Higgs bundles, harmonic maps, and pleated surfaces

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Ott, Andreas, Swoboda, Jan, Wentworth, Richard, Wolf, Michael
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2020
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author Ott, Andreas
Swoboda, Jan
Wentworth, Richard
Wolf, Michael
author_facet Ott, Andreas
Swoboda, Jan
Wentworth, Richard
Wolf, Michael
contents This paper unites the gauge-theoretic and hyperbolic-geometric perspectives on the asymptotic geometry of the character variety of SL(2,C) representations of a surface group. Specifically, we find an asymptotic correspondence between the analytically defined limiting configuration of a sequence of solutions to the SU(2) self-duality equations on a closed Riemann surface constructed by Mazzeo-Swoboda-Weiss-Witt, and the geometric topological shear-bend parameters of equivariant pleated surfaces in hyperbolic three-space due to Bonahon and Thurston. The geometric link comes from the nonabelian Hodge correspondence and a study of high energy degenerations of harmonic maps. Our result has several applications. We prove: (1) the local invariance of the partial compactification of the moduli space of solutions to the self-duality equations by limiting configurations; (2) a refinement of the harmonic maps characterization of the Morgan-Shalen compactification of the character variety; and (3) a comparison between the family of complex projective structures defined by a quadratic differential and the realizations of the corresponding flat connections as Higgs bundles, as well as a determination of the asymptotic shear-bend cocycle of Thurston's pleated surface.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2004_06071
institution arXiv
publishDate 2020
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Higgs bundles, harmonic maps, and pleated surfaces
Ott, Andreas
Swoboda, Jan
Wentworth, Richard
Wolf, Michael
Differential Geometry
Primary 32G15, 53C07, 53C43, Secondary 57K32
This paper unites the gauge-theoretic and hyperbolic-geometric perspectives on the asymptotic geometry of the character variety of SL(2,C) representations of a surface group. Specifically, we find an asymptotic correspondence between the analytically defined limiting configuration of a sequence of solutions to the SU(2) self-duality equations on a closed Riemann surface constructed by Mazzeo-Swoboda-Weiss-Witt, and the geometric topological shear-bend parameters of equivariant pleated surfaces in hyperbolic three-space due to Bonahon and Thurston. The geometric link comes from the nonabelian Hodge correspondence and a study of high energy degenerations of harmonic maps. Our result has several applications. We prove: (1) the local invariance of the partial compactification of the moduli space of solutions to the self-duality equations by limiting configurations; (2) a refinement of the harmonic maps characterization of the Morgan-Shalen compactification of the character variety; and (3) a comparison between the family of complex projective structures defined by a quadratic differential and the realizations of the corresponding flat connections as Higgs bundles, as well as a determination of the asymptotic shear-bend cocycle of Thurston's pleated surface.
title Higgs bundles, harmonic maps, and pleated surfaces
topic Differential Geometry
Primary 32G15, 53C07, 53C43, Secondary 57K32
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2004.06071