Remarks on Nahm's equations

Abstract

Nahm's equations are viewed in a more general context where they appear as a vector field on a moduli space of co-Higgs bundles on the projective line. Zeros of this vector field correspond to torsion-free sheaves on a singular spectral curve which we translate in terms of a smooth curve in three-dimensional projective space. We also show how generalizations of Nahm's equations are required when the spectral curve is non-reduced and deduce the existence of non-classical conserved quantities in this situation.