Higher cohomology triples and holomorphic extensions

We introduce equations for special metrics, and notions of stability for some new types of augmented holomorphic bundles. These new examples include holomorphic extensions, and in this case we prove a Hitchin-Kobayashi correspondence between a certain deformation of the Hermitian-Einstein equations and our definition of stability for an extension.Comment: contact authors at [email protected] or [email protected], AMSTeX v2.

Moduli of vortices and Grassmann manifolds

We use the framework of Quot schemes to give a novel description of the moduli spaces of stable n-pairs, also interpreted as gauged vortices on a closed Riemann surface with target Mat(r x n, C), where n >= r. We then show that these moduli spaces embed canonically into certain Grassmann manifolds, and thus obtain natural Kaehler metrics of Fubini-Study type; these spaces are smooth at least in the local case r=n. For abelian local vortices we prove that, if a certain "quantization" condition is satisfied, the embedding can be chosen in such a way that the induced Fubini-Study structure realizes the Kaehler class of the usual L^2 metric of gauged vortices.Comment: 22 pages, LaTeX. Final version: last section removed, typos corrected, two references added; to appear in Commun. Math. Phy

Irreducibility of moduli of semistable Chains and applications to U(p,q)-Higgs bundles

We give necessary and sufficient conditions for moduli spaces of semistable chains on a curve to be irreducible and non-empty. This gives information on the irreducible components of the nilpotent cone of GL_n-Higgs bundles and the irreducible components of moduli of systems of Hodge bundles on curves. As we do not impose coprimality restrictions, we can apply this to prove connectedness for moduli spaces of U(p,q)-Higgs bundles.Comment: 13 pages; v2: minor corrections; to appear in the proceedings for the conference Hitchin 7

On the Riemannian geometry of Seiberg-Witten moduli spaces

We construct natural Riemannian metrics on Seiberg-Witten moduli spaces and study their geometry

Rank two quadratic pairs and surface group representations

Let $X$ be a compact Riemann surface. A quadratic pair on $X$ consists of a holomorphic vector bundle with a quadratic form which takes values in fixed line bundle. We show that the moduli spaces of quadratic pairs of rank 2 are connected under some constraints on their topological invariants. As an application of our results we determine the connected components of the $\mathrm{SO}_0(2,3)$-character variety of $X$.Comment: 37 pages, 1 figur