Relative spectral correspondence for parabolic Higgs bundles and Deligne--Simpson problem

Abstract

In this paper, we generalize the spectral correspondence for parabolic Higgs bundles established by Diaconescu--Donagi--Pantev to the relative setting. We show that the relative moduli space of $\vec{\xi}$-parabolic Higgs bundles on a curve can be realized as the relative moduli space of pure dimension one sheaves on a family of holomorphic symplectic surfaces. This leads us to formulate the image of the relative moduli space under the Hitchin map in terms of linear systems on the family of surfaces. Then we explore the relationship between the geometry of these linear systems and the so-called $OK$ condition introduced by Balasubramanian--Distler--Donagi in the context of six-dimensional superconformal field theories. As applications, we obtain (a) the non-emptiness of the moduli spaces and (b) the Deligne--Simpson problem and its higher genus analogue. In particular, we prove a conjecture proposed by Balasubramanian--Distler--Donagi that the $OK$ condition is sufficient for solving the Deligne--Simpson problem.