Gauge theory and symplectic structures

Abstract: Motivated by the problem of finding obstructions to the existence of symplectic structures in dimensions higher than four, we introduce an elliptic system of equations on almost Hermitian manifolds that reduces to the Seiberg--Witten equations with Taubes' perturbation in dimension four. To define the equations, one needs to choose a spin$^{\mathbb C}$ structure on the manifold. We prove that the system has index zero for the canonical spin$^{\mathbb C}$ structure. Moreover, on almost Kähler (symplectic) manifolds, we construct a canonical solution and prove its transversality with large values of the perturbation parameter, while in dimension six we obtain uniqueness of the canonical solution under a certain assumption. We also show that on Kähler manifolds the equations reduce, under a natural ansatz, to the vortex equations. These results provide evidence toward a possible higher dimensional gauge theory capable of producing invariants of almost complex structures and ultimately, obstructions to compatible symplectic forms.