Related papers: Maximal Sp(4,R) surface group representations, min…

In this paper we describe the space of maximal components of the character variety of surface group representations into PSp(4,R) and Sp(4,R). For every rank 2 real Lie group of Hermitian type, we construct a mapping class group invariant…

We establish a gluing construction for Higgs bundles over a connected sum of Riemann surfaces in terms of solutions to the $\text{Sp(4}\text{,}\mathbb{R}\text{)}$-Hitchin equations using the linearization of a relevant elliptic operator.…

In this paper, we derive a maximum principle for a type of elliptic systems and apply it to analyze the Hitchin equation for cyclic Higgs bundles. We show several domination results on the pullback metric of the (possibly branched) minimal…

We study the asymptotic geometry of a family of conformally planar minimal surfaces with polynomial growth in the $\mathrm{Sp}(4,\mathbb{R})$-symmetric space. We describe a homeomomorphism between the "Hitchin component" of wild…

We classify the connected components of the space of representations of the fundamental group of a closed oriented surface of genus $\geq 2$ in $Sp(4,{\mathbf R})$. We prove that this is equivalent to classifying the connected components of…

We prove that given a Hitchin representation in a real split rank 2 group $\mathsf G_0$, there exists a unique equivariant minimal surface in the corresponding symmetric space. As a corollary, we obtain a parametrization of the Hitchin…

In 1992, Hitchin used his theory of Higgs bundles to construct an important family of representations of the fundamental group of a closed, oriented surface of genus at least two into the split real form of a complex adjoint simple Lie…

Using the $L^2$ norm of the Higgs field as a Morse function, we study the moduli spaces of $U(p,q)$-Higgs bundles over a Riemann surface. We require that the genus of the surface be at least two, but place no constraints on $(p,q)$. A key…

We count the connected components in the moduli space of PU(p,q)-representations of the fundamental group for a closed oriented surface. The components are labelled by pairs of integers which arise as topological invariants of the flat…

In this paper we study the moduli space of representations of a surface group (i.e., the fundamental group of a closed oriented surface) in the real symplectic group Sp(2n,R). The moduli space is partitioned by an integer invariant, called…

We show that for every nonelementary representation of a surface group into $SL(2,{\mathbb C})$ there is a Riemann surface structure such that the Higgs bundle associated to the representation lies outside the discriminant locus of the…

We use Higgs bundles to answer the following question: When can a maximal Sp(4,R)-representation of a surface group be deformed to a representation which factors through a proper reductive subgroup of Sp(4,R)?

For a fixed compact Riemann surface X, of genus at least 2, we count the number of connected components of the moduli space of maximal Higgs bundles over X for the hermitian groups $PSp(2n,R)$, $PSO^*(2n)$, $PSO_0(2,n)$ and $E_6^{-14}$.…

Using the L^2 norm of the Higgs field as a Morse function, we study the moduli spaces of U(p,q)-Higgs bundles over a Riemann surface. We require that the genus of the surface be at least two, but place no constraints on (p,q). A key step is…

This paper gives a construction for all minimal immersions $f$ of the Poincar\'{e} disc into the complex hyperbolic plane $\mathbb{CH}^2$ which are equivariant with respect to an irreducible representation $\rho$ of a hyperbolic surface…

We consider the moduli spaces of representations of the fundamental group of a surface of genus g greater than 2 in the Lie groups SU(2,2) and Sp(4,R). It is well known that there is a characteristic number of such a representation, whose…

For semisimple Lie groups, moduli spaces of Higgs bundles on a Riemann surface correspond to representation varieties for the surface fundamental group. In many cases, natural topological invariants label connected components of the moduli…

We study a particular class of representations from the fundamental groups of punctured spheres $\Sigma_{0,n}$ to the group $\text{PSL} (2,\mathbb R)$ (and their moduli spaces), that we call \emph{super-maximal}. Super-maximal…

We present a survey on the moduli spaces of rank 2 quadric bundles over a compact Riemann surface X. These are objects which generalise orthogonal bundles and which naturally occur through the study of the connected components of the moduli…

Let $S$ be a closed surface of genus $g \geq 2$ and let $\rho$ be a maximal $\mathrm{PSL}(2, \mathbb{R}) \times \mathrm{PSL}(2, \mathbb{R})$ surface group representation. By a result of Schoen, there is a unique $\rho$-equivariant minimal…