Related papers: Global properties of Higgs bundle moduli spaces
We carry an intrinsic approach to the study of the connectedness of the moduli space $\mathcal{M}_G$ of $G$-Higgs bundles, over a compact Riemann surface, when $G$ is a complex reductive (not necessarily connected) Lie group. We prove that…
This survey provides an introduction to basic questions and techniques surrounding the topology of the moduli space of stable Higgs bundles on a Riemann surface. Through examples, we demonstrate how the structure of the cohomology ring of…
Using Morse-theoretic techniques, we show that the moduli space of U*(2n)-Higgs bundles over a compact Riemann surface is connected.
This expository paper details the theory of rank one Higgs bundles over a closed Riemann surface X and their relationship to representations of the fundamental group of X. We construct an equivalence between the deformation theories of flat…
Given a compact Riemann surface $X$ and a semisimple affine algebraic group $G$ defined over $\mathbb C$, there are moduli spaces of Higgs bundles and of connections associated to $(X,\, G)$. We compute the Brauer group of the smooth locus…
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…
Using the $L^2$-norm of the Higgs field as a Morse function, we count the number of connected components of the moduli space of parabolic $U(p,q)$-Higgs bundles over a Riemann surface with a finite number of marked points, under certain…
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…
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…
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,…
Using the Morse-theoretic techniques introduced by Hitchin, we prove that the moduli space of $\Sp(2p,2q)$-Higgs bundles over a compact Riemann surface of genus $g\geq 2$ is connected. In particular, this implies that the moduli space of…
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…
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…
Through Cayley and Langlands type correspondences, we give a geometric description of the moduli spaces of real orthogonal and symplectic Higgs bundles of any signature in the regular fibres of the Hitchin fibration. As applications of our…
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 $\mathfrak{g}$.…
A holomorphic triple over a compact Riemann surface consists of two holomorphic vector bundles and a holomorphic map between them. After fixing the topological types of the bundles and a real parameter, there exist moduli spaces of stable…
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…
Hitchin pairs on Riemann surfaces are generalizations of Higgs bundles, allowing the Higgs field to be twisted by an arbitrary line bundle. We consider this generalization in the context of $G$-Higgs bundles for a real reductive Lie group…
We study parabolic G-Higgs bundles over a compact Riemann surface with fixed punctures, when G is a real reductive Lie group, and establish a correspondence between these objects and representations of the fundamental group of the punctured…
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…