Related papers: Vanishing of intersection numbers on the moduli sp…

Let $(E,\theta)$ be a Higgs bundle of rank $2$ and degree $0$ on a compact Riemann surface $X$ whose spectral curve is smooth. The tangent space of the moduli space of Higgs bundles at $(E,\theta)$ is equipped with two natural metrics…

We take another approach to Hitchin's strategy of computing the cohomology of moduli spaces of Higgs bundles by localization with respect to the circle-action. Our computation is done in the dimensional completion of the Grothendieck ring…

We give a formula comparing the E-series of the moduli stacks of rank 2 degree 0 semistable Higgs bundles in genus $g \geq 2$ to intersection E-polynomials of its coarse moduli space. A parellel formula holds in various 2-Calabi-Yau…

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…

Let $X$ be a compact Riemann surface $X$ of genus at--least two. Fix a holomorphic line bundle $L$ over $X$. Let $\mathcal M$ be the moduli space of Hitchin pairs $(E ,\phi\in H^0(End(E)\otimes L))$ over $X$ of rank $r$ and fixed…

Let $X$ be a compact Riemann surface of genus $g \geq 2$ and $D\subset X$ be a fixed finite subset. Let $\xi$ be a line bundle of degree $d$ over $X$. Let $\mathcal{M}(\alpha, r, \xi)$ (respectively, $\mathcal{M}_{\mathrm{conn}}(\alpha, r,…

Let T be the one-dimensional complex torus. We consider the action of an automorphism of a Riemann surface X on the cohomology of the T-equivariant determinant line bundle over the moduli space of rank two Higgs bundles on X with fixed…

The cohomology of the moduli spaces of stable bundles M(n,d), of coprime rank n and degree d, over a Riemann surface (of genus g > 1) have been intensely studied over the past three decades. We prove in this paper that the Pontryagin ring…

Let $X$ be a compact Riemann surface. Let $(E,\theta)$ be a stable Higgs bundle of degree $0$ on $X$. Let $h_{\det(E)}$ denote a flat metric of the determinant bundle $\det(E)$. For any $t>0$, there exists a unique harmonic metric $h_t$ of…

We consider the moduli space of stable parabolic Higgs bundles of rank $r$ and fixed determinant, and having full flag quasi-parabolic structures over an arbitrary parabolic divisor on a smooth complex projective curve $X$ of genus $g$,…

The paper studies the locus in the rank 2 Higgs bundle moduli space corresponding to points which are critical for d of the Poisson commuting functions. These correspond to the Higgs field vanishing on a divisor of degree D. The degree D…

The Davis hyperbolic four-manifold $\mathcal{D}$ is not almost-complex, so that its Seiberg-Witten invariants corresponding to zero-dimensional moduli spaces are vanishing by definition. In this paper, we show that all the Seiberg-Witten…

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 semisimple, compact, connected Lie group G with complexification G^c, we show there is a stable range in the homotopy type of the universal moduli space of flat connections on a principal G-bundle on a closed Riemann surface, and…

Let $X$ be a smooth projective curve of genus $g \geq 3$, and let $G$ be a nontrivial connected reductive affine algebraic group over $\mathbb{C}$. Examining the moduli spaces of regularly stable $G$-Higgs bundles and holomorphic…

We consider the moduli space of flat $SO(2n+1)$-connections (up to gauge transformations) on a Riemann surface, with fixed holonomy around a marked point. There are natural line bundles over this moduli space; we construct geometric…

Co-Higgs bundles are Higgs bundles in the sense of Simpson, but with Higgs fields that take values in the tangent bundle instead of the cotangent bundle. Given a vector bundle on P^1, we find necessary and sufficient conditions on its…

Let $X$ be a compact connected Riemann surface and $D$ an effective divisor on $X$. Let ${\mathcal N}_H(r,d)$ denote the moduli space of $D$-twisted stable Higgs bundles (a special class of Hitchin pairs) on $X$ of rank $r$ and degree $d$.…

For $G = \mathrm{GL}_2, \mathrm{SL}_2, \mathrm{PGL}_2$ we compute the intersection E-polynomials and the intersection Poincar\'e polynomials of the $G$-character variety of a compact Riemann surface $C$ and of the moduli space of $G$-Higgs…

We extend Hitchin's results on "The self-duality equations on a Riemann surface" (Proc. LMS (3), vol. 55, 1987) to orbifold Riemann surfaces. We prove existence results for orbifold solutions of the Yang-Mills-Higgs equations and construct…