We investigate $\mathbb{C}^\times$-families of flat connections whose leading term is a nilpotent Higgs field. Examples of such families include real twistor lines and families arising from the conformal limit. We show that these families have the same monodromy as families whose leading term is a regular Higgs bundle and use this to deduce that traces of holonomies are asymptotically exponential in rational powers of the parameter of the family.
We study an algebraic inequality for nilpotent matrices and show some interesting geometric applications: (i) obtaining topological information for nilpotent polystable Higgs bundles over a compact Riemann surface; (ii) obtaining a sharp upper bound of the holomorphic sectional curvatures of the period domain and the Hodge metric on the Calabi-Yau moduli.
We offer a new approach to proving the Chen-Donaldson-Sun theorem which we demonstrate with a series of examples. We discuss the existence of a construction of a special metric on stable vector bundles over the surfaces formed by a families of curves and its relation to the one-dimensional cycles in the moduli space of stable bundles on curves.
We exhibit families of Ricci-flat Kahler metrics on K3 surfaces which collapse to an interval, with Tian-Yau and Taub-NUT metrics occurring as bubbles. There is a corresponding continuous surjective map from the K3 surface to the interval, with regular fibers diffeomorphic to either 3-tori or Heisenberg nilmanifolds.
Given a holomorphic vector bundle $E$ on the twistor space $\mathrm{Tw}(M)$ of a simple hyperkähler manifold $M$, we view it as a family of bundles $\left\{E_I\right\}$ on the fibres $π^{-1}(I)$ of the twistor projection $π: \mathrm{Tw}(M) \to \mathbb{CP}^1$, and study the relationship between stability of $E$ and its fibrewise stability. We verify that the argument of Teleman establishing the Zariski openness of stability and semi-stability in families of bundles applies in the case of the family $\left\{E_I\right\}$. We prove a partial converse to a result of Kaledin and Verbitsky, showing t…
For the moduli space of Higgs bundles on a Riemann surface of positive genus, critical points of the natural Morse-Bott function lie along the nilpotent cone of the Hitchin fibration and are representations of $\mbox{A}$-type quivers in a twisted category of holomorphic bundles. The critical points that globally minimize the function are representations of $\mbox{A}_1$. For twisted Higgs bundles on the projective line, the quiver describing the bottom of the cone is more complicated. We determine it here. We show that the moduli space is topologically connected whenever the rank and degree are…
We define and study the existence of very stable Higgs bundles on Riemann surfaces, how it implies a precise formula for the multiplicity of the very stable components of the global nilpotent cone and its relationship to mirror symmetry. The main ingredients are the Bialynicki-Birula theory of ${\mathbb C}^*$-actions on semiprojective varieties, ${\mathbb C}^*$ characters of indices of ${\mathbb C}^*$-equivariant coherent sheaves, Hecke transformation for Higgs bundles, relative Fourier-Mukai transform along the Hitchin fibration, hyperholomorphic structures on universal bundles and cominuscul…
The Chow-Mumford (CM) line bundle is a functorial line bundle on the base of any family of klt Fano varieties. It is conjectured that it yields a polarization on the moduli space of K-poly-stable klt Fano varieties. Proving ampleness of the CM line bundle boils down to showing semi-positivity/positivity statements about the CM-line bundle for families with K-semi-stable/K-polystable fibers. We prove the necessary semi-positivity statements in the K-semi-stable situation, and the necessary positivity statements in the uniform K-stable situation, including in both cases variants assuming K-stabi…
We consider a generalisation of the Seiberg-Witten invariant to the families Seiberg-Witten invariants of a smooth family of 4-manifolds with fibres diffeomorphic to a 4-manifold $X$. Of particular interest is the special case when the family has a smoothly varying Kähler structure. We obtain a general computation of the invariants when $b_1=0$ in terms of characteristic classes of some vector bundles corresponding to the cohomology groups of holomorphic line bundles of the family. Finally, we apply the formula to some examples of Kähler families where some more further explicit computations c…
We construct families of functions in involution for transverse Poisson structures at nilpotent elements of Lie-Poisson structures on simple Lie algebras by using the argument shift method. Examples show that these families contain completely integrable systems that consist of polynomial functions. We provide a uniform construction of these integrable systems for an infinite family of distinguished nilpotent elements of semisimple type.
Using Hitchin's parameterization of the Hitchin-Teichmüller component of the $SL(n,\mathbb{R})$ representation variety, we study the asymptotics of certain families of representations. In fact, for certain Higgs bundles in the $SL(n,\mathbb{R})$-Hitchin component, we study the asymptotics of the Hermitian metric solving the Higgs bundle equations. This analysis is used to estimate the asymptotics of the corresponding family of flat connections as we scale the differentials by a real parameter. We consider Higgs fields that have only one holomorphic differential $q_n$ of degree $n$ or $q_{n-1}$…
Let $(\mathcal{E}, ϕ)$ be a rank two co-Higgs vector bundles on a Kähler compact surface $X$ with $ϕ\in H^0(X,End(\mathcal{E})\otimes T_X)$ nilpotent. If $(\mathcal{E}, ϕ)$ is semi-stable, then one of the following holds up to finite \' etale cover: $i)$ $X$ is uniruled. $ii)$ $X$ is a torus and $(\mathcal{E}, ϕ)$ is strictly semi-stable. $iii)$ $X$ is a properly elliptic surface and $(\mathcal{E}, ϕ)$ is strictly semi-stable.
Let $(E,\overline{\partial}_E,θ)$ be a stable Higgs bundle of degree $0$ on a compact connected Riemann surface. Once we fix the flat metric $h_{\det(E)}$ on the determinant of $E$, we have the harmonic metrics $h_t$ $(t>0)$ for the stable Higgs bundles $(E,\overline{\partial}_E,tθ)$ such that $\det(h_t)=h_{\det(E)}$. We study the behaviour of $h_t$ when $t$ goes to $\infty$. First, we show that the Hitchin equation is asymptotically decoupled under the assumption that the Higgs field is generically regular semisimple. We apply it to the study of the so called Hitchin WKB-problem. Second, we s…
In this paper, we first prove a Donaldson-Uhlenbeck-Yau theorem over projective normal varieties smooth in codimension two. As a consequence we deduce the polystability of (dual) tensor products of stable reflexive sheaves, and we give a new proof of the Bogomolov-Gieseker inequality, along with a precise characterization of the case of equality. This also improves several previously known algebro-geometric results on normalized tautological classes. We study the limiting behavior of semistable bundles over a degenerating family of projective normal varieties. In the case of a family of stable…
For smooth families of projective algebraic curves, we extend the notion of intersection pairing of metrized line bundles to a pairing on line bundles with flat relative connections. In this setting, we prove the existence of a canonical and functorial "intersection" connection on the Deligne pairing. A relationship is found with the holomorphic extension of analytic torsion, and in the case of trivial fibrations we show that the Deligne isomorphism is flat with respect to the connections we construct. Finally, we give an application to the construction of a meromorphic connection on the hyper…
