Families of K3 surfaces and Lyapunov exponents (Q1670334)

Let \(C\) be a hyperbolic Riemann surface and \(H \rightarrow C\) be a local system over \(C\), this is the same as a linear representation of the fundamental group of \(C.\) Pick a random point \(x\) on \(C\) and a random direction \(\theta\) at \(x\), and let \(\gamma_{T}\) be the hyperbolic geodesic of length \(T\) starting at \(x\), in direction \(\theta\), and of length \(T\). Connect the endpoint of \(\gamma_{T}\) to \(x\) to get a closed loop on \(C\), and thus a monodromy matrix \(M_{\gamma_{T}}\). As \(T\) grows, what can one say about the eigenvalues of \(M_{\gamma_{T}}?\) The answer is given by the Oseledets theorem: there exists numbers \(\lambda_{1}\geq\dots\geq\lambda_{n}\) such that the eigenvalues of \(M_{\gamma_{T}}\) grow like \(e^{\lambda_{i}T}\) as long as the starting point \(x\) and direction \(\theta\), are chosen randomly. The above numbers are called Lyapunov exponents. Consider a family of K3 surfaces over a hyperbolic Riemann surface. Their second cohomology groups form a local system, and the author shows that its top Lyapunov exponent is a rational number. One proof uses the Kuga-Satake construction, which reduces the question to Hodge structures of weight 1. A second proof uses integration by parts. The case of maximal Lyapunov exponent corresponds to modular families coming from the Kummer construction.