Birationality of moduli spaces of twisted \(\mathrm {U}(p,q)\)-Higgs bundles (Q506419)

In this paper, the authors study the moduli spaces of twisted \(\mathrm{U}(p,q)\)-Higgs bundles over a compact Riemann surface \(X\). Given a holomorphic line bundle \(L\) on \(X\), an \(L\)-twisted \(\mathrm{U}(p,q)\)-Higgs bundle over \(X\) is a quadruple \((V,W,\beta,\gamma)\), where \(V\) and \(W\) are holomorphic vector bundles on \(X\), of rank \(p\) and \(q\) respectively, and \(\beta\) and \(\gamma\) are elements of \(H^0(X,\mathrm{Hom}(W,V)\otimes L)\) and \(H^0(X,\mathrm{Hom}(V,W)\otimes L)\) respectively. There is a notion of (poly,semi)stability of these objects, which depends on the choice of a real parameter \(\alpha\). Hence, for each \(\alpha\) there is a corresponding moduli space \(\mathcal{M}_\alpha(t)\) of \(\alpha\)-semistable \(L\)-twisted \(\mathrm{U}(p,q)\)-Higgs bundles of type \(t\), where \(t=(p,q,\mathrm{deg}(V),\mathrm{deg}(W))\). When \(L\) equals the canonical line bundle \(K\) of \(X\) and \(\alpha=0\), one recovers the moduli space of \(\mathrm{U}(p,q)\)-Higgs bundles of type \(t\), for which the non-abelian Hodge correspondence with the character variety of reductive representations of a central extension of \(\pi_1X\) in \(\mathrm{U}(p,q)\) holds. The semistability condition remains unchanged in chambers for \(\alpha\), and a standard approach to the study of the geometry and topology of \(\mathcal{M}_\alpha(t)\) is to vary \(\alpha\) and study what happens when the wall-crossing phenomena occurs (i.e., when \(\alpha\) crosses a value for which the semistability changes -- a critical value). This procedure was originally implemented by \textit{M. Thaddeus} in his study [Invent. Math. 117, No. 2, 317--353 (1994; Zbl 0882.14003)] of rank \(2\) Bradlow pairs and led him to a proof of the rank \(2\) Verlinde formula. Then this was extended for triples in [\textit{S. B. Bradlow} et al., Math. Ann. 328, No. 1--2, 299--351 (2004; Zbl 1041.32008)]. Notice that an \(L\)-twisted \(\mathrm{U}(p,q)\)-Higgs bundle for which \(\beta\equiv 0\) or \(\gamma\equiv 0\) is an example of a triple. The study of the wall-crossing was more generally performed for chains in [\textit{L. Álvarez-Cónsul} et al., IMRP, Int. Math. Res. Pap. 2006, No. 10, Article ID 73597, 82 p. (2006; Zbl 1111.32012)], [\textit{O. García-Prada} et al., J. Eur. Math. Soc. (JEMS) 16, No. 12, 2617--2668 (2014; Zbl 1316.14060)] and [\textit{O. García-Prada} and \textit{J. Heinloth}, Duke Math. J. 162, No. 14, 2731--2749 (2013; Zbl 1300.14013)]. All these are examples of twisted quiver bundles on \(X\), but in all of them the corresponding quiver has no loops. On the other hand, \(L\)-twisted \(\mathrm{U}(p,q)\)-Higgs bundles can also be thought as a twisted quiver bundle with two vertices an two arrows, connecting each other, with opposite orientation. Hence it is the first non-trivial example of a quiver with an oriented cycle. This means that the study performed in this paper is the first one where wall-crossing phenomena is analyzed for a twisted quiver bundle with an oriented cycle. This study leads to the following two main results. Some conditions on the topological types \(t\) must be imposed for both results (see Theorems 5.3 and 5.5 of the paper for the detailed statements). Firstly, if \(\alpha_c\) is a critical value and \(\epsilon\) is a small positive number, then the moduli spaces \(\mathcal{M}^s_{\alpha_c-\epsilon}(t)\) and \(\mathcal{M}^s_{\alpha_c+\epsilon}(t)\) are birational, where the superscript \(s\) means that only the stable locus is being considered. Secondly, if \(L=K\) and further conditions of the topological types are considered, then \(\mathcal{M}_\alpha(t)\) is irreducible.