Nonabelian cohomology jump loci from an analytic viewpoint

Abstract

For a topological space, we investigate its cohomology support loci, sitting inside varieties of (nonabelian) representations of the fundamental group. To do this, for a CDG (commutative differential graded) algebra, we define its cohomology jump loci, sitting inside varieties of (algebraic) flat connections. We prove that the analytic germs at the origin 1 of representation varieties are determined by the Sullivan 1-minimal model of the space. Under mild finiteness assumptions, we show that, up to a degree $q$, the two types of jump loci have the same analytic germs at the origins, when the space and the algebra have the same $q$-minimal model. We apply this general approach to formal spaces (for which we establish the degeneration of the Farber-Novikov spectral sequence), quasi-projective manifolds, and finitely generated nilpotent groups. When the CDG algebra has positive weights, we elucidate some of the structure of (rank one complex) topological and algebraic jump loci: up to degree $q$, all their irreducible components passing through the origin are connected affine subtori, respectively rational linear subspaces. Furthermore, the global exponential map sends all algebraic cohomology jump loci, up to degree $q$, into their topological counterpart.