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Room P3.10, Mathematics Building
Peter B. Gothen, Univ. Porto
Deformations of maximal representations of surface groups
In this talk we show how the theory of Higgs bundles can be applied to the study of the following geometric problem: When can a maximal $Sp(4,R)$-representation of a surface group be deformed to a representation which factors through a proper reductive subgroup of $Sp(4,R)$?