Toledo invariants of 2-orbifolds and Higgs bundles on elliptic surfaces (Q2519150)

Let \(Y\) be a Seifert fibered homology \(3\)-sphere and let \(O\) be the corresponding base \(2\)-orbifold. In this paper, the author considers the space \(\mathcal{R}^+_{\mathrm{U}(2,1)}(O)\) of conjugacy classes of semisimple representations of the orbifold fundamental group \(\pi_1^{\mathrm{orb}}(O)\) in the group \(\mathrm{U}(2,1)\). To each connected component of \(\mathcal{R}^+_{\mathrm{U}(2,1)}(O)\) it is associated a number called the orbifold Toledo invariant. The main result of this paper gives an explicit description of all orbifold Toledo invariants that arise in \(\mathcal{R}^+_{\mathrm{U}(2,1)}(O)\). If two classes in \(\mathcal{R}^+_{\mathrm{U}(2,1)}(O)\) have different orbifold Toledo invariants then they must lie in different connected components, hence it is obtained a lower bound on the number of connected components of \(\mathcal{R}^+_{\mathrm{U}(2,1)}(O)\). Another corollary is also a lower bound on the number of components of the space \(\mathcal{R}^*_{\mathrm{PU}(2,1)}(Y)\) of conjugacy classes of irreducible representations of \(\pi_1(Y)\) in the group \(\mathrm{PU}(2,1)\). In order to reach these results, the author associates to \(O\) a complex surface \(X\), called a Dolgachev surface, such that \(\pi_1(X)\) is isomorphic to \(\pi_1^{\mathrm{orb}}(O)\), and then considers the moduli space \(\mathcal{R}^+_{\mathrm{U}(2,1)}(X)\) of semisimple representations \(\pi_1(X)\to\mathrm{U}(2,1)\). The orbifold Toledo invariant of a representation \(\pi_1^{\mathrm{orb}}(O)\to\mathrm{U}(2,1)\) is defined in terms of the classical Toledo invariant [see, for example, \textit{D. Toledo}, Math. Scand. 45, 13--26 (1979; Zbl 0435.58008)] of the corresponding representation \(\pi_1(X)\to\mathrm{U}(2,1)\). The main reason for considering the Dolgachev surface \(X\) is that, since it is a complex projective variety, there is the homeomorphism between \(\mathcal{R}^+_{\mathrm{U}(2,1)}(X)\) and the moduli space of polystable \(\mathrm{U}(2,1)\)-Higgs bundles [see \textit{N. J. Hitchin}, Proc. Lond. Math. Soc., III. 55, 59--126 (1987; Zbl 0634.53045); \textit{C. T. Simpson} [Publ. Math., Inst. Hautes Étud. Sci. 79, 47--129 (1994; Zbl 0891.14005), Publ. Math., Inst. Hautes Étud. Sci. 80, 5--79 (1995; Zbl 0891.14006); \textit{S. K. Donaldson}, Proc. Lond. Math. Soc., III. 55, 127--131 (1987; Zbl 0634.53046)] and \textit{K. Corlette} [J. Differ. Geom. 28, No. 3, 361--382 (1988; Zbl 0676.58007)]. The author then studies a special kind of \(\mathrm{U}(2,1)\)-Higgs bundles, the so-called Hodge bundles, which arise in every component of the corresponding moduli space. This study, together with the work of \textit{E. Z. Xia} [Pac. J. Math. 195, No. 1, 231--256 (2000; Zbl 1014.32010)], and with the mentioned homeomorphism between \(\mathcal{R}^+_{\mathrm{U}(2,1)}(X)\) and the moduli space of polystable \(\mathrm{U}(2,1)\)-Higgs bundles, allows the computation of the classical Toledo invariants of all semisimple representations \(\pi_1(X)\to\mathrm{U}(2,1)\), which, in turn, yields the orbifold Toledo invariants of all semisimple representations \(\pi_1^{\mathrm{orb}}(O)\to\mathrm{U}(2,1)\).