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In this paper we generalize the conformal limit correspondence between Higgs bundles and holomorphic connections to the parabolic setting. Under mild genericity assumptions on the parabolic weights, we prove that the conformal limit always exists and that it defines holomorphic sections of the space of parabolic lambda-connections which preserve a natural stratification and foliate the moduli space. Along the way, we give a careful gauge theoretic construction of the moduli space of parabolic Higgs bundles with full flags which allows the eigenvalues of the residues of the Higgs field to vary. A number of new phenomena arise in the parabolic setting. In particular, in the generality we consider, unlike the nonparabolic case, the nonabelian Hodge correspondence does not define sections of the space of logarithmic lambda-connections, and the conformal limit does not define a one-parameter family in any given moduli space., Comment: 50 pp. Comments welcome!

Given a generic stable strongly parabolic $SL(2,\mathbb{C})$-Higgs bundle $(\mathcal{E}, \varphi)$, we describe the family of harmonic metrics $h_t$ for the ray of Higgs bundles $(\mathcal{E}, t \varphi)$ for $t\gg0$ by perturbing from an explicitly constructed family of approximate solutions $h_t^{\mathrm{app}}$. We then describe the natural hyperK\"ahler metric on $\mathcal{M}$ by comparing it to a simpler "semi-flat" hyperK\"ahler metric. We prove that $g_{L^2} - g_{\mathrm{sf}} = O(\mathrm{e}^{-\gamma t})$ along a generic ray, proving a version of Gaiotto-Moore-Neitzke's conjecture. Our results extend to weakly parabolic $SL(2,\mathbb{C})$-Higgs bundles as well. In the case of the four-puncture sphere, we describe the moduli space and metric more explicitly. In this case, we prove that the hyperk\"ahler metric is ALG and show that the rate of exponential decay is the conjectured optimal one, $\gamma=4L$, where $L$ is the length of the shortest geodesic on the base curve measured in the singular flat metric $|\mathrm{det}\, \varphi|$., Comment: 75 pages, revised version

The non-abelian Hodge correspondence identifies complex variations of Hodge structures with certain Higgs bundles. In this work we analyze this relationship, and some of its ramifications, when the variations of Hodge structures are determined by a (complete) one-dimensional family of compact Calabi-Yau manifolds. This setup enables us to apply techniques from mirror symmetry. For example, the corresponding Higgs bundles extend to parabolic Higgs bundles to the compactification of the base of the families. We determine the parabolic degrees of the underlying parabolic bundles in terms of the exponents of the Picard-Fuchs equations obtained from the variations of Hodge structure. Moreover, we prove in this setup that the flat non-abelian Hodge or $tt^*$-connection is gauge equivalent to an oper which is determined by the corresponding Picard-Fuchs equations. This gauge equivalence puts forward a new derivation of non-linear differential relations between special functions on the moduli space which generalize Ramanujan's relations for the differential ring of quasi-modular forms., Comment: References added and discussion of conformal limit revised

Given a generic ray of Higgs bundles $(\overline{\partial}_E, t\varphi)$, we describe the corresponding family of hermitian metrics $h_t$ solving Hitchin's equations via gluing methods. In the process, we construct a family of approximate solutions $h_t^{\mathrm{app}}$ which differ from the actual harmonic metrics $h_t$ by error terms of size $\mathrm{e}^{-\delta t}$. Such families of explicit approximate solutions have already proved useful for answering finer questions about the asymptotic geometry of the Hitchin moduli space.

We consider Hitchin's hyperk\"ahler metric $g_{L^2}$ on the $SU(n)$-Hitchin moduli space moduli space over a compact Riemann surface. We prove that the difference between the metric $g_{L^2}$ and a simpler "semiflat" hyperk\"ahler metric $g_{\mathrm{sf}}$ is exponentially-decaying along generic rays in the Hitchin moduli space, as conjectured by Gaiotto-Moore-Neitzke., Comment: 37 pages

We survey some recent developments in the asymptotic geometry of the Hitchin moduli space, starting with an introduction to the Hitchin moduli space and hyperk\"ahler geometry.

This brief survey aims to set the stage and summarize some of the ideas under discussion at the Workshop on Singular Geometry and Higgs Bundles in String Theory, to be held at the American Institute of Mathematics from October 30th to November 3rd, 2017. One of the most interesting aspects of the duality revolution in string theory is the understanding that gauge fields and matter representations can be described by intersection of branes. Since gauge theory is at the heart of our description of physical interactions, it has opened the door to the geometric engineering of many physical systems, and in particular those involving Higgs bundles. This note presents a curated overview of some current advances and open problems in the area, with no intention of being a complete review of the whole subject.

We study a set $\mathcal{M}_{K,N}$ parameterizing filtered $SL(K)$-Higgs bundles over $\mathbb{CP}^1$ with an irregular singularity at $z = \infty$, such that the eigenvalues of the Higgs field grow like $\lvert \lambda \rvert \sim \lvert z ^{N/K} \mathrm{d} z \rvert$, where $K$ and $N$ are coprime. $\mathcal{M}_{K,N}$ carries a $\mathbb{C}^\times$-action analogous to the famous $\mathbb{C}^\times$-action introduced by Hitchin on the moduli spaces of Higgs bundles over compact curves. The construction of this $\mathbb{C}^\times$-action on $\mathcal{M}_{K,N}$ involves the rotation automorphism of the base $\mathbb{CP}^1$. We classify the fixed points of this $\mathbb{C}^\times$-action, and exhibit a curious $1$-$1$ correspondence between these fixed points and certain representations of the vertex algebra $\mathcal{W}_K$; in particular we have the relation $\mu = \frac{1}{12} \left(K - 1 - c_{\mathrm{eff}} \right)$, where $\mu$ is a regulated version of the $L^2$ norm of the Higgs field, and $c_{\mathrm{eff}}$ is the effective Virasoro central charge of the corresponding $W$-algebra representation. We also discuss a Bialynicki-Birula-type stratification of $\mathcal{M}_{K,N}$, where the strata are labeled by isomorphism classes of the underlying filtered vector bundles., Comment: 36 pages

We use Coulomb branch indices of Argyres-Douglas theories on $S^1 \times L(k,1)$ to quantize moduli spaces ${\cal M}_H$ of wild/irregular Hitchin systems. In particular, we obtain formulae for the "wild Hitchin characters" -- the graded dimensions of the Hilbert spaces from quantization -- for four infinite families of ${\cal M}_H$, giving access to many interesting geometric and topological data of these moduli spaces. We observe that the wild Hitchin characters can always be written as a sum over fixed points in ${\cal M}_H$ under the $U(1)$ Hitchin action, and a limit of them can be identified with matrix elements of the modular transform $ST^kS$ in certain two-dimensional chiral algebras. Although naturally fitting into the geometric Langlands program, the appearance of chiral algebras, which was known previously to be associated with Schur operators but not Coulomb branch operators, is somewhat surprising., Comment: 47+20 pages, 3 figures. v2: reference added, misprints corrected. v3: added corrections according to journal referee

For a complex simple simply connected Lie group $G$, and a compact Riemann surface $C$, we consider two sorts of families of flat $G$-connections over $C$. Each family is determined by a point ${\mathbf u}$ of the base of Hitchin's integrable system for $(G,C)$. One family $\nabla_{\hbar,{\mathbf u}}$ consists of $G$-opers, and depends on $\hbar \in {\mathbb C}^\times$. The other family $\nabla_{R,\zeta,{\mathbf u}}$ is built from solutions of Hitchin's equations, and depends on $\zeta \in {\mathbb C}^\times, R \in {\mathbb R}^+$. We show that in the scaling limit $R \to 0$, $\zeta = \hbar R$, we have $\nabla_{R,\zeta,{\mathbf u}} \to \nabla_{\hbar,{\mathbf u}}$. This establishes and generalizes a conjecture formulated by Gaiotto., Comment: 23 pages