On the intersection cohomology of vector bundles

Intersection cohomology is a topological notion adapted to the description of singular topological spaces, and the Decomposition Theorem for algebraic maps is a key tool in the subject. The study of the intersection cohomology of the moduli spaces of semistable bundles on Riemann surfaces began in the 80’s with the works of Frances Kirwan. Motivated by the work of Mozgovoy and Reineke, in joint work with Andras Szenes and Olga Trapeznikova, we give a complete description of these structures via a detailed analysis of the Decomposition Theorem applied to a certain map from parabolic vector bundles. We also give a new formula for the intersection Betti numbers of these moduli spaces, which has a clear geometric meaning. In the talk, I will give an introduction to the subject, and describe our results.