On a conjecture about Higgs bundles and some inequalities (Q6077114)

Let \(E\) be a vector bundle on an \(n\)-dimensional smooth connected complex projective variety \(X\). Recall that a Higgs sheaf is a pair \(\mathcal{F}=(F,\phi)\), where \(F\) is a coherent \(\mathcal{O}_X\)-module, and \(\phi:F\longrightarrow F\otimes\Omega^1_X\) is an \(\mathcal{O}_X\)-linear morphism such that the composition \[ \phi\wedge\phi:F\stackrel{\phi}{\rightarrow} F\otimes\Omega^1_X\stackrel{\phi\times\mbox{id}}{\rightarrow} F\otimes\Omega^1_X\otimes\Omega^1_X\longrightarrow F\otimes\Omega^2_X, \] is zero. A Higgs bundle is a Higgs sheaf with \(F\) locally free. Let \(\mathcal{E}=(E,\phi)\) be a Higgs bundle on X. The Higgs Grassmannian is an object that parameterizes locally free Higgs quotients of a Higgs bundle exactly as the usual Grassmann bundle parameterizes locally free quotients of a vector bundle. This was introduced in [\textit{U. Bruzzo} and \textit{D. Hernández Ruipérez}, Differ. Geom. Appl. 24, No. 4, 403--416 (2006; Zbl 1108.14028)]. This object is defined in Section 2, where some of its basic properties are studied. In this paper, the authors briefly review an open conjecture about Higgs bundles that are semistable after pulling back to any curve, and prove it in the rank 2 case. It seems quite difficult to find general results about the Higgs Grassmannian, but its structure is quite clear in the case \(\mbox{rk }E=2\), and this is indeed the key to the proof of the conjecture in the rank 2 case that they give in Section 4. In Section 3 the authors prove the conjecture assuming that the rank \(d\) Higgs Grassmannian \(Gr_d(\mathcal{E})\) has a component that is a divisor in the full Grassmann bundle \(Gr_d(E)\) which surjects onto \(X\). Such a divisor always exists in the rank 2 case, due to the fact that the Higgs Grassmiannian of a rank 2 Higgs bundle over a curve is never empty, thus providing a full proof of the conjecture in the rank 2 case. In fact, the authors prove some results in higher rank under suitable additional assumptions. Moreover, they establish a set of inequalities holding for H-nef Higgs bundles that generalize some of the Fulton-Lazarsfeld inequalities for numerically effective vector bundles.