Affine Hermitian-Einstein Metrics

Abstract

We develop a theory of stable bundles and affine Hermitian-Einstein metrics for flat vector bundles over a special affine manifold (a manifold admitting an atlas whose gluing maps are all locally constant volume-preserving affine maps). Our paper presents a parallel to Donaldson-Uhlenbeck-Yau's proof of the existence of Hermitian-Einstein metrics on K\"ahler manifolds, and the extension of this theorem by Li-Yau to the non-K\"ahler complex case of Gauduchon metrics. Our definition of stability involves only flat vector subbundles (and not singular subsheaves), and so is simpler than the complex case in some places.