Related papers: Model Higgs bundles in exceptional components of t…
Let $S$ be a closed surface of genus at least $2$. For each maximal representation $\rho: \pi_1(S)\rightarrow\mathsf{Sp}(4,\mathbb{R})$ in one of the $2g-3$ exceptional connected components, we prove there is a unique conformal structure on…
For a semisimple real Lie group $G$, we study topological properties of moduli spaces of polystable parabolic $G$-Higgs bundles over a Riemann surface with a divisor of finitely many distinct points. For a split real form of a complex…
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 prove a gluing theorem for solutions of Hitchin's self-duality equations with logarithmic singularities on a rank-2 vector bundle over a noded Riemann surface representing a boundary point of Teichm\"uller moduli space.
We consider the moduli space of polystable $L$-twisted $G$-Higgs bundles over a compact Riemann surface $X$, where $G$ is a real reductive Lie group, and $L$ is a holomorphic line bundle over $X$. Evaluating the Higgs field at a basis of…
This paper is a survey on the role of Higgs bundle theory in the study of higher Teichm\"uller spaces. Recall that the Teichm\"uller space of a compact surface can be identified with a certain connected component of the moduli space of…
Some connected components of a moduli space are mundane in the sense that they are distinguished only by obvious topological invariants or have no special characteristics. Others are more alluring and unusual either because they are not…
We give an overview of the work of Corlette, Donaldson, Hitchin and Simpson leading to the non-abelian Hodge theory correspondence between representations of the fundamental group of a surface and the moduli space of Higgs bundles. We then…
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 $E_6^{-14}$.…
Higgs bundles over a closed orientable surface can be defined for any real reductive Lie group G. In this paper we examine the case G=SO*(2n). We describe a rigidity phenomenon encountered in the case of maximal Toledo invariant. Using this…
In this paper we give a gauge theoretic construction of the joint moduli space of stable G-Higgs bundles on closed Riemann surfaces, where the Riemann surface structure is allowed to vary in the Teichm\"uller space of the underlying smooth…
We study topologically trivial $G$-Higgs bundles over an elliptic curve $X$ when the structure group $G$ is a connected real form of a complex semisimple Lie group $G^{\mathbb{C}}$. We achieve a description of their (reduced) moduli space,…
We prove a Hitchin-Kobayashi correspondence for extensions of Higgs bundles. The results generalize known results for extensions of holomorphic bundles. Using Simpson's methods, we construct moduli spaces of stable objects. In an appendix…
We investigate the moduli space of holomorphic $GL(1|1)$ Higgs bundles over a compact Riemann surface. The supergroup $GL(1|1)$, the simplest non-trivial example beyond abelian cases, provides an ideal setting for developing supergeometric…
We calculate the characteristic classes for flat SL(n,R) and Sp(2m,R)-bundles over a compact surface as functions of the spectral data in the Higgs bundle description, which consists of the points of order 2 in an abelian variety. Using…
We associate to each stable Higgs pair $(A_0,\Phi_0)$ on a compact Riemann surface $X$ a singular limiting configuration $(A_\infty,\Phi_\infty)$, assuming that $\det \Phi$ has only simple zeroes. We then prove a desingularization theorem…
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…
In this paper we consider a canonical compactification of Hitchin's moduli space of stable Higgs bundles with fixed determinant of odd degree over a Riemann surface, producing a projective variety by gluing in a divisor at infinity. We give…
This paper concerns the relationship between locally homogeneous geometric structures on topological surfaces and the moduli of polystable Higgs bundles on Riemann surfaces, due to Hitchin and Simpson. In particular we discuss the…
Given a generic ray of Higgs bundles $(\overline{\partial}_E, t\varphi)$, we describe the corresponding family of hermitian metrics $h_t$ solving Hitchin's equations via gluing methods. In the process, we construct a family of approximate…