This is the very first paper to focus on the CR analogue of Yau’s uniformization conjecture in a complete noncompact pseudohermitian (2n+1)-manifold of vanishing torsion (i.e. Sasakian manifold) which is an odd dimensional counterpart of K¨ahler geometry. In this paper, we mainly deal with the problem of the sharp dimension estimate of CR holomorphic functions in a complete noncompact pseudohermitian manifold of vanishing torsion with nonnegative pseudohermitian bisectional curvature.

For a compact Riemann surface X of positive genus, the space of sections of a certain theta bundle on moduli of bundles of rank r and level k admits a natural map to (the dual of) a similar space of sections of rank k and level r (the strange duality isomorphism). Both sides of the isomorphism carry projective connections as X varies in a family. We prove that this map is (projectively) flat.

Let H be a semisimple algebraic group. We prove the semistable reduction theorem for μ–semistable principal H–bundles over a smooth projective variety X defined over the field C. When X is a smooth projective surface and H is simple, we construct the algebro–geometric Donaldson–Uhlenbeck compactification of the moduli space of μ–semistable principal H–bundles with fixed char- acteristic classes and describe its points. For large characteristic classes we show that the moduli space of μ–stable principal H–bundles is non–empty.

An inequality relating the Euler characteristic, the signature and the <i>L</i>₂-norm of the curvature of the bundle of densities is proved for a four-dimensional compact Einstein-Weyl manifold. This generalises the Hitchin-Thorpe inequality for Einstein manifolds. The case where equality occurs is discussed and related to Hitchin's classification of Ricci-flat self-dual four-manifolds and to the recent work of Gauduchon on closed non-exact Einstein-Weyl geometries.

It is classically known that complete flat (that is, zero Gaussian curvature) surfaces in Euclidean 3-space R3 are cylinders over space curves. This implies that the study of global behaviour of flat surfaces requires the study of singular points as well. If a flat surface f admits singularities but its Gauss map  is globally defined on the surface and can be smoothly extended across the singular set, f is called a frontal. In addition, if the pair (f, ) defines an immersion into R3×S2, f is called a front. A front f is called flat if the Gauss map degenerates everywhere. The parallel surfaces and the caustic (i.e. focal surface) of a flat front f are also flat fronts. In this paper, we generalize the classical notion of completeness to flat fronts, and give a representation formula for a flat front which has a non-empty compact singular set and whose ends are all immersed and complete. As an application, we show that such a flat front has properly embedded ends if and only if its Gauss map image is a convex curve. Moreover, we show the existence of at least four singular points other than cuspidal edges on such a flat front with embedded ends, which is a variant of the classical four vertex theorem for convex plane curves.