Exotic components of \(\mathrm{SO}(p, q)\) surface group representations, and their Higgs bundle avatars (Q1636162)

The aim of this note is to announce the existence of exotic components in the representation varieties for representations into \(\mathrm{SO}(p, q)\), the special orthogonal groups with signature \((p, q)\). These groups are non-compact with two connected components. Recall that 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 spaces. Hitchin representations into split real forms, and maximal representations into Hermitian Lie groups, are the only previously know cases where natural invariants do not fully distinguish connected components. In this note the authors announce the existence of new such exotic components in the moduli spaces for the groups \(\mathrm{SO}(p,q)\) with \(2<p<q\). These groups lie outside formerly know classes of groups associated with exotic components.