Exponential decay for the asymptotic geometry of the Hitchin metric (Q2174654)

The article under review pertains to the asymptotic geometric structure at infinity of the moduli space \(\mathcal{M}\) of irreducible solutions to the self-duality equations on an \(\text{SU}(n)\)-bundle of degree zero over a compact Riemann surface, modulo unitary gauge transformations. The space \(\mathcal{M}\) carries a hyperkähler Weil-Peterson type metric \(g_{L^2}\) and a conjectural picture about the asymptotic geometry of this metric was formulated in the pioneering work of \textit{D. Gaiotto} et al. [Adv. Math. 234, 239--403 (2013; Zbl 1358.81150)]. Motivated by supersymmetric quantum field theory arguments and developing the notion of spectral networks on Riemann surfaces, another hyperkähler metric \(g_{GMN}\) was constructed, which was conjectured to be equal to the metric \(g_{L^2}\). In fact, for a simpler (hyperkähler) semiflat metric \(g_{sf}\) on the regular locus \(\mathcal{M}'\) of \(\mathcal{M}\), a weaker form of the Gaiotto-Moore-Neitzke conjecture for this \(\text{SU}(n)\)-moduli space asserts that the difference between the metrics \(g_{L^2}\) and \(g_{sf}\) is \textit{exponentially decaying}. The present work follows and completes a series of articles towards verifying this conjecture. For the \(\text{SU}(2)\)-moduli space \(\mathcal{M}\), the author builds upon previous progress made by \textit{D. Dumas} and \textit{A. Neitzke} [Commun. Math. Phys. 367, No. 1, 127--150 (2019; Zbl 1417.53053)], as well as by \textit{R. Mazzeo} et al. [Commun. Math. Phys. 367, No. 1, 151--191 (2019; Zbl 1409.14024)], but rather uses a formulation of the two hyperkähler metrics involved in terms of the underlying Higgs bundle deformations \(\left(\dot{\eta}, \dot{\varphi} \right)\) of pairs \(\left(\bar{\partial}_E, \varphi \right)\) from \(\mathcal{M}\) and respective metric variations. Thus, on the one hand, a local biholomorphic flow on the disks around each zero of the quadratic differential \(q_2:= \text{det}\left(\varphi + \epsilon \dot{\varphi}\right)\) is used, which perfectly matches the changing location of the zero of \(q_2 + \epsilon \dot{q_2}\). On the other hand, the difference \(g_{L^2} - g_{sf}\) is broken into two pieces as \[g_{L^2} -g_{sf} = \left(g_{L^2} - g_{app}\right) + \left(g_{app} - g_{sf}\right),\] where \(g_{app}\) is the \(L^2\)-metric on the space of approximate solutions for deformations in formal Coulomb gauge; these approximate solutions to the Hitchin equations are obtained by desingularizing the singular metric on disks around the zeros of \(q_2\) by gluing model solutions on the disks via an appropriate cut-off function. The advantage of this intermediate step becomes apparent since for a Higgs bundle variation \(\dot{\psi} = \left(\dot{\eta}, \dot{\varphi}\right)\) of a pair \(\left(\bar{\partial}_E, \varphi \right)\) in \(\mathcal{M}'\) and the deformation \(\dot{\psi_t}\) over the ray \(\left(\bar{\partial}_E, t\varphi, h_t \right)\), the approximate solution to Hitchin's equations \(h_{t}^{app}\) is diagonal on the disk, thus reducing the analysis from a coupled system of PDEs to a single scalar PDE. The maximum principle is then used to provide that the desired differences indeed decay exponentially. The author then extends the result to the moduli space \(\mathcal{M}''\) of \(\text{SU}(n)\)-Higgs bundles with simple eigenvalue crossing, that is, the resultant of the characteristic polynomial of \(\varphi\), \(\text{char}_{\varphi}(\lambda)\) and its derivative \(\partial_{\lambda}\text{char}_{\varphi} (\lambda)\) do not vanish on the Riemann surface. Note that the regular locus \(\mathcal{M}'\) of the \(\text{SU}(n)\)-moduli space is stratified by the types of ramification and so \(\mathcal{M}''\) is the lowest strata of the regular locus; in the \(\text{SU}(2)\)-case, it is \(\mathcal{M}'=\mathcal{M}''\).