$Z$-critical equations for holomorphic vector bundles on Kähler surfaces

Abstract: We prove that the existence of a $Z$-positive and $Z$-critical Hermitian metric on a rank 2 holomorphic vector bundle over a compact K\"ahler surface implies that the bundle is $Z$-stable. As particular cases, we obtain stability results for the deformed Hermitian Yang-Mills equation and the almost Hermite-Einstein equation for rank 2 bundles over surfaces. We show examples of $Z$-unstable bundles and $Z$-critical metrics away from the large volume limit.