Branched SL(r,C)-opers

We define the branched analog of SL(r,C)-opers and investigate their properties. For the usual SL(r,C)-opers, the underlying holomorphic vector bundle is independent of the opers. For the branched SL(r,C)-opers, the underlying holomorphic vector bundle depends on the oper. Given a branched SL(r,C)-oper, we associate to it another holomorphic vector bundle equipped with a logarithmic connection. This holomorphic vector bundle does not depend on the branched oper. We characterize the branched SL(r,C)-opers in terms of the logarithmic connections on this fixed holomorphic vector bundle.