The nonabelian Hodge correspondence for balanced Hermitian metrics of Hodge-Riemann type (Q6640741)

Recall that a Hermitian metric on a compact, complex manifold of dimension \(n\) is called balanced if \(d\omega^{n-1}=0\), where \(\omega\) is the fundamental (Kähler) (1,1)-form of the metric. In this paper the authors consider a further condition. They say that a balanced metric is of Hodge-Riemann type, if it admits an expression: \(\frac{\omega^{n-1}}{(n-1)!}=\omega_0\wedge\Omega_0\) where \(\omega_0\) (resp. \(\Omega_0\)) is a real (1,1) (resp. (\(n-2, n-2\))) form, and \(\Omega_0\) satisfies the Hodge-Riemann bilinear relations. \N\NThe aim of this paper is to extend the nonabelian Hodge correspondence for Kähler manifolds to a larger class of Hermitian metrics on complex manifolds called balanced of Hodge-Riemann type. Important examples include balanced metrics arising from multipolarizations of Kähler manifolds. The generalizations rely on a few key observations showing that the known results, especially the Donaldson-Uhlenbeck-Yau theorem and Corlette's theorem, remain valid in this setting. Though not necessarily Kähler, it is shown that the Sampson-Siu theorem proving that harmonic maps are pluriharmonic holds for a slightly more restrictive class of metrics. The authors show that certain properties of Hermitian-Einstein metrics and equivariant harmonic maps familiar for Kähler manifolds continue to hold for balanced metrics of Hodge-Riemann type. Namely, they prove \emph{a)} a generalized Bogomolov-Gieseker inequality for \(\omega\)-polystable holomorphic (and Higgs) bundles, \emph{b)} a version of the Sampson-Siu pluriharmonicity theorem for harmonic maps to targets with nonpositive complexified sectional curvature, and \emph{c)} the nonabelian Hodge correspondence relating \(\omega\)-stable Higgs bundles with vanishing Chern classes to irreducible representations of the fundamental group. \N\NThe paper is organized as follows. Section 1 is an introduction to the subject. Section 2 deals with Hodge-Riemann forms. In this section, the authors recall the notion of a Hodge-Riemann form on a polarized complex vector space, i.e., a complex space with a constant Kähler form. Section 3 is devoted to the Bogomolov-Gieseker inequality. Here, the authors show how the Donaldson-Uhlenbeck-Yau (resp. Hitchin-Simpson) theorem relating stability of holomorphic (resp. Higgs) bundles to the existence of Hermitian-Einstein type metrics results in a Chern class inequality. Section 4 deals with the Sampson-Siu theorem. The authors prove that if \(X\) is a compact complex manifold with a balanced metric of Hodge-Riemann type, and if \(\Omega_0\) is strongly positive and \(N\) is a Riemannian manifold with nonpositive complexified sectional curvature, then every harmonic map \(u:X\longrightarrow N\) is pluriharmonic. Section 5 deals with the nonabelian Hodge correspondence and is devoted to the proof of the the following result: if \(X\) is a compact complex manifold and \(\omega\) is a balanced metric of Hodge-Riemann type on \(X\), then there is a categorical 1-1 correspondence between \emph{a)} semisimple flat bundles on \(X\), and \emph{b)} isomorphism classes of \(\omega\)-polystable Higgs bundles \((\mathcal{E}, \theta)\) with \(\mbox{ch}_1(\mathcal{E)}\cup[\omega^{n-1}]=0\) and \(\mbox{ch}_2(\mathcal{E)}\cup[\Omega_0]=0\). Section 6 is devoted to rigidity of representations of fundamental groups. In this section the authors point out that two important results of Corlette and Simpson generalize to their setting.