Related papers: Conjugating Representations in $PGL(k, \mathbb{C})…

The first part of this paper surveys several characterizations of Teichm\"uller space as a subset of the space of representation of the fundamental group of a surface into PSL(2,R). Special emphasis is put on (bounded) cohomological…

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…

Given a closed, oriented surface X of genus g>1, and a semisimple Lie group G, let R_G be the moduli space of reductive representations of the fundamental group of X in G. We determine the number of connected components of R_PGL(n,R), for…

We give a precise counting result on the symmetric space of a noncompact real algebraic semisimple group $G,$ for a class of discrete subgroups of $G$ that contains, for example, representations of a surface group on $\textrm{PSL}(2,\mathbb…

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…

In this paper we study the relation between parabolic Higgs bundles and irreducible representations of the fundamental group of punctured Riemann surfaces established by Simpson. We generalize a result of Hitchin, identifying those…

In math.SG/0303255, we discussed the connected components of the space of surface group representations for any compact connected semisimple Lie group and any closed compact (orientable or nonorientable) surface. In this sequel, we…

A consequence of Rapinchuk et al. is that for $S$ a closed surface of genus $g\geq 2$, the set of Hitchin representations of $\pi_1(S)$ with image in $\mathrm{SL}(n,\mathbb{Q})$ is dense in the Hitchin component. We give a dynamical proof…

We introduce a new class of $\mathfrak{sl}_2$-triples in a complex simple Lie algebra $\mathfrak{g}$, which we call magical. Such an $\mathfrak{sl}_2$-triple canonically defines a real form and various decompositions of $\mathfrak{g}$.…

Let $e$ denote the Euler class on the space $Hom(\Gamma_g, PSL(2,\mathbb R))$ of representations of the fundamental group $\Gamma_g$ of the closed surface $\Sigma_g$ of genus $g$. Goldman showed that the connected components of…

We calculate certain homotopy groups of the moduli spaces for representations of a compact oriented surface in the Lie groups GL(n,C) and U(p,q). Our approach relies on the interpretation of these representations in terms of Higgs bundles…

Let G be a connected, compact, semisimple Lie group. It is known that for a compact closed orientable surface $\Sigma$ of genus $l >1$, the order of the group $H^2(\Sigma,\pi_1(G))$ is equal to the number of connected components of the…

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…

The $\mathrm{PGL}_n(\mathbb{R})$-Hitchin component of a closed oriented surface is a preferred component of the character variety consisting of homomorphisms from the fundamental group of the surface to the projective linear group…

We determine the number of connected components of the moduli space for representations of a surface group in the general linear group.

Recall that the group $PSL(2,\mathbb R)$ is isomorphic to $PSp(2,\mathbb R),\ SO_0(1,2)$ and $PU(1,1).$ The goal of this paper is to examine the various ways in which Fuchsian representations of the fundamental group of a closed surface of…

We introduce robust families of submanifolds for a linear Lie group $G$. We show that they give rise to geometric subspaces of the representation space ${\rm Hom}(\Gamma,G)$. As an application, we give a unified short proof of results of…

For any integers $p\geq 2$ and $q\geq 1$, let $\mathbb{H}^{p,q}$ be the pseudo-Riemannian hyperbolic space of signature $(p,q)$. We prove that if $\Gamma$ is the fundamental group of a closed aspherical $p$-manifold, then the set of…

In this paper we complete the topological description of the space of representations of the fundamental group of a punctured surface in SL(2,R) with prescribed behavior at the punctures and nonzero Euler number, following the strategy…

For an arbitrary unimodular Lie group $G$, we construct strongly continuous unitary representations in the Bergman space of a naturally constructed strongly pseudoconvex neighborhood of $G$ in the complexification of its underlying…