Representations of fundamental groups whose Higgs bundles are pullbacks (Q1324791)

If \(S\) is a smooth (polarized) projective variety over the complex numbers then the nonabelian Hodge theory as developed for example by Hitchin, Corlette and Simpson gives a one-to-one correspondence between the set of stable Higgs bundles with vanishing Chern classes and structure group \(G\) and the set of all irreducible representations of the fundamental group of \(S\) in \(G\). There exists a result of \textit{C. T. Simpson} [in Complex geometry and Lie theory, Proc. Sympos., Sundance 1989, Proc. Sympos. Pure Math. 53, 329-348 (1991; Zbl 0770.14014)] saying that every nonrigid Zariski dense representation of the fundamental group of such an \(S\) in the group \(\text{SL} (2, \mathbb{C})\) factors through the fundamental group of an orbicurve. In the article under review the authors investigate the situation for other simple Lie groups \(G\). Their main theorem is that a Zariski dense representation of the fundamental group whose associated Higgs bundle is regular and semi-simple factors geometrically through an orbicurve if and only if a certain generalized Prym variety of the smooth spectral cover \(\widetilde S\) (constructed with the help of the Higgs bundle) over \(S\) does not vanish. In particular, the representation factors through a representation of a Fuchsian group generated by \(2g\) hyperbolic elements and a finite number of elliptic elements. -- To construct the orbicurve the Albanese of the spectral cover is used. Some more tractable criteria are given.