Quantization in fibering polarizations, Mabuchi rays and geometric Peter--Weyl theorem

Abstract: In this paper we use techniques of geometric quantization to give a geometric interpretation of the Peter--Weyl theorem. We present a novel approach to half-form corrected geometric quantization in a specific type of non-K\"ahler polarizations and study one important class of examples, namely cotangent bundles of compact semi-simple groups $K$. Our main results state that this canonically defined polarization occurs in the geodesic boundary of the space of $K\times K$-invariant K\"ahler polarizations equipped with Mabuchi's metric, and that its half-form corrected quantization is isomorphic to the K\"ahler case. An important role is played by invariance of the limit polarization under a torus action. Unitary parallel transport on the bundle of quantum states along a specific Mabuchi geodesic, given by the coherent state transform of Hall, relates the non-commutative Fourier transform for $K$ with the Borel--Weil description of irreducible representations of $K$.