Ends of the moduli space of Higgs bundles

Abstract

We associate to each stable Higgs pair $(A_0,\Phi_0)$ on a compact Riemann surface $X$ a singular limiting configuration $(A_\infty,\Phi_\infty)$, assuming that $\det \Phi$ has only simple zeroes. We then prove a desingularization theorem by constructing a family of solutions $(A_t,t\Phi_t)$ to Hitchin's equations which converge to this limiting configuration as $t \to \infty$. This provides a new proof, via gluing methods, for elements in the ends of the Higgs bundle moduli space and identifies a dense open subset of the boundary of the compactification of this moduli space.