Minimal surfaces for Hitchin representations

Abstract

Given a reductive representation ρ:π_1(S) → G, there exists a ρ-equivariant harmonic map f from the universal cover of a fixed Riemann surface Σ to the symmetric space G/K associated to G. If the Hopf differential of f vanishes, the harmonic map is then minimal. In this paper, we investigate the properties of immersed minimal surfaces inside symmetric space associated to a subloci of Hitchin component: the q_n and q_(n−1) cases. First, we show that the pullback metric of the minimal surface dominates a constant multiple of the hyperbolic metric in the same conformal class and has a strong rigidity property. Secondly, we show that the immersed minimal surface is never tangential to any flat inside the symmetric space. As a direct corollary, the pullback metric of the minimal surface is always strictly negatively curved. In the end, we find a fully decoupled system to approximate the coupled Hitchin system.

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