Cataclysms for Anosov representations

Abstract

In this paper, we construct cataclysm deformations for $\theta$-Anosov representations into a semisimple non-compact connected real Lie group $G$ with finite center, where $\theta \subset \Delta$ is a subset of the simple roots that is invariant under the opposition involution. These generalize Thurston's cataclysms on Teichm\"uller space and Dreyer's cataclysms for Borel-Anosov representations into $\mathrm{PSL}(n, \mathbb{R})$. We express the deformation also in terms of the boundary map. Furthermore, we show that cataclysm deformations are additive and behave well with respect to composing a representation with a group homomorphism. Finally, we show that the deformation is injective for Hitchin representations, but not in general for $\theta$-Anosov representations.