∎

###### 4.18 Example.

Let $`M=^n`$ with its standard symplectic form and let $`\zeta =\frac{1}{2}_i(x_i/x_i+y_i/y_i)`$ and $`\mathrm{\Xi }=_i(y_i/x_i+x_i/y_i)`$. Then $`\zeta `$ is a Liouville vector field and generates the action $`(t,z)\sqrt{t}z`$, and $`\mathrm{\Xi }`$ generates the standard circle action. Moreover, $`\phi (z)=\frac{1}{2}z^2`$, so for $`c<0`$ the hypersurfaces $`\phi ^1(c)`$ are spheres and the orbits of the Reeb vector field on $`\phi ^1(c)`$ are the fibres of the Hopf fibration.

###### 4.19 Example.

Let $`M=T^\times K`$ and choose $`\mathrm{\Xi }𝔱`$. Let $`T`$ act on $`M`$ from the right and consider the vector field on $`M`$ induced by $`\mathrm{\Xi }`$, which for brevity we will also denote by $`\mathrm{\Xi }`$. Then $`\phi (k,\lambda )=\lambda (\mathrm{\Xi })`$ and $`\mathrm{\Xi }`$ commutes with $`\zeta =d𝒜_t/dt|_{t=0}`$. Therefore $`\phi ^1(1)=K\times \{\lambda \lambda (\mathrm{\Xi })=1\}`$ is a hypersurface of contact type with Reeb vector field $`\mathrm{\Xi }`$.

In Example 4.18 the hypersurface $`\phi ^1(1)`$ is compact and $`M`$ is topologically a cone over $`\phi ^1(1)`$. This is obviously not the case in Example 4.19, but we shall now show that this can be remedied by imploding $`M`$. Since $`K`$ is semisimple, $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{}^1(𝔷^{})=\mathrm{\Phi }_{}^1(0)`$ is the zero section of $`T^{}K`$, and therefore

$$(T^\times K)_{\mathrm{impl}}=(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}\{\}=\underset{\sigma \mathrm{\Sigma }\{0\}}{}F_\sigma ,$$

where $`F_\sigma =(K\times 𝔖_\sigma )//_{}[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$ and $`\{\}=F_{\{0\}}`$ is the *vertex* of $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. Because $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{}`$ is homogeneous and equivariant, the action $`𝒜`$ descends to an action on $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$, denoted also by $`𝒜`$, which off the vertex is proper and free, and on each stratum $`F_\sigma `$ is a Liouville action. For each $`F_\sigma `$, let $`\omega _\sigma `$ be the symplectic form, $`\zeta _\sigma `$ the Liouville vector field, $`\beta _\sigma `$ the one-form $`\iota (\zeta _\sigma )\omega _\sigma `$ and $`\mathrm{\Xi }_\sigma `$ the vector field induced by $`\mathrm{\Xi }𝔱`$. The Hamiltonian $`\phi =\iota (\mathrm{\Xi })\beta `$ descends to a continuous function on $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$, also denoted by $`\phi `$. The functions $`\phi _\sigma =\phi |_{F_\sigma }`$ satisfy $`\phi _\sigma =\iota (\mathrm{\Xi }_\sigma )\beta _\sigma `$. The subset $`\phi ^1(1)`$ of $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is called the *link* of the vertex and denoted by $`\mathrm{lk}()`$. The infinite cone $`\left(X\times [\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}0},\mathrm{})\right)/\left(X\times \{0\}\right)`$ over a space $`X`$ is denoted by $`C^{}(X)`$.

###### 4.20 Proposition.

Assume that $`K`$ is semisimple and that $`\mathrm{\Xi }`$ is in the interior of the cone spanned by the negative coroots. Then

1. $`\phi `$ is proper on $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$, $`\mathrm{lk}()`$ is compact, $`\phi 0`$, and $`\phi ^1(0)=\{\}`$;
2. for all $`\sigma 0`$, the intersection $`\mathrm{lk}()_\sigma =\mathrm{lk}()F_\sigma `$ is a smooth manifold, $`\beta _\sigma `$ restricts to a contact form, and $`\mathrm{\Xi }_\sigma `$ to the Reeb vector field on $`\mathrm{lk}()_\sigma `$;
3. The link of $``$ is a global section of the principal $`^\times `$-bundle $`(T^\times K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. The map $`f:\mathrm{lk}()\times ^\times (T^\times K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ given by $`f(\pi _{}(k,\lambda ),t)=𝒜_t(\pi _{}(k,\lambda ))=\pi _{}(k,t\lambda )`$ is a stratum-preserving homeomorphism, which on every stratum is a diffeomorphism, and satisfies $`f^{}\omega _\sigma =d(t(\beta _\sigma |_{\mathrm{lk}()_\sigma }))`$;
4. $`f`$ extends uniquely to a homeomorphism $`C^{}(\mathrm{lk}())(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$.

###### Proof.

The cone spanned by the *positive* coroots is the dual of the cone $`𝔱_+^{}`$. Since $`\mathrm{\Xi }`$ is in its interior and $`K`$ is semisimple, the linear function $`\lambda \lambda (\mathrm{\Xi })`$ is proper on $`𝔱_+^{}`$. It follows that $`\phi (\pi _{}(k,\lambda ))=\lambda (\mathrm{\Xi })`$ is proper on $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. The other assertions in (i) are now obvious. To prove (ii), apply Lemma 4.17 to each stratum $`F_\sigma `$. (iii) follows from the observation that the simplex $`\{\lambda 𝔱_+^{}\lambda (\mathrm{\Xi })=1\}`$ is a global section of the $`^\times `$-action $`\lambda t\lambda `$ on the punctured Weyl chamber $`𝔱_+^{}\{0\}`$. The equality $`f^{}\omega _\sigma =d(t(\beta _\sigma |_{\mathrm{lk}()_\sigma }))`$ is readily checked on the tangent space $`T_mF_\sigma `$ at any $`m\mathrm{lk}()_\sigma `$ and therefore holds globally by homogeneity. To prove (iv), observe that $`(\pi _{}(k,\lambda ),t)\pi _{}(k,t\lambda )`$ defines a map $`\mathrm{lk}()\times [\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}0},\mathrm{})(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ which sends $`\mathrm{lk}()\times \{0\}`$ to $``$ and therefore descends to a homeomorphism $`C^{}(\mathrm{lk}())(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. ∎

The analogy between $`^n`$ and $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ goes even further: if $`\mathrm{\Xi }`$ is integral, it generates a circle action, which turns out to be locally free. This will be proved in greater generality in the next section.

## 5. The stratification

We show now that the symplectic decomposition of the imploded cross-section of a Hamiltonian $`K`$-manifold $`M`$ is a *stratification* in the sense that it is locally finite, satisfies the frontier condition (i.e. $`X_i\overline{X}_j\mathrm{}`$ implies $`X_i\overline{X}_j`$) and a certain regularity condition, which is sometimes called local normal triviality. This means that locally at every point, in the direction transverse to the stratum, $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is a cone over a lower-dimensional stratified space, called the *link* of the point. The link carries a locally free circle action such that the quotient space, the *symplectic link*, decomposes naturally into symplectic manifolds. (In fact, the symplectic link is the imploded cross-section of a singular symplectic quotient.)

This is analogous to results about singular symplectic quotients proved in \[21, §5\]. (There is however one aspect in which imploded cross-sections are different from symplectic quotients: they do not appear to have a naturally defined algebra of functions equipped with a Poisson bracket. Imploded cross-sections are therefore strictly speaking not “stratified symplectic spaces” in the sense of .) The strategy of the proof is the same: write a local normal form for an open neighbourhood of any point in $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(𝔱_+^{})`$ and carry out all computations in this model. We shall do this in three steps. The final result is summarized in Theorem 5.9 at the end of this section. Let $`xM_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ and choose $`m\mathrm{\Phi }^1(𝔱_+^{})`$ such that $`x=\pi (m)`$.

*Step* 1. Assume that $`K`$ is semisimple and $`\mathrm{\Phi }(m)=0`$. Then the orbit $`Km`$ is isotropic. The *symplectic slice* at $`m`$ is

$$V=T_m(Km)^\omega /T_m(Km).$$

The natural linear action of the isotropy subgroup $`H=K_m`$ on $`V`$ is symplectic and has a moment map given by (3.2). Hence we can form the quotient

(5.1)
$$F(K,H,V)=(T^{}K\times V)//_{}H,$$

where we let $`H`$ act on $`T^{}K`$ from the left. It is a symplectic vector bundle with fibre $`V`$ over the base $`T^{}K//_{}H=T^{}(K/H)`$, and it carries a Hamiltonian $`K`$-action induced by the right $`K`$-action on $`T^{}K`$. Let $`[k,\lambda ,v]F(K,H,V)`$ denote the point corresponding to a point $`(k,\lambda ,v)T^{}K\times V=K\times 𝔨^{}\times V`$ in the zero fibre of the $`H`$-moment map. The symplectic slice theorem of Marle and Guillemin-Sternberg says that there exists a map from a $`K`$-stable open neighbourhood of $`m`$ in $`M`$ to a $`K`$-stable open neighbourhood of $`[1,0,0]`$ in $`F(K,H,V)`$ which is an isomorphism of Hamiltonian $`K`$-manifolds and sends $`m`$ to $`[1,0,0]`$. This means that for the purpose of investigating $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ near $`x=\pi (m)`$ we can replace $`M`$ by $`F(K,H,V)`$. Corollary 4.13 implies

$$F(K,H,V)_{\mathrm{impl}}=((T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}\times V)//_{}H.$$

Since $`K`$ is semisimple, the lowest-dimensional stratum of $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ consists of a single point. Therefore the stratum of $`\pi ([1,0,0])`$ in $`F(K,H,V)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is $`V^H`$, which shows once again that the stratum of $`x`$ in $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is a locally closed subspace and a symplectic manifold. Let $`W=(V^H)^\omega `$ be the skew complement of $`V^H`$. Then $`W^H=\{0\}`$ and $`V=WV^H`$ as a symplectic $`H`$-module. Thus we have a splitting

$$\begin{array}{c}F(K,H,V)_{\mathrm{impl}}=((T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}\times W\times V^H)//_{}H\hfill \\ \hfill =(((T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}\times W)//_{}H)\times V^H=F(K,H,W)_{\mathrm{impl}}\times V^H,\end{array}$$

which shows that, near $`x`$, $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is symplectically the product of a neighbourhood of $`x`$ inside its stratum and a neighbourhood of $`\pi ([1,0,0])`$ inside $`F(K,H,W)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$.

The space $`F(K,H,W)_{\mathrm{impl}}=((T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}\times W)//_{}H`$ carries information on the nature of the singularity at $`x`$. Let

(5.2)
$$F(K,H,W)_{\mathrm{impl}}=\underset{j𝒥}{}F_j$$

be its symplectic decomposition, let $`=F_{j_0}=\pi ([1,0,0])`$ be the lowest stratum, called the *vertex*, and put

$$F^\times (K,H,W)_{\mathrm{impl}}=\underset{j𝒥\{j_0\}}{}F_j.$$

Define a continuous $`^\times `$-action $`\widehat{𝒜}`$ on $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}\times W`$ by

$$\widehat{𝒜}_t(\pi _{}(k,\lambda ),w)=(\pi _{}(k,t\lambda ),\sqrt{t}w).$$

This action commutes with the $`H`$-action, preserves the strata of $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}\times W`$, and on each stratum is a Liouville action. Moreover, the $`H`$-moment map is homogeneous of degree $`1`$ with respect to $`\widehat{𝒜}`$, so $`\widehat{𝒜}`$ descends to an action $`𝒜`$ on $`F(K,H,W)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ which preserves the stratification and on each stratum is a Liouville action. Let $`\omega _j`$ be the symplectic form, $`\zeta _j`$ the Liouville vector field, and $`\beta _j`$ the one-form $`\iota (\zeta _j)\omega _j`$ on $`F_j`$.

Now choose an $`H`$-invariant $`\omega `$-compatible complex structure on the $`H`$-module $`W`$ and a circle subgroup of $`T`$ with infinitesimal generator $`\mathrm{\Xi }𝔱`$. Consider the $`S^1`$-action on $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}\times W`$ given by $`\mathrm{\Xi }`$ acting from the right on $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ and complex scalar multiplication on $`W`$. It is generated by the Hamiltonian $`\widehat{\phi }(\pi _{}(k,\lambda ),w)=\lambda (\mathrm{\Xi })\frac{1}{2}w^2`$, it commutes with the $`H`$-action, and therefore descends to a Hamiltonian $`S^1`$-action on $`F(K,H,W)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. The reduced Hamiltonian is $`\phi (\pi ([k,\lambda ,w]))=\lambda (\mathrm{\Xi })\frac{1}{2}w^2`$. For each $`j𝒥`$ let $`\mathrm{\Xi }_j`$ be the vector field on $`F_j`$ induced by $`\mathrm{\Xi }𝔱`$. The functions $`\phi _j=\phi |_{F_j}`$ satisfy $`\phi _j=\iota (\mathrm{\Xi }_j)\beta _j`$. The subspace $`\mathrm{lk}(x)=\phi ^1(1)`$ of $`F(K,H,W)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is called the *link* of $`x`$. The following result says that, stratum by stratum, $`F(K,H,W)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is the symplectification of $`\mathrm{lk}(x)`$ in the sense of Arnold \[1, Appendix 4\]. It is proved in the same way as Proposition 4.20.

###### 5.3 Proposition.

Assume that $`K`$ is semisimple and that $`\mathrm{\Xi }`$ is in the interior of the cone spanned by the negative coroots. Then

1. $`\phi `$ is proper on $`F(K,H,W)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$, $`\mathrm{lk}(x)`$ is compact, $`\phi 0`$, and $`\phi ^1(0)=`$;
2. for all $`jj_0`$, $`\mathrm{lk}(x)_j=\mathrm{lk}(x)F_j`$ is a smooth manifold, $`\beta _j`$ restricts to a contact form, and $`\mathrm{\Xi }_j`$ to the Reeb vector field on $`\mathrm{lk}(x)_j`$;
3. the map $`f:\mathrm{lk}(x)\times ^\times F^\times (K,H,W)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ defined by

$$f(\pi ([k,\lambda ,w]),t)=𝒜_t\left(\pi ([k,\lambda ,w])\right)$$

is a stratum-preserving homeomorphism, which on every stratum is a diffeomorphism, and satisfies $`f^{}\omega _j=d(t(\beta _j|_{\mathrm{lk}(x)_j}))`$;
4. $`f`$ extends uniquely to a homeomorphism $`C^{}(\mathrm{lk}(x))F(K,H,W)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$.

Consequently, if the link is a (homology) sphere, then $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is a topological (homology) manifold at $`x`$. The quotient

$$\mathrm{slk}(x)=\mathrm{lk}(x)/S^1=F(K,H,W)_{\mathrm{impl}}//_1S^1=((T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}\times W)//_{(0,1)}H\times S^1$$

is the *symplectic link* of $`x`$. For instance, the symplectic link of the vertex in $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}//_1S^1`$. To be definite, let us henceforth take $`\mathrm{\Xi }`$ to be the sum of the simple coroots. (This choice is motivated by Proposition 6.10 in the next section.) The following result says that, stratum by stratum, the link is the contactification of the symplectic link.

###### 5.4 Proposition.

Assume that $`K`$ is semisimple. Then

1. the $`S^1`$-action on $`F^\times (K,H,W)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is locally free.
2. for each $`j𝒥\{j_0\}`$ the space $`\mathrm{slk}(x)_j=\mathrm{lk}(x)_j/S^1`$ is a symplectic orbifold, and $`\beta _j|_{\mathrm{lk}(x)_j}`$ is a connection on the orbibundle $`\mathrm{lk}(x)_j\mathrm{slk}(x)_j`$, whose curvature is the reduced symplectic form on $`\mathrm{slk}(x)_j`$.

###### Proof.

Let us denote the element $`(\pi _{}(k,\lambda ),w)`$ of $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}\times W`$ by $`((k,\lambda ,w))`$ and its image in the orbit space $`\left((T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}\times W\right)/S^1`$ by $`[[k,\lambda ,w]]`$. To prove (i) we need to show that for every $`((k,\lambda ,w))((1,0,0))`$ in the zero level set of the $`H`$-moment map, the infinitesimal stabilizers $`𝔩_{((k,\lambda ,w))}`$ and $`𝔩_{[[k,\lambda ,w]]}`$ are equal. There exists an infinitesimal character $`\chi 𝔩_{[[k,\lambda ,w]]}^{}`$ such that for all $`\eta 𝔩_{[[k,\lambda ,w]]}`$

(5.5)
$$\mathrm{exp}\eta ((k,\lambda ,w))=((k\mathrm{exp}(2\pi i\chi (\eta )\mathrm{\Xi }),\lambda ,e^{2\pi i\chi (\eta )}w)).$$

Let $`\sigma `$ be the face containing $`\lambda `$. Then (5.5) boils down to

$$\mathrm{exp}(k^1\eta )=\mathrm{exp}(2\pi i\chi (\eta )\mathrm{\Xi })mod[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]\text{and}(\mathrm{exp}\eta )w=e^{2\pi i\chi (\eta )}w.$$

Differentiating at $`\eta =0`$ yields

(5.6) $`k^1\eta +\chi (\eta )\mathrm{\Xi }`$ $`=[\xi _1,\xi _2]\text{for certain }\xi _1\text{}\xi _2𝔨_\sigma ,`$
(5.7) $`\eta w`$ $`=\chi (\eta )w.`$
Since $`((k,\lambda ,w))`$ is in the zero fibre of the $`H`$-moment map,

$$0=\mathrm{\Phi }_{}^\eta (k,\lambda )+\mathrm{\Phi }_W^\eta (w)=\lambda (k^1\eta )+\frac{1}{2}\omega _W(\eta w,w).$$

Combined with (5.7) this gives

$$\lambda (k^1\eta )=\frac{1}{2}\omega _W(\eta w,w)=\frac{\chi (\eta )}{2}\omega _W(w,w)=0.$$

Applying $`\lambda `$ to both sides of (5.6) we then obtain

$$\chi (\eta )\lambda (\mathrm{\Xi })=\lambda ([\xi _1,\xi _2])=(\mathrm{ad}^{}(\xi _1)\lambda )(\xi _2)=0,$$

because $`\xi _1𝔨_\sigma `$ and $`\lambda \sigma `$. Since $`\mathrm{\Xi }<0`$ on $`𝔱_+^{}`$, $`\lambda (\mathrm{\Xi })<0`$ and hence $`\chi (\eta )=0`$. From (5.5) we conclude that $`\eta 𝔩_{((k,\lambda ,w))}`$, and therefore $`𝔩_{[[k,\lambda ,w]]}`$ is contained in $`𝔩_{((k,\lambda ,w))}`$. The reverse inclusion is obvious. This proves (i). (ii) follows immediately from (i). ∎

Theorem 2.10 implies that the symplectic link is a union of symplectic manifolds. In fact, the manifold decomposition of $`\mathrm{slk}(x)`$ is a refinement of the orbifold decomposition $`\mathrm{slk}(x)=\mathrm{slk}(x)_j`$.

*Step* 2. Next consider the case where $`K`$ may have a positive-dimensional centre and $`\mathrm{\Phi }(m)`$ is contained in $`𝔷^{}`$, the fixed point set of the coadjoint action. This case reduces immediately to the previous one by replacing $`K`$ with its semisimple part $`[K,K]`$. This works because the $`[K,K]`$-moment map sends $`m`$ to $`0[𝔨,𝔨]^{}`$ and if $`U`$ is a $`[K,K]`$-stable open neighbourhood of $`m`$, then $`U\mathrm{\Phi }^1(𝔱_+^{})`$ is saturated under the equivalence relation $``$, so that $`\pi (U\mathrm{\Phi }^1(𝔱_+^{}))`$ is an open neighbourhood of $`\pi (m)`$ in $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$.

*Step* 3. Finally we reduce the general case to the case $`\mathrm{\Phi }(m)𝔷^{}`$. Let $`\sigma \mathrm{\Sigma }`$ be the face containing $`\mathrm{\Phi }(m)`$. Then $`mM_\sigma `$ and $`\pi (m)M_\sigma //_{}[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$. The *standard open neighbourhood* of $`M_\sigma //_{}[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$ in $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is the $`T`$-stable open set

$$O_\sigma =\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\mathrm{star}\sigma )/=\mathrm{\Phi }_{\mathrm{impl}}^1(\mathrm{star}\sigma )=\underset{\tau \sigma }{}M_\tau //_{}[K_\tau ,K_\tau ].$$

Let $`R𝔱^{}`$ be the root system of $`(K,T)`$ and $`S`$ the set of roots which are simple relative to the chamber $`𝔱_+^{}`$. The root system of $`(K_\sigma ,T)`$ is then

$$R_\sigma =\{\alpha R\lambda (\alpha ^{})=0\text{ for all }\lambda \sigma \},$$

and its set of simple roots is $`S_\sigma =R_\sigma S`$. The corresponding positive Weyl chamber is denoted by $`𝔱_{+,\sigma }^{}`$. Both $`𝔷_\sigma ^{}`$ and $`\mathrm{star}\sigma `$ are contained in $`𝔱_{+,\sigma }^{}`$. Let $`(M_\sigma )_{\mathrm{impl}}=\mathrm{\Phi }_\sigma ^1(𝔱_{+,\sigma }^{})/_\sigma `$ be the imploded cross-section of $`M_\sigma `$ with respect to the $`K_\sigma `$-action, $`\pi _\sigma :\mathrm{\Phi }_\sigma ^1(𝔱_{+,\sigma }^{})(M_\sigma )_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ the quotient map, and $`(\mathrm{\Phi }_\sigma )_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ the associated imploded moment map.

###### 5.8 Lemma.

1. $`\mathrm{star}\sigma `$ is open in $`𝔱_{+,\sigma }^{}`$.
2. $`O_\sigma `$ is isomorphic to the open subset $`(\mathrm{\Phi }_\sigma )_{\mathrm{impl}}^1(\mathrm{star}\sigma )`$ of $`(M_\sigma )_{\mathrm{impl}}`$.

###### Proof.

(i) follows immediately from

$`𝔱_{+,\sigma }^{}`$ $`=\{\lambda 𝔱^{}:\lambda (\alpha ^{})0\text{ for all }\alpha S_\sigma \},`$
$`\mathrm{star}\sigma `$ $`=\{\lambda 𝔱^{}:\lambda (\alpha ^{})0\text{ for all }\alpha S_\sigma \text{}\lambda (\alpha ^{})>0\text{ for all }\alpha SS_\sigma \}.`$
From (i) it follows that $`(\mathrm{\Phi }_\sigma )_{\mathrm{impl}}^1(\mathrm{star}\sigma )`$ is open in $`(M_\sigma )_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. For $`\lambda \mathrm{star}\sigma `$, $`K_\lambda K_\sigma `$, so for $`m_1`$, $`m_2\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\mathrm{star}\sigma )`$, $`m_1m_2`$ is equivalent to $`m_1_\sigma m_2`$. Hence $`(\mathrm{\Phi }_\sigma )_{\mathrm{impl}}^1(\mathrm{star}\sigma )=\mathrm{\Phi }_\sigma ^1(\mathrm{star}\sigma )/_\sigma =\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\mathrm{star}\sigma )/=O_\sigma `$. ∎

To examine the structure of $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ near $`\pi (m)`$ we can therefore resort to the space $`(M_\sigma )_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ and the point $`\pi _\sigma (m)`$. But here the argument of steps 1 and 2 applies, because $`\mathrm{\Phi }(m)𝔷_\sigma ^{}`$ is fixed under the coadjoint action of $`K_\sigma `$. We can summarize this discussion as follows.

###### 5.9 Theorem.

Let $`(M,\omega ,\mathrm{\Phi })`$ be a Hamiltonian $`K`$-manifold and let $`xM_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. Choose $`m\mathrm{\Phi }^1(𝔱_+^{})`$ such that $`x=\pi (m)`$. Let $`\sigma `$ be the face of $`𝔱_+^{}`$ containing $`\mathrm{\Phi }(m)`$. Let $`H=[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]_m`$ be the stabilizer of $`m`$ and $`V`$ the symplectic slice at $`m`$ for the $`[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$-action on $`M_\sigma `$. Put $`W=(V^H)^\omega `$. Then $`x`$ has an open neighbourhood which is isomorphic to a product $`U_1\times U_2`$, where $`U_1`$ is a neighbourhood of $`x`$ in its stratum and $`U_2`$ is a neighbourhood of the vertex in $`F([K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ],H,W)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. The space $`F([K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ],H,W)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is the stratified symplectification of the link $`\mathrm{lk}(x)`$ in the sense of Proposition 5.3, and $`\mathrm{lk}(x)`$ is the stratified contactification of the symplectic link $`\mathrm{slk}(x)`$ in the sense of Proposition 5.4. The symplectic decomposition of $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is locally finite and satisfies the frontier condition.

###### Proof.

Everything has been proved except the frontier condition. Let $`X_{i_0}`$ be the stratum of $`x`$ and suppose that $`x`$ is in the closure of a stratum $`X_i`$. Put $`Y=\{yX_{i_0}y\overline{X}_i\}`$. Then $`xY`$ and $`Y`$ is closed in $`X_{i_0}`$. In the local model $`F([K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ],H,V)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ around $`x`$, the stratum $`X_{i_0}`$ is of the form $`F_{j_0}\times V^H=\{\}\times V^H`$, whereas $`X_i`$ is of the form $`F_j\times V^H`$ for some $`j𝒥`$. Here the notation is as in (5.2). Every stratum $`F_j`$ in $`F^\times (K,H,W)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is stable under the $`^\times `$-action and therefore has the vertex $``$ as a limit point. It follows that $`X_{i_0}U\overline{X}_iU`$, where $`U`$ is an appropriate open neighbourhood of $`x`$ in $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. Hence $`Y`$ is open, and therefore $`Y=X_{i_0}`$. We have shown that $`X_{i_0}\overline{X}_i`$. ∎

In the next section we shall prove that the link and the symplectic link of every point in $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ are connected.

## 6. Kähler structures

In this section we show that the strata of the universal imploded cross-section fit together in an unexpectedly nice way. It turns out that if $`K`$ is semisimple and simply connected, $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ can be embedded into a unitary $`K`$-module $`E`$ in such a manner that the symplectic form on each stratum is the pullback of the flat Kähler form on $`E`$. The image of the embedding is a closed $`K`$-stable affine subvariety with coordinate ring $`[G]^N`$, where $`G=K^{}`$ is the complexification of $`K`$ and $`N`$ is a maximal unipotent subgroup of $`G`$. This happy state of affairs permits us to calculate $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ for groups other than $`\mathrm{𝐒𝐔}(2)`$ and to prove that the imploded cross-section of *every* Kähler Hamiltonian $`K`$-manifold is a Kähler space.

Assume first that $`K`$ is an arbitrary compact connected Lie group. Let $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=\mathrm{ker}(\mathrm{exp}|_𝔱)`$ be the exponential lattice in $`𝔱`$ and $`\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}=\mathrm{Hom}_{}(\mathrm{\Lambda },)`$ the weight lattice in $`𝔱^{}`$. Then $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_+^{}=\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}𝔱_+^{}`$ is the monoid of dominant weights. For any dominant weight $`\lambda `$ let $`V_\lambda `$ be the $`K`$-module with highest weight $`\lambda `$. Select a minimal set of generators $`\mathrm{\Pi }`$ of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_+^{}`$, put

(6.1)
$$E=\underset{\varpi \mathrm{\Pi }}{}V_\varpi ,$$

and fix a highest-weight vector $`v_\varpi `$ in each $`V_\varpi `$. To each face $`\sigma \mathrm{\Sigma }`$ is associated a parabolic subgroup $`P_\sigma `$ of $`G`$ with Lie algebra

$$𝔭_\sigma =𝔱^{}\underset{\alpha R_\sigma }{}𝔤_\alpha \underset{R_+R_{+,\sigma }}{}𝔤_\alpha ,$$

where $`𝔤_\alpha `$ denotes the root space for $`\alpha `$.

###### 6.2 Lemma.

For each face $`\sigma `$ let $`v_\sigma =_{\varpi \overline{\sigma }}v_\varpi `$. Then the stabilizer of $`v_\sigma `$ for the $`G`$-action is equal to $`[P_\sigma ,P_\sigma ]`$.

###### Proof.

Let $`[v_\sigma ]`$ denote the equivalence class of $`v_\sigma `$ in the product of projective spaces $`_{\varpi \overline{\sigma }}(V_\varpi )`$. Then $`G_{[v_\sigma ]}=P_\sigma `$ and

$$G_{v_\sigma }=\{gP_\sigma \lambda (g)=1\text{ for all }\lambda \mathrm{\Lambda }^{}\overline{\sigma }\}.$$

(Here we identify $`\lambda `$ with the character of $`P_\sigma `$ that it exponentiates to.) Let $`G_\sigma =(K_\sigma )^{}`$ and let $`U_\sigma `$ be the unipotent radical of $`P_\sigma `$. The corresponding Lie algebras are

(6.3)
$$𝔤_\sigma =𝔱^{}\underset{\alpha R_\sigma }{}𝔤_\alpha \text{and}𝔲_\sigma =\underset{\alpha R_+R_{+,\sigma }}{}𝔤_\alpha ,$$

and we have Levi decompositions

(6.4)
$$P_\sigma =G_\sigma U_\sigma \text{and}[P_\sigma ,P_\sigma ]=[G_\sigma ,G_\sigma ]U_\sigma .$$

Since characters of $`P_\sigma `$ vanish on $`U_\sigma `$, we have $`G_{v_\sigma }=Q_\sigma U_\sigma `$ with $`Q_\sigma =G_{v_\sigma }G_\sigma `$. Thus both $`[G_\sigma ,G_\sigma ]`$ and $`Q_\sigma `$ are semisimple groups with root system $`R_\sigma `$. To finish the proof it suffices to show that $`Q_\sigma `$ is connected. The elements of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}\overline{\sigma }`$ being $`G_\sigma `$-invariant, $`Q_\sigma `$ is stable under conjugation by the connected group $`G_\sigma `$. Therefore we need only show that the intersection of $`Q_\sigma `$ with the maximal torus $`T`$ is connected. Observe that

$$Q_\sigma T=\{tT\lambda (t)=1\text{ for all }\lambda \mathrm{\Lambda }^{}\overline{\sigma }\}.$$

If $`C`$ is any top-dimensional polyhedral cone in a vector space $`V`$ and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ is a lattice in $`V`$, then the set $`\mathrm{\Gamma }C`$ contains a $``$-basis for $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$. Therefore $`\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}\overline{\sigma }`$ contains a $``$-basis for the lattice $`\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}𝔷_\sigma ^{}`$. This basis can be extended to a basis of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}`$, and this implies that $`Q_\sigma T`$ is connected. ∎

Let $`N`$ be the maximal unipotent subgroup of $`G`$ with Lie algebra $`𝔫=_{\alpha R_+}𝔤_\alpha `$ and let $`A`$ be the (real) subgroup with Lie algebra $`𝔞=i𝔱`$. Then $`T^{}=TA`$ and $`B=TAN`$ is a Borel subgroup of $`G`$. The Borel-Weil Theorem implies that the ring of $`N`$-invariants is a multi-graded direct sum,

$$[G]^N=\underset{\lambda \mathrm{\Lambda }_+^{}}{}V_\lambda .$$

In particular it is generated by the finite-dimensional subspace $`E^{}`$. It follows that there exists a closed $`G`$-equivariant algebraic embedding $`G_NE`$. (Following Kraft \[13, Kapitel III\], for any affine $`G`$-variety $`X`$ we denote by $`X_N`$ the affine variety with coordinate ring $`[X]^N`$.) By results of Vinberg and Popov \[22, §3\], $`G_N`$ consists of finitely many $`G`$-orbits, which are labelled by the faces of the cone $`𝔱_+^{}`$. In addition, $`G_N`$ contains the subspace $`E^N`$ and $`G_N=GE^N`$. The stabilizer of the orbit corresponding to the face $`\sigma `$ is the group of all $`gP_\sigma `$ such that $`\lambda (g)=1`$ for all $`\lambda \mathrm{\Lambda }^{}\overline{\sigma }`$, which is equal to $`[P_\sigma ,P_\sigma ]`$ by Lemma 6.2. In particular, the open orbit is of type $`G/N`$. Moreover, the embedding $`G_NE`$ is uniquely determined by sending $`1modN`$ to the sum of the highest-weight vectors $`_{\varpi \mathrm{\Pi }}v_\varpi `$. We shall identify $`G_N`$ with its image in $`E`$. We turn $`E`$ into a $`K\times T`$-module by letting $`T`$ act on $`V_\varpi `$ with weight $`\varpi `$. Observe that a different choice of highest-weight vectors leads to a new embedding $`G_NE`$ which differs from the old by multiplication by an element of the complex torus $`TA`$.

Let $`,`$ be the unique $`K`$-invariant Hermitian inner product on $`E`$ satisfying $`v_p=1`$ for all $`p`$. We regard $`E`$ as a flat Kähler manifold with the Kähler form $`\omega _E=\mathrm{Im},`$. It is convenient to write $`\omega _E=d\beta _E`$ with

(6.5)
$$(\beta _E)_v(w)=\frac{1}{2}\mathrm{Im}v,w$$

for $`v`$, $`wE`$.

Now assume that $`K`$ is semisimple and simply connected. The set $`\mathrm{\Pi }`$ is then uniquely determined: it is the set of fundamental weights $`\{\varpi _1,\varpi _2,\mathrm{},\varpi _r\}`$, which form a $``$-basis of the weight lattice. Let $`\alpha _1`$, $`\alpha _2,\mathrm{}`$, $`\alpha _r`$ be the corresponding simple roots. Put $`V_p=V_{\varpi _p}`$ and $`v_p=v_{\varpi _p}`$. Since $`\lambda (\alpha ^{})0`$ if $`\lambda 𝔱_+^{}`$,

(6.6)
$$s(\lambda )=\frac{1}{\sqrt{\pi }}\underset{p=1}{\overset{r}{}}\sqrt{\lambda (\alpha _p^{})}v_p$$

defines a continuous map from $`𝔱_+^{}`$ into $`E^N`$.

###### 6.7 Remark.

The subspace $`E^N`$ inherits a symplectic form from $`E`$ and according to (3.2) the moment map for the $`T`$-action on $`E^N`$ is given by $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{E^N}(_pc_pv_p)=\pi _p|c_p|^2\varpi _p`$. Observe that, $`K`$ being semisimple and simply connected, the $`T`$-action on $`E^N`$ is equivalent to the $`(^\times )^r`$-action on $`^r`$ and so is effective and multiplicity-free. The map $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{E^N}`$ separates the $`T`$-orbits and its image is the opposite chamber $`𝔱_+^{}`$. Therefore $`E^N`$ is nothing but the symplectic toric manifold (multiplicity-free $`T`$-manifold or Delzant space) associated with the polyhedron $`𝔱_+^{}`$. Finally note that $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{E^N}(s(\lambda ))=\lambda `$, that is to say, $`s`$ is a section of $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{E^N}`$.

The map $`s`$ extends uniquely to a $`K\times T`$-equivariant map $`:K\times 𝔱_+^{}E`$.

###### 6.8 Proposition.

Assume that $`K`$ is semisimple and simply connected.

1. $``$ induces a map $`f:(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}E`$ which is continuous and closed (for the classical topology on $`E`$), and injective.
2. The restriction of $`f`$ to each stratum is a smooth symplectomorphism.
3. The image of $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ under $`f`$ is identical to $`G_N`$. Thus $`f:(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}G_N`$ is an isomorphism of Hamiltonian $`K`$-spaces in the sense of Section 3.

###### Proof.

It is plain from (6.6) that $``$ is continuous and closed. Furthermore, by Lemma 6.2 the stabilizer of $`(1,\lambda )=s(\lambda )`$ for the $`K`$-action is equal to $`K[P_\sigma ,P_\sigma ]=[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$, where $`\sigma `$ is the face containing $`\lambda `$. This implies (i).

It is clear from (6.6) that $``$ is smooth on $`K\times \sigma `$ for every $`\sigma `$, and therefore $`f`$ restricted to $`K/[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]\times \sigma `$ is a smooth embedding. We check that it preserves the symplectic form by showing that $`f^{}\beta _E=\beta _\sigma `$, where $`\beta _\sigma `$ is the one-form on $`K/[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]\times \sigma `$ considered in Lemma 4.6. Because $``$ is $`K`$-equivariant we need only show this at the points $`(\overline{1},\lambda )`$, where $`\overline{k}`$ denotes the coset $`k[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]`$. By Lemma 4.6,

(6.9)
$$(\beta _\sigma )_{(\overline{1},\lambda )}(\overline{\xi },\mu )=\lambda (\xi )$$

for all $`\xi 𝔨`$ and $`\mu 𝔷_\sigma `$. On the other hand,

$$(f^{}\beta _E)_{(\overline{1},\lambda )}(\overline{\xi },\mu )=(\beta _E)_{f(\overline{1},\lambda )}(f_{}(\overline{\xi },\mu ))=(\beta _E)_{s(\lambda )}(_{}(\xi ,\mu )).$$

Here

$$_{}(\xi ,\mu )=\frac{d}{dt}\mathrm{exp}(t\xi )s(\lambda +t\mu )|_{t=0}=\xi _E(s(\lambda ))+\underset{p=1}{\overset{r}{}}\frac{\mu (\alpha _p^{})}{2\sqrt{\pi \lambda (\alpha _p^{})}}v_p.$$

Together with (6.5) this yields

$`(f^{}\beta _E)_{(\overline{1},\lambda )}(\overline{\xi },\mu )`$ $`={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\mathrm{Im}\xi _E(s(\lambda ))+{\displaystyle \underset{p}{}}{\displaystyle \frac{\mu (\alpha _p^{})}{2\sqrt{\pi \lambda (\alpha _p^{})}}}v_p,s(\lambda )`$
$`={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2\pi }}\mathrm{Im}{\displaystyle \underset{p}{}}\sqrt{\lambda (\alpha _p^{})}\xi _E(v_p),s(\lambda )+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2\pi }}\mathrm{Im}{\displaystyle \underset{p}{}}{\displaystyle \frac{\mu (\alpha _p^{})}{2}}`$
$`={\displaystyle \underset{p}{}}\lambda (\alpha _p^{})\varpi _p(\xi )=\lambda (\xi ),`$
where we have used $`\xi _E(v_p),v_q=2\pi i\varpi _p(\xi )\delta _{pq}`$. Comparing with (6.9) we conclude that $`f^{}\beta _E=\beta _\sigma `$. This proves (ii).

(iii) is a consequence of the Iwasawa decomposition. Put $`𝔞=i𝔱`$, $`A=\mathrm{exp}𝔞`$ and, for each face $`\sigma `$, $`𝔫_\sigma =_{\alpha R_{+,\sigma }}𝔤_\alpha `$ and $`N_\sigma =\mathrm{exp}𝔫_\sigma `$. Then $`G=KAN`$ and $`G_\sigma =K_\sigma AN_\sigma `$. Recall also that $`P_\sigma =G_\sigma U_\sigma `$. Here $`G_\sigma `$ and $`U_\sigma `$ are as in (6.3). Let

$$𝔞_\sigma =𝔞[𝔤_\sigma ,𝔤_\sigma ]=\underset{\alpha S_\sigma }{}i\alpha ^{}\text{and}𝔞_\sigma ^{}=i𝔷\underset{\alpha SS_\sigma }{}i\alpha ^{},$$

so that $`𝔞=𝔞_\sigma 𝔞_\sigma ^{}`$. Writing $`A_\sigma =\mathrm{exp}𝔞_\sigma `$ and $`A_\sigma ^{}=\mathrm{exp}𝔞_\sigma ^{}`$ we find $`A=A_\sigma \times A_\sigma ^{}`$ and, using (6.4),

$$[P_\sigma ,P_\sigma ]=[G_\sigma ,G_\sigma ]U_\sigma =[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]A_\sigma N_\sigma U_\sigma =[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]A_\sigma N.$$

Hence

$$G/[P_\sigma ,P_\sigma ]=KAN/\left([K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]A_\sigma ^{}N\right)K/[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ]\times A_\sigma ^{}$$

as smooth $`K`$-manifolds. To finish the proof it suffices to show that $`s(\sigma )`$ is equal to the $`A_\sigma ^{}`$-orbit through $`v_\sigma `$ for all $`\sigma `$. For $`\lambda 𝔱_+^{}`$ put

$$\psi (\lambda )=\frac{1}{4\pi i}\underset{p}{}\left(\mathrm{log}\lambda (\alpha _p^{})\mathrm{log}\pi \right)\alpha _p^{}𝔞,$$

where the sum is over all $`p`$ such that $`\lambda (\alpha _p^{})0`$. For each face $`\sigma `$, $`\psi `$ defines a diffeomorphism from $`\sigma `$ to $`𝔞_\sigma ^{}`$, and therefore $`\mathrm{exp}\psi :\sigma A_\sigma ^{}`$ is also a diffeomorphism. Moreover, for $`\lambda \sigma `$

$`\mathrm{exp}\psi (\lambda )v_\sigma `$ $`={\displaystyle \underset{\begin{array}{c}p\\ \alpha _pSS_\sigma \end{array}}{}}\mathrm{exp}\left({\displaystyle \frac{1}{4\pi i}}{\displaystyle \underset{\begin{array}{c}q\\ \alpha _qSS_\sigma \end{array}}{}}\left(\mathrm{log}\lambda (\alpha _q^{})\mathrm{log}\pi \right)\alpha _q^{}\right)v_p`$
$`={\displaystyle \underset{p}{}}\mathrm{exp}\left({\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}{\displaystyle \underset{q}{}}\left(\mathrm{log}\lambda (\alpha _q^{})\mathrm{log}\pi \right)\varpi _p(\alpha _q^{})\right)v_p`$
$`={\displaystyle \underset{p}{}}\mathrm{exp}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\left(\mathrm{log}\lambda (\alpha _p^{})\mathrm{log}\pi \right)v_p=(\lambda ).`$
Hence $`s(\sigma )=A_\sigma ^{}v_\sigma `$. ∎

In a similar fashion the symplectic link of the vertex in $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ can be identified with a *projective* variety. Observe that the subvariety $`G_N`$ of $`E`$ is conical, i.e. preserved by the standard $`^\times `$-action on $`E`$. The easiest way to see this is to consider the one-parameter subgroup of $`T`$ generated by $`\mathrm{\Xi }=_{p=1}^r\alpha _p^{}𝔱`$. As $`\varpi _p(\mathrm{\Xi })=1`$ for all $`p`$ and $`T`$ acts with weight $`\varpi _p`$ on $`V_p`$, $`\mathrm{\Xi }`$ generates the standard $`S^1`$-action on $`E`$. Since $`G_N`$ is affine and is preserved under the action of $`T`$, it is a cone. Let us denote the subvariety $`(G_N\{0\})/^\times `$ of $`(V)`$ by $`(G_N)`$. As before, $``$ denotes the vertex in $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$, and $`\mathrm{slk}()=(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}//_1S^1`$ its symplectic link. The following result is now immediate from Proposition 6.8 and Example 3.3.

###### 6.10 Proposition.

Assume that $`K`$ is semisimple and simply connected. The isomorphism $`f:(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}G_N`$ induces an isomorphism of Hamiltonian $`K`$-spaces $`\mathrm{slk}()(G_N)`$.

Now let $`K`$ be a torus. Then $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_+^{}=\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}`$ and $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}=T^{}K`$. Let us take $`\mathrm{\Pi }=\{\pm \kappa _1,\pm \kappa _2,\mathrm{},\pm \kappa _s\}`$, where $`\{\kappa _1,\kappa _2,\mathrm{},\kappa _s\}`$ is a $``$-basis of the lattice $`\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}`$. Let $`\eta _1`$, $`\eta _2,\mathrm{}`$, $`\eta _s`$ be the dual basis of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, $`V_p=V_{\kappa _p}`$, and $`V_p=V_{\kappa _p}`$. For $`\lambda 𝔨^{}`$ set

$$s(\lambda )=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2\pi }}\underset{p=1}{\overset{s}{}}\left(\chi (\lambda (\eta _p))v_p+\frac{1}{\chi (\lambda (\eta _p))}v_p\right)$$

with $`\chi (t)=\sqrt{t+\sqrt{t^2+1}}`$. Then $`s`$ extends uniquely to an equivariant map $``$ from $`T^{}K`$ into $`E`$ and it is straightforward to check that this is a symplectic embedding.

The main points of this discussion can be restated as follows.

###### 6.11 Theorem.

Assume that $`K`$ is the product of a torus and a semisimple simply connected group. There exists a $`K\times T`$-equivariant embedding $`f`$ of $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ into the unitary $`K\times T`$-module $`E`$ whose image is the Zariski-closed affine subvariety $`G_N`$. Hence the action of $`K\times T`$ on $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ extends to an action of the complexified group $`K^{}\times T^{}=G\times TA`$. The strata of $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ coincide with the orbits of $`G`$:

$$f((K\times 𝔖_\sigma )//_{}[K_\sigma ,K_\sigma ])=G/[P_\sigma ,P_\sigma ]$$

for all faces $`\sigma `$. The symplectic form on each stratum is the restriction of the flat Kähler form on $`E`$.

###### 6.12 Example.

Let $`K=\mathrm{𝐒𝐔}(2)`$. Write an arbitrary element of $`G=\mathrm{𝐒𝐋}(2,)`$ as $`g=(x_{ij})`$. Let $`N`$ be the subgroup consisting of upper triangular unipotent matrices. The $`N`$-invariants of degree $`1`$ are the entries in the first column, $`x_{11}`$ and $`x_{21}`$. These two elements freely generate $`[G]^N`$. Therefore $`G_N`$ is the affine plane $`^2`$, which confirms the computation in Example 4.7.

For general compact connected $`K`$ there is a similar embedding of $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ into $`E`$, but we have not been able to find one that is symplectic with respect to a natural Kähler structure on $`E`$. Instead we proceed as follows. Consider the universal cover $`[K,K]^\mathrm{~}`$ of $`[K,K]`$ and the group $`\stackrel{~}{K}=Z\times [K,K]^\mathrm{~}`$. Then $`K=\stackrel{~}{K}/\mathrm{{\rm Y}}`$, where $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}`$ is a finite central subgroup of $`\stackrel{~}{K}`$. Let $`\stackrel{~}{G}`$ be the complexification of $`\stackrel{~}{K}`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{N}`$ the preimage of $`N`$ in $`\stackrel{~}{G}`$. Then $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}(T^{}\stackrel{~}{K})_{\mathrm{impl}}/\mathrm{{\rm Y}}`$ (see Example 4.15) and likewise $`G_N\stackrel{~}{G}_{\stackrel{~}{N}}/\mathrm{{\rm Y}}`$. It follows that $`f`$ descends to a homeomorphism $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}G_N`$. We use this map to identify $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ with $`G_N`$, thus defining a structure of an affine variety on $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ and Kähler structures on the orbits of $`G_N`$.

By virtue of this result we can bring the machinery of algebraic geometry to bear on the universal imploded cross-section. For instance, it now makes sense to talk about algebraic subvarieties of $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. Each stratum, being an orbit of $`G`$, is a quasi-affine subvariety and its closure in the classical topology is the same as its Zariski closure. The following is an algebraic slice theorem for $`G_N`$, valid for arbitrary reductive $`G`$.

###### 6.13 Lemma.

For every face $`\sigma `$ the point $`v_\sigma `$ has a $`G`$-stable Zariski-open neighbourhood in $`G_N`$ which is equivariantly isomorphic to $`G\times ^{[P_\sigma ,P_\sigma ]}[P_\sigma ,P_\sigma ]_N`$.

###### Proof.

Let $`E_\sigma =_{\varpi \overline{\sigma }}V_\varpi `$ and let $`\mathrm{pr}:EE_\sigma `$ be the orthogonal projection. Then $`\mathrm{pr}`$ is $`G`$-equivariant and $`\mathrm{pr}(G_N)`$ is the closure of $`Gv_\sigma `$. For any face $`\tau `$, $`\mathrm{pr}(v_\tau )=_{\varpi \overline{\sigma }\overline{\tau }}v_\varpi =v_{\sigma \tau }`$, where $`\sigma \tau \mathrm{\Sigma }`$ is the interior of $`\overline{\sigma }\overline{\tau }`$. Hence

(6.14)
$$\mathrm{pr}(v_\tau )=v_\sigma \tau \sigma .$$

Consider the subsets of $`E`$ given by

$$X_\sigma =\underset{\tau \sigma }{}[P_\sigma ,P_\sigma ]v_\tau \text{and}O_\sigma =GX_\sigma =\underset{\tau \sigma }{}Gv_\tau .$$

Then $`X_\sigma `$ is $`[P_\sigma ,P_\sigma ]`$-stable and (6.14) implies that $`X_\sigma =\mathrm{pr}^1(v_\sigma )G_N`$. Hence $`X_\sigma `$ is Zariski-closed. Similarly, $`O_\sigma `$ is equal to $`\mathrm{pr}^1(Gv_\sigma )G_N`$, and it is a $`G`$-stable Zariski-open neighbourhood of $`v_\sigma `$. If $`x`$ and $`gx`$ are in $`X_\sigma `$, then $`gv_\sigma =g\mathrm{pr}(x)=\mathrm{pr}(gx)=v_\sigma `$, so that $`g[P_\sigma ,P_\sigma ]`$ by Lemma 6.2. It follows that the multiplication map $`G\times X_\sigma O_\sigma `$ induces a $`G`$-equivariant isomorphism $`G\times ^{[P_\sigma ,P_\sigma ]}X_\sigma O_\sigma `$. The affine $`[P_\sigma ,P_\sigma ]`$-variety $`X_\sigma `$ is the union of all orbits $`[P_\sigma ,P_\sigma ]/[P_\tau ,P_\tau ]`$ with $`\tau \sigma `$. The groups $`P_\tau `$ are exactly the parabolic subgroups of $`P_\sigma `$ that contain $`B`$, and therefore it follows from the corollary to \[22, Theorem 6\] that $`O_\sigma [P_\sigma ,P_\sigma ]_N`$. ∎

As an application we determine the smooth (nonsingular) locus of $`G_N`$. Since $`G_N`$ is smooth at $`x`$ if and only if it is smooth at all points in $`Gx`$, it suffices to consider $`x=v_\sigma `$.

###### 6.15 Proposition.

Let $`\sigma `$ be any face of $`𝔱_+^{}`$.

1. $`G_N`$ is smooth at $`v_\sigma `$ if and only if $`[G_\sigma ,G_\sigma ]\mathrm{𝐒𝐋}(2,)^k`$ for some $`k`$. The slice $`[P_\sigma ,P_\sigma ]_N`$ is then $`\mathrm{𝐒𝐋}(2,)^k`$-equivariantly isomorphic to the standard $`\mathrm{𝐒𝐋}(2,)^k`$-representation on $`(^2)^k`$.
2. $`G_N`$ has an orbifold singularity at $`v_\sigma `$ if and only if $`[G_\sigma ,G_\sigma ]\mathrm{𝐒𝐋}(2,)^k/\mathrm{{\rm Y}}`$ for some $`k`$ and some central subgroup $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}`$ of $`\mathrm{𝐒𝐋}(2,)^k`$. Then $`[P_\sigma ,P_\sigma ]_N(^2)^k/\mathrm{{\rm Y}}`$ as a $`\mathrm{𝐒𝐋}(2,)^k/\mathrm{{\rm Y}}`$-variety.

###### Proof.

It follows from Lemma 6.13 that $`G_N`$ is smooth at $`v_\sigma `$ if and only if $`[P_\sigma ,P_\sigma ]_N[G_\sigma ,G_\sigma ]_{N_\sigma }`$ is smooth at the vertex. Pauer \[18, Hilfssatz 2.4\] proved that this is the case if and only if $`[G_\sigma ,G_\sigma ]\mathrm{𝐒𝐋}(2,)^k`$ and $`[G_\sigma ,G_\sigma ]_{N_\sigma }(^2)^k`$. This proves (i).

Likewise, $`G_N`$ has an orbifold singularity at $`v_\sigma `$ if and only if $`[G_\sigma ,G_\sigma ]_{N_\sigma }`$ has an orbifold singularity at the vertex. This is the case precisely when $`𝒢_𝒩`$ has an orbifold singularity at the vertex, where $`𝒢`$ is the universal cover of $`[G_\sigma ,G_\sigma ]`$ and $`𝒩`$ is the preimage of $`N_\sigma `$ in $`𝒢`$. Since $`𝒢`$ is simply connected and $`𝒩`$ is connected, $`𝒢/𝒩`$ is simply connected. The complement of $`𝒢/𝒩`$ inside $`(𝒢_𝒩)_{\mathrm{reg}}`$ has complex codimension at least $`2`$, and therefore $`(𝒢_𝒩)_{\mathrm{reg}}`$ is also simply connected. Moreover, $`(𝒢_𝒩)_{\mathrm{reg}}`$ is a union of $`𝒢`$-orbits and therefore homogeneous, i.e. stable under dilations on $`𝒢_𝒩`$. We conclude that the vertex has a basis of open neighbourhoods $`O`$ such that the nonsingular part $`O_{\mathrm{reg}}`$ is simply connected. A result of Prill \[19, Theorem 1\] implies that if a complex analytic space $`X`$ has a finite-quotient singularity at $`x`$ and if $`x`$ has a basis of neighbourhoods $`O`$ such that $`O_{\mathrm{reg}}`$ is simply connected, then $`X`$ is smooth at $`x`$. We conclude that $`𝒢_𝒩`$ has an orbifold singularity at the vertex if and only if it is smooth. Therefore (ii) follows from (i). ∎

In particular $`G_N`$ is smooth if and only if $`[G,G]`$ is a product of copies of $`\mathrm{𝐒𝐋}(2,)`$; it is an orbifold if and only if the universal cover of $`[G,G]`$ is a product of copies of $`\mathrm{𝐒𝐋}(2,)`$.

###### 6.16 Example.

Let $`K=\mathrm{𝐒𝐔}(3)`$. Let $`(x_{ij})G=\mathrm{𝐒𝐋}(3,)`$ and let $`N`$ be the subgroup consisting of upper triangular unipotent matrices. The $`N`$-invariants of degree $`1`$ are the entries in the first column, $`w_1=x_{11}`$, $`w_2=x_{21}`$, and $`w_3=x_{31}`$. The invariants of degree $`2`$ are the minors extracted from the first two columns,

$$z_1=\left|\begin{array}{cc}x_{21}& x_{22}\\ x_{31}& x_{32}\end{array}\right|,z_2=\left|\begin{array}{cc}x_{11}& x_{12}\\ x_{31}& x_{32}\end{array}\right|,z_3=\left|\begin{array}{cc}x_{11}& x_{12}\\ x_{21}& x_{22}\end{array}\right|.$$

These six elements generate $`[G]^N`$ and the only relation is $`_kw_kz_k=0`$. Thus $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}=G_N`$ is the quadric in $`^6=^3\times ^3`$ given by this equation. The four strata corresponding to the faces of $`𝔱_+^{}`$ are $`\{0\}`$, $`(^3\{0\})\times \{0\}`$, $`\{0\}\times (^3\{0\})`$ and the open stratum. Only the vertex $`\{0\}`$ is singular.

As an application of the foregoing results let us show that the imploded cross-section of an affine Hamiltonian $`K`$-space $`X`$ (as defined in Example 3.1) is an affine variety. The following result says that implosion is the symplectic analogue of taking the quotient of a variety by the maximal unipotent subgroup of a reductive group. Recall that $`X_N`$ denotes the affine variety with coordinate ring $`[X]^N`$.

###### 6.17 Theorem.

The imploded cross-section of an affine Hamiltonian $`K`$-space $`X`$ is $`T`$-equivariantly homeomorphic to the affine variety $`X_N`$. Under the homeomorphism the strata of $`X_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ correspond to algebraic subvarieties of $`X_N`$.

###### Proof.

Embed $`X`$ into a finite-dimensional unitary $`K`$-module $`V`$ as in Example 3.1. The $`K`$-action on $`X`$ extends uniquely to an algebraic $`G`$-action, which preserves the stratification of $`X`$. To examine $`X_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ let us assume that $`K`$ is semisimple and simply connected. (This is justified by Lemma 2.4.) Then $`X\times G_N`$ is a closed $`K`$-stable affine subvariety of $`V\times E`$, and Theorems 4.9 and 6.11 give us isomorphisms

(6.18)
$$X_{\mathrm{impl}}(X\times (T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}})//_{}K(X\times G_N)//_{}K.$$

A well-known result of Kempf and Ness  (see also Schwarz ) says that the symplectic quotient on the right is homeomorphic to the invariant-theoretic quotient of $`X\times G_N`$ by $`G`$, i.e. the affine variety (associated to the scheme) $`\mathrm{Spec}[X\times G_N]^G`$. The homeomorphism is induced by the inclusion of the zero fibre of the moment map for the $`K`$-action on $`X\times G_N`$ and is therefore $`T`$-equivariant. According to Kraft \[13, III.3.2\] the ring $`[X\times G_N]^G`$ is isomorphic to $`[X]^N`$. ∎

An example of an affine Hamiltonian $`K`$-space is the local model space defined in (5.1). Thus we see that, for every Hamiltonian $`K`$-manifold $`M`$, every point $`x`$ in $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ has an open neighbourhood which is homeomorphic to an open subset (in the classical topology) of an affine variety of the form $`X_N`$, where $`X`$ is the local model at $`x`$. Since $`X`$ is smooth, the quotient $`X_N`$ is normal (see e.g. Satz 2 in Kraft \[13, III.3.4\]), from which it follows that the link of $`x`$ is connected.

###### 6.19 Corollary.

Let $`M`$ be an arbitrary Hamiltonian $`K`$-manifold. Then the link and the symplectic link of every point in $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ are connected.

An assertion comparable to Theorem 6.17 can be made in the analytic category. Let $`(M,\omega ,\mathrm{\Phi })`$ be a Hamiltonian $`K`$-manifold equipped with a $`K`$-invariant complex structure $`J`$. We assume that $`J`$ is compatible with $`\omega `$, so that $`M`$ is a Kähler manifold, and that the $`K`$-action extends to a holomorphic $`G`$-action. We wish to show that $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is a Kähler space and in particular that its strata are Kähler manifolds. However, the complex structure is not induced “directly” from $`M`$.

###### 6.20 Example.

Let $`𝐔(n)`$ act diagonally on $`p`$ copies of $`^n`$. Viewing an element of $`^{n\times p}`$ as an $`n\times p`$-matrix, and identifying $`𝔲(n)^{}`$ with $`𝔲(n)`$ by means of the trace form, we can write the moment map as $`\mathrm{\Phi }(x)=\frac{i}{2}xx^{}`$. Let $`x_1`$, $`x_2,\mathrm{}`$, $`x_n`$ denote the row vectors of $`x`$. The open stratum of the imploded cross-section is the set of all $`x^{n\times p}`$ such that

$$x_j,x_k=0\text{for }jk\text{, and}x_1>x_2>\mathrm{}>x_n.$$

For $`p=1`$ this happens to be a complex submanifold of $`^{n\times p}`$ (namely the set of vectors $`(z,0,0,\mathrm{},0)`$ in $`^n`$ with $`z0`$), but for $`p>1`$ it is not.

Instead, the complex structure is defined indirectly, by using the isomorphism (6.18). Let $`\mathrm{\Psi }`$ be the moment map for the diagonal $`K`$-action on $`M\times G_N`$, so that $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}\mathrm{\Psi }^1(0)/K`$, and let $`𝒮`$ be the semistable set

$$𝒮=\{xM\times G_N\overline{Gx}\text{ intersects }\mathrm{\Psi }^1(0)\}.$$

Results of Heinzner and Loose  show that $`𝒮`$ is open in $`M`$ and that for every $`x𝒮`$ the intersection $`\overline{Gx}\mathrm{\Psi }^1(0)`$ consists of a single $`K`$-orbit, so that there is a natural surjection $`𝒮\mathrm{\Psi }^1(0)/KM_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. Let $`𝒪`$ be the pushforward to $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ of the sheaf of $`G`$-invariant holomorphic functions on $`𝒮`$. See e.g.  for the definition of a Kähler metric on an analytic space.

###### 6.21 Theorem.

Let $`M`$ be a Kähler Hamiltonian $`K`$-manifold. Then $`(M_{\mathrm{impl}},𝒪)`$ is an analytic space. The strata of $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ are Kähler manifolds and $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ possesses a unique Kähler metric which restricts to the given Kähler metrics on the strata.

###### Proof.

That the strata are Kähler follows from (6.18), which shows that every stratum is a symplectic quotient of a Kähler manifold. The other assertions follow from Theorem (3.3) and Remark (3.4) in . ∎

## 7. Quantization and implosion

Throughout this section let $`(M,\omega ,\mathrm{\Phi })`$ be a compact Hamiltonian $`K`$-manifold. Suppose that $`M`$ is equivariantly prequantizable and let $`L`$ be an equivariant prequantum line bundle. By the *quantization* of $`M`$ we mean the equivariant index of the Dolbeault-Dirac operator on $`M`$ with coefficients in $`L`$. This is an element of the representation ring of $`K`$ (see e.g.  or  for the definition), and is denoted by $`\mathrm{RR}(M,L)`$. In this section we compare the quantization of $`M`$ with that of its imploded cross-section. A priori this does not make sense, because $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is not a symplectic manifold, but, following the strategy of , we shall define the quantization of $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ to be that of a certain partial desingularization $`\stackrel{~}{M}_{\mathrm{impl}}`$.

Let $`l_1`$ and $`l_2`$ be points in $`L`$ with basepoints $`m_1`$ and $`m_2`$, respectively, and define $`l_1l_2`$ if there exists $`k[K_{\mathrm{\Phi }(m_1)},K_{\mathrm{\Phi }(m_1)}]`$ such that $`l_2=kl_1`$. The *imploded prequantum bundle* is the quotient $`L_{\mathrm{impl}}=L/`$. There is a natural projection $`L_{\mathrm{impl}}M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ and it follows from \[17, Lemma 3.11(3)\] that the fibres are of the form $`/\mathrm{\Gamma }`$, where $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ is finite cyclic. (In fact, it is not hard to show that the restriction of $`L_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ to each stratum in $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is a prequantum orbibundle.)

Let $`\tau =\sigma _{\mathrm{prin}}`$ be the principal face of $`M`$. Choose $`\lambda _0\tau `$ and define

(7.1)
$$\stackrel{~}{M}_{\mathrm{impl}}=(M_{\mathrm{impl}}\times X[\tau ])//_{\lambda _0}T\text{and}\stackrel{~}{L}_{\mathrm{impl}}=(L_{\mathrm{impl}})//_{\lambda _0}T,$$

where $`X[\tau ]`$ is the symplectic toric manifold associated with the polyhedron $`\overline{\tau }`$ and $``$ is the trivial line bundle on $`X[\tau ]`$. In other words, $`\stackrel{~}{M}_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is the symplectic cut of $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ with respect to the polyhedral cone $`\lambda _0+\overline{\tau }`$, and $`\stackrel{~}{L}_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ the cut bundle induced by $`L_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. (See  for symplectic cutting and \[17, Section 5.2.1\] for symplectic cutting with respect to a polytope.)

Although $`\stackrel{~}{M}_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is defined as a quotient of a singular object, observe that the fibre over $`\lambda _0`$ of the $`T`$-moment map on $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}\times X[\tau ]`$ misses the singularities of $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. Recall from Theorem 2.10 that the top stratum of $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is isomorphic as a Hamiltonian $`T`$-manifold to the principal cross-section $`M_\tau `$. Thus we have in fact

$$\stackrel{~}{M}_{\mathrm{impl}}=(M_\tau \times X[\tau ])//_{\lambda _0}T\text{and}\stackrel{~}{L}_{\mathrm{impl}}=(L|_{M_\tau })//_{\lambda _0}T.$$

This shows that for generic values of $`\lambda _0`$, $`\stackrel{~}{M}_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is a Hamiltonian $`T`$-orbifold with moment map $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Phi }}_{\mathrm{impl}}`$, whose image is equal to $`\mathrm{\Phi }(M)(\lambda _0+\overline{\tau })`$. The subset $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Phi }}_{\mathrm{impl}}^1(\lambda _0+\tau )`$ is a dense open submanifold, which is isomorphic as a Hamiltonian $`T`$-manifold to the open submanifold $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{\mathrm{impl}}^1(\lambda _0+\tau )`$ of the top stratum $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{\mathrm{impl}}^1(\tau )`$ of $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. Thus, as $`\lambda _0`$ tends to $`0`$, this open set approaches the top stratum of $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. It is in this sense that $`\stackrel{~}{M}_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is a partial desingularization of $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$, similar to Kirwan’s partial desingularization  of a symplectic quotient. Although there is no canonical “blow-down” map $`\stackrel{~}{M}_{\mathrm{impl}}M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$, we shall see below in what way $`\stackrel{~}{M}_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is a conventional desingularization of $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$.

We *define* the quantization of $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ to be the $`T`$-equivariant index of $`\stackrel{~}{M}_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ with coefficients in $`\stackrel{~}{L}_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. In other words,

(7.2)
$$\mathrm{RR}(M_{\mathrm{impl}},L_{\mathrm{impl}})=\mathrm{RR}(\stackrel{~}{M}_{\mathrm{impl}},\stackrel{~}{L}_{\mathrm{impl}}).$$

Now let $`\mathrm{Ind}`$ denote the holomorphic induction functor.

###### 7.3 Theorem.

Let $`\tau `$ be the principal face of $`M`$ and let $`\lambda _0\tau `$ be a sufficiently small generic element. Then $`\mathrm{RR}(M,L)=\mathrm{Ind}_T^K\mathrm{RR}(M_{\mathrm{impl}},L_{\mathrm{impl}})`$. Hence quantization commutes with implosion in the sense that $`\mathrm{RR}(M_{\mathrm{impl}},L_{\mathrm{impl}})=\mathrm{RR}(M,L)^N`$.

###### Proof.

The first assertion follows immediately from \[17, Theorem 6.8\] and the definition (7.2). Taking the $`N`$-invariant parts of both sides we get

(7.4)
$$\mathrm{RR}(M,L)^N=(\mathrm{Ind}_T^KV)^N$$

as virtual characters of $`T`$, where $`V=\mathrm{RR}(\stackrel{~}{M}_{\mathrm{impl}},\stackrel{~}{L}_{\mathrm{impl}})`$. By construction the moment polytope of $`\stackrel{~}{M}_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ lies within the fundamental chamber $`𝔱_+^{}`$, so, by the quantization commutes with reduction theorem \[17, Theorem 2.9\], the weights occurring in $`V`$ are all dominant. Let $`\lambda `$ be such a weight and $`_\lambda `$ the representation of $`T`$ with weight $`\lambda `$. By the Borel-Weil-Bott Theorem $`\mathrm{Ind}_T^K_\lambda V_\lambda `$, the irreducible representation with highest weight $`\lambda `$. Hence $`(\mathrm{Ind}_T^K_\lambda )^N_\lambda `$, since only the highest weight vector $`v_\lambda `$ is invariant under $`N`$. We conclude that $`(\mathrm{Ind}_T^KV)^NV`$. Together with (7.4) this proves the second assertion. ∎

###### 7.5 Example.

Taking $`M=T^{}K`$ we find $`\mathrm{RR}((T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}},L_{\mathrm{impl}})=\mathrm{RR}(T^{}K,L)^N`$, which by the Peter-Weyl Theorem is equal to the sum of the $`V_\lambda `$ over all dominant weights $`\lambda `$. Thus $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is a *model* for $`K`$ in the sense that every irreducible module occurs in its quantization exactly once. This application of our theorem is of course illegal, because $`T^{}K`$ is not compact, but the conclusion appears correct and it would be of some interest to justify it directly. Cf. also , where it is proved that the Kähler quantization of the stratum of $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ corresponding to a face $`\sigma `$ is the Hilbert direct sum of the $`V_\lambda `$ over all $`\lambda `$ in $`\sigma `$.

Now assume that $`M`$ carries a $`K`$-invariant compatible complex structure. Then $`M`$ is a Kähler manifold and Theorem 6.21 says that its imploded cross-section is a Kähler space. It follows from (7.1) that the orbifold $`\stackrel{~}{M}_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is Kähler as well. Following Kirwan  we call a *partial desingularization* of an analytic space $`X`$ any analytic orbifold $`\stackrel{~}{X}`$ such that there exists a proper surjective bimeromorphic map $`\stackrel{~}{X}X`$.

###### 7.6 Theorem.

Let $`M`$ be a compact Kähler Hamiltonian $`K`$-manifold. For sufficiently small generic values of $`\lambda _0`$, $`\stackrel{~}{M}_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is a partial desingularization of $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$.

###### Proof.

Let $`X`$ be the Kähler space $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}\times X[\tau ]`$, which is equipped with a Hamiltonian $`T`$-action. Denote the $`T`$-moment map on $`X`$ by $`\mathrm{\Psi }`$. We will show that for all sufficiently small $`\mu \mathrm{\Psi }(X)`$ there exists a bimeromorphic map $`X//_\mu TX//_0T`$. (Properness and surjectivity are then immediate from the compactness of $`X//_\mu T`$ and the irreducibility of $`X//_0T`$.) This is well-known in the algebraic category. Let us briefly indicate how the argument carries over to the analytic category thanks to results of Heinzner and Huckleberry .

Let $`H=T^{}`$. The set of *$`\mu `$-semistable points* is

$$X_\mu ^{\mathrm{ss}}=\{xX\overline{Hx}\text{ intersects }\mathrm{\Psi }^1(\mu )\}.$$

It is open and dense, if nonempty (\[7, §9\]). Two points in $`X_\mu ^{\mathrm{ss}}`$ are *equivalent* under the $`H`$-action if their orbit closures intersect in $`X_\mu ^{\mathrm{ss}}`$. For every $`xX_\mu ^{\mathrm{ss}}`$ there is a unique $`yX_\mu ^{\mathrm{ss}}`$ such that $`Hy`$ is closed in $`X_\mu ^{\mathrm{ss}}`$ and $`y`$ is in the closure of $`Hx`$. This implies that the inclusion $`\mathrm{\Psi }^1(\mu )X_\mu ^{\mathrm{ss}}`$ induces a homeomorphism $`X//_\mu TX_\mu ^{\mathrm{ss}}/`$. (These assertions follow from the holomorphic slice theorem, \[8, §2.7\] or \[7, §0\].) A $`\mu `$-semistable point is *$`\mu `$-stable* if $`Hx`$ is closed in $`X_\mu ^{\mathrm{ss}}`$ and $`H_x`$ is finite. The set of stable points is denoted $`X_\mu ^\mathrm{s}`$. It too is open and dense, if nonempty. A point $`x\mathrm{\Psi }^1(\mu )`$ is stable if and only if $`T_x`$ is finite. (These facts follow also from the holomorphic slice theorem.) The last fact we need is a generalization of Atiyah’s result  that for every $`xX`$ the image $`\mathrm{\Psi }(\overline{Hx})`$ is the convex hull in $`𝔱^{}`$ of the $`H`$-fixed points contained in $`\overline{Hx}`$. Furthermore, $`\mathrm{\Psi }(\overline{Hx})`$ is equal to the full image $`\mathrm{\Psi }(X)`$ for all $`x`$ in an open dense subset $`X^{}`$. The convexity is proved in . For the set $`X^{}`$ we can take $`X_{\mu _1}^{\mathrm{ss}}X_{\mu _2}^{\mathrm{ss}}\mathrm{}X_{\mu _s}^{\mathrm{ss}}`$, where $`\mu _1`$, $`\mu _2,\mathrm{}`$, $`\mu _s`$ are the vertices of $`\mathrm{\Psi }(X)`$.

Take $`\mu \mathrm{\Psi }(X)`$ so small that $`\mathrm{\Psi }^1(\mu )`$ is contained in $`X_0^{\mathrm{ss}}`$. Then $`X_\mu ^{\mathrm{ss}}X_0^{\mathrm{ss}}`$, and this inclusion induces an analytic map $`X//_\mu TX_\mu ^{\mathrm{ss}}/X//_0TX_0^{\mathrm{ss}}/`$. To see that this map is bimeromorphic, observe that the stable set $`X_0^\mathrm{s}`$ is nonempty, since $`0`$ is a regular value of the $`T`$-moment map on the manifold $`M_\tau \times X[\tau ]`$. Let $`Y=X_0^\mathrm{s}X^{}`$. Then the image of $`Y`$ in $`X//_0T`$ is open and dense and for $`xY`$ we have $`\mu \mathrm{\Psi }(\overline{Gx})`$, i.e. $`YX_\mu ^{\mathrm{ss}}`$. Thus we obtain an analytic map $`Y/X//_\mu T`$ which inverts the previously defined map $`X//_\mu TX_0^{\mathrm{ss}}/`$ over an open dense set. ∎

There is a more illuminating construction of this partial desingularization for the universal imploded cross-section $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$. Assume that $`K`$ is semisimple and simply connected. In Proposition 6.8 we identified $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ with the algebraic variety $`G_N`$. We can characterize its desingularization $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}^\mathrm{~}`$ in a similar manner. Let $`\stackrel{~}{G}_N`$ be the homogeneous vector bundle $`G\times ^BE^N`$ over the flag variety $`G/B`$ with fibre $`E^N`$. Here $`G=K^{}`$ and $`E`$ is as in (6.1). The multiplication map $`G\times E^NE`$ induces a proper morphism $`p:\stackrel{~}{G}_NE`$.

###### 7.7 Proposition.

Suppose that $`K`$ is semisimple and simply connected. Let $`\lambda _0𝔱^{}`$ be regular dominant and let $`\omega _0`$ be the Kähler form on $`G/B`$ obtained by identifying $`G/B`$ with the coadjoint $`K`$-orbit through $`\lambda _0`$. Let $`q:\stackrel{~}{G}_NG/B`$ be the bundle projection and put $`\stackrel{~}{\omega }_0=p^{}\omega _E+q^{}\omega _0`$.

1. $`\stackrel{~}{G}_N`$ is an equivariant desingularization of $`G_N`$.
2. $`\stackrel{~}{\omega }_0`$ is a Kähler form on $`\stackrel{~}{G}_N`$. It is integral if $`\lambda _0`$ is.
3. $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}^\mathrm{~}`$ is a smooth manifold and is isomorphic as a Hamiltonian $`K`$-manifold to $`\stackrel{~}{G}_N`$.

###### Proof.

The image of the map $`p`$ is the subvariety $`G_N`$ of $`E`$ and we can therefore regard it as a proper morphism $`\stackrel{~}{G}_NG_N`$. The $`G`$-orbits in $`\stackrel{~}{G}_N`$ are in natural one-to-one correspondence with the $`B`$-orbits in $`E^N`$, which are identical to the $`T^{}`$-orbits in $`E^N`$. Each $`B`$-orbit in $`E^N`$ passes through a unique point of the form $`v_\sigma `$, so each $`G`$-orbit in $`\stackrel{~}{G}_N`$ passes through a unique point of the form $`[1,v_\sigma ]`$. (Here points in $`\stackrel{~}{G}_N`$ are written as $`[g,v]`$ with $`gG`$ and $`vE^N`$.) The stabilizer of $`[1,v_\sigma ]`$ for the $`G`$-action is $`G_{[1,v_\sigma ]}=B_{v_\sigma }=B[P_\sigma ,P_\sigma ]`$, where the second equality follows from Lemma 6.2. Thus the fibre $`p^1(v_\sigma )`$ is the flag variety $`[P_\sigma ,P_\sigma ]/(B[P_\sigma ,P_\sigma ])`$. In particular, $`\stackrel{~}{G}_N`$ contains a Zariski-open orbit of type $`G/N`$, namely the orbit through $`[1,v_\tau ]`$, where $`\tau `$ is the top face of $`𝔱_+^{}`$. Hence $`p`$ is birational, which proves (i).

If $`\lambda _0`$ is integral, then $`\omega _0`$ is integral on $`G/B`$. Since $`\omega _E`$ is exact, this implies that $`\stackrel{~}{\omega }_0`$ is integral. Furthermore, being a sum of pullbacks of two Kähler forms, $`\stackrel{~}{\omega }_0`$ is positive semidefinite. To prove that it is Kähler, it is therefore enough to show that it is nondegenerate. We shall do this by showing that $`\stackrel{~}{\omega }_0`$ pulls back to the symplectic form on $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}^\mathrm{~}`$ under a suitable diffeomorphism.

The principal face $`\tau `$ of $`T^{}K`$ is the top face of $`𝔱_+^{}`$ and its principal cut (for the right $`K`$-action) is $`K\times \tau `$. We noted in Remark 6.7 that the toric manifold associated to the polyhedral cone $`𝔱_+^{}`$ is the symplectic vector space $`E^N`$, so by (7.1) the partial desingularization of $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ is $`(K\times \tau \times E^N)//_{\lambda _0}T`$. To see that this space is actually a manifold rather than an orbifold, observe that the moment map for the $`T`$-action on the product $`K\times \tau \times E^N`$ is given by $`\mathrm{\Psi }(k,\lambda ,v)=\lambda +\mathrm{\Phi }_{E^N}(v)`$, where $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{E^N}`$ is the $`T`$-moment map on $`E^N`$. The map $`K\times E^NK\times \tau \times E^N`$ which sends $`(k,v)`$ to $`(k,\lambda _0\mathrm{\Phi }_{E^N}(v),v)`$ is a $`K\times T`$-equivariant diffeomorphism onto $`\mathrm{\Psi }^1(\lambda _0)`$. It therefore descends to a $`K`$-equivariant diffeomorphism

(7.8)
$$K\times ^TE^N(K\times \tau \times E^N)//_{\lambda _0}T=(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}^\mathrm{~},$$

which shows that $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}^\mathrm{~}`$ is smooth. Moreover, the inclusion map $`KG`$ induces a diffeomorphism $`K\times ^TE^NG\times ^BE^N=\stackrel{~}{G}_N`$. Composing with the inverse of the map (7.8) we obtain a diffeomorphism

$$\stackrel{~}{}:(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}^\mathrm{~}\stackrel{~}{G}_N.$$

To finish the proof of (ii) and (iii) we must show that $`\stackrel{~}{}^{}\stackrel{~}{\omega }_0`$ is the symplectic form on $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}^\mathrm{~}`$. Recall that the symplectic cut $`(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}^\mathrm{~}`$ contains a copy of $`K\times (\lambda _0+\tau )`$ as an open dense submanifold. The symplectic form on this subset is the form $`\omega _\tau `$ of Lemma 4.6 and the embedding $`_0:(K\times (\lambda _0+\tau ))(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}^\mathrm{~}`$ is given by

$$_0(k,\lambda )=[k,\lambda ,s_0(\lambda )]\mathrm{\Psi }^1(\lambda _0)/T(K\times \tau \times E^N)/T.$$

Here $`s_0:\lambda _0+𝔱_+^{}E^N`$ is any section of the map $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{E^N}+\lambda _0`$, such as for example

$$s_0(\lambda )=\frac{1}{\sqrt{\pi }}\underset{p=1}{\overset{r}{}}\sqrt{(\lambda \lambda _0)(\alpha _p^{})}v_p.$$

Let us denote the open embedding $`\stackrel{~}{}_0:K\times (\lambda _0+\tau )\stackrel{~}{G}_N`$ by $`\stackrel{~}{}_0`$. We need to show that

(7.9)
$$\stackrel{~}{}_0^{}\stackrel{~}{\omega }_0=\omega _\tau .$$

It suffices to check this identity at points of the form $`(1,\lambda )`$ with $`\lambda \lambda _0+\tau `$. For $`(\xi _1,\mu _1)`$ and $`(\xi _2,\mu _2)`$ in $`T_{(1,\lambda )}(K\times (\lambda _0+\tau ))𝔨\times 𝔱^{}`$ one readily checks that

(7.10)
$$(\omega _\tau )_{(1,\lambda )}((\xi _1,\mu _1)(\xi _2,\mu _2))=\mu _1(\xi _2)\mu _2(\xi _1)\lambda ([\xi _1,\xi _2]).$$

On the other hand, $`\stackrel{~}{}_0^{}\stackrel{~}{\omega }_0=(p\stackrel{~}{}_0)^{}\omega _E+(q\stackrel{~}{}_0)^{}\omega _{\lambda _0}`$. Now $`q\stackrel{~}{}_0(k,\lambda )=\overline{k}`$, where $`\overline{k}K/T=G/B`$ denotes the coset of $`kK`$, so

(7.11)
$$((q\stackrel{~}{}_0)^{}\omega _{\lambda _0})_{(1,\lambda )}((\xi _1,\mu _1)(\xi _2,\mu _2))=(\omega _{\lambda _0})_{\overline{1}}(\overline{\xi }_1\overline{\xi }_2)=\lambda _0([\xi _1,\xi _2]).$$

A computation as in the proof of Proposition 6.8 yields

$$\begin{array}{c}((p\stackrel{~}{}_0)^{}\omega _{\lambda _0})_{(1,\lambda )}((\xi _1,\mu _1)(\xi _2,\mu _2))\hfill \\ \hfill =\mu _1(\xi _2)\mu _2(\xi _1)+\omega _E(\xi _{1,E}(s_0(\lambda )),\xi _{2,E}(s_0(\lambda ))),\end{array}$$

where

$`\omega _E(\xi _{1,E}(s_0(\lambda )),\xi _{2,E}(s_0(\lambda )))`$ $`=\{\mathrm{\Phi }_E^{\xi _1},\mathrm{\Phi }_E^{\xi _2}\}(s_0(\lambda ))=\mathrm{\Phi }_E^{[\xi _1,\xi _2]}(s_0(\lambda ))`$
$`={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\mathrm{Im}[\xi _1,\xi _2](s_0(\lambda )),s_0(\lambda )`$
$`={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2\pi }}\mathrm{Im}2\pi i{\displaystyle \underset{p=1}{\overset{r}{}}}(\lambda \lambda _0)(\alpha _p^{})\varpi ([\xi _1,\xi _2])`$
$`=(\lambda _0\lambda )([\xi _1,\xi _2]).`$
Combining this with (7.11) gives

$$(\stackrel{~}{}_0^{}\stackrel{~}{\omega }_0)_{(1,\lambda )}((\xi _1,\mu _1)(\xi _2,\mu _2))=\mu _1(\xi _2)\mu _2(\xi _1)\lambda ([\xi _1,\xi _2]),$$

which together with (7.10) proves (7.9). ∎

Returning to the case of a Kähler Hamiltonian $`K`$-manifold $`M`$, let us denote its principal face by $`\tau `$ and let us assume for simplicity that $`\tau `$ is the top face of $`𝔱_+^{}`$. By Lemma 2.4 we may assume that $`K`$ is semisimple and simply connected. Using Theorem 4.9, Proposition 6.8 and reduction in stages we see that

(7.12)
$$\begin{array}{cc}\hfill \stackrel{~}{M}_{\mathrm{impl}}=(M_{\mathrm{impl}}\times X[\tau ])//_{\lambda _0}T& ((M\times G_N)//_0K\times X[\tau ])//_{\lambda _0}T\hfill \\ & (M\times (G_N\times X[\tau ])//_{\lambda _0}T)//_0K\hfill \\ & (M\times \stackrel{~}{G}_N)//_0K,\hfill \end{array}$$

because $`\tau `$ is also the principal face of $`G_N`$. Thus the desingularization of $`G_N`$ plays a universal role analogous to that of $`G_N`$ itself. By Proposition 7.7(i) the analytic map

$$p_M=\mathrm{id}_M\times p:M\times \stackrel{~}{G}_NM\times G_N,$$

is a $`G`$-equivariant desingularization. The following is now clear from Theorem 7.6.

###### 7.13 Corollary.

Let $`M`$ be a compact Kähler Hamiltonian $`K`$-manifold. Assume that the principal face of $`M`$ is the top face of $`𝔱_+^{}`$. Then for small generic $`\lambda _0`$ the map $`p_M`$ induces a map $`\stackrel{~}{M}_{\mathrm{impl}}M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ which is identical to the partial desingularization of Theorem 7.6.

We mention without proof that a similar result holds if the principal face $`\tau `$ is not the top face. In this case the toric manifold $`X[\tau ]`$ is not $`E^N`$, but the smaller symplectic vector space $`E^{[P_\tau ,P_\tau ]}`$. In Proposition 7.7 and in (7.12) one needs to replace $`G_N`$ by the closure of the stratum $`G/[P_\tau ,P_\tau ]`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{G}_N`$ by the homogeneous bundle $`G\times ^{P_\tau }E^{[P_\tau ,P_\tau ]}`$ over the partial flag variety $`G/P_\tau `$.

## 8. Notation index

| $`K`$; $`T`$ | compact connected Lie group; maximal torus, §2 |
| --- | --- |
| $`Z`$ | identity component of centre, §2 |
| $`R`$; $`R_+`$; $`S`$ | root system; positive roots; simple roots, §5 |
| $`G`$ | complexification of $`K`$, §6 |
| $`N`$; $`B`$ | maximal unipotent subgroup; Borel subgroup, §6 |
| $`𝔱_+^{}`$; $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$ | closed Weyl chamber in $`𝔱^{}`$; set of open faces of $`𝔱_+^{}`$, §2 |
| $`\mathrm{\Lambda }^{}`$; $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_+^{}`$ | weight lattice in $`𝔱^{}`$; set of dominant weights, §6 |
| $`K_\sigma `$; $`R_\sigma `$ | centralizer of face $`\sigma \mathrm{\Sigma }`$; root system of $`K_\sigma `$, §2 |
| $`P_\sigma `$; $`U_\sigma `$ | parabolic associated to $`\sigma `$; unipotent radical of $`P_\sigma `$, §6 |
| $`G_\sigma `$; $`N_\sigma `$ | Levi factor of $`P_\sigma `$; maximal unipotent subgroup of $`G_\sigma `$, §6 |
| $`𝔖_\sigma `$ | standard slice at $`\sigma `$ for coadjoint action, §2 |
| $`X_N`$ | variety with coordinate ring $`[X]^N`$, §6 |
| $`(M,\omega )`$; $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ | Hamiltonian $`K`$-manifold; moment map, §2 |
| $`M//_\lambda K`$; $`M//_{}K`$ | symplectic quotient $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(\lambda )/K_\lambda `$; same with $`\lambda =0`$, §2 |
| $`M_\sigma `$; $`\sigma _{\mathrm{prin}}`$ | cross-section $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(𝔖_\sigma )`$; principal face of $`M`$, §2 |
| $``$; $`M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ | equivalence relation on $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(𝔱_+^{})`$; imploded cross-section, §2 |
| $`\pi `$; $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{\mathrm{impl}}`$ | quotient map $`\mathrm{\Phi }^1(𝔱_+^{})M_{\mathrm{impl}}`$; imploded moment map, §2 |
| $``$; $``$ | left; resp. right action of $`K`$ on itself or on $`T^{}K`$, §4 |
| $`\pi _{}`$ | quotient map $`\mathrm{\Phi }_{}^1(𝔱_+^{})(T^{}K)_{\mathrm{impl}}`$, §4 |
| $`\mathrm{RR}(M,L)`$ | equivariant index of $`M`$ with coefficients in $`L`$, §7 |
| $`C^{}(X)`$ | infinite cone $`\left(X\times [\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}0},\mathrm{})\right)/\left(X\times \{0\}\right)`$, §4 |
| $`W^\omega `$ | skew complement, §5 |