Asymptotics of the Moduli Spaces of Parabolic $\mathrm{SL}(3,\mathbb C)$-Higgs Bundles

Source abstract

We study the large-scale geometry of the moduli spaces of stable strongly parabolic $\mathrm{SL}(3,\C)$-Higgs bundles on the three-punctured sphere for a family of parabolic weights. We glue the local Toda model metric to a decoupled metric obtained from the spectral line bundle, and perturb the resulting approximate metrics to harmonic metrics adapted to the parabolic structure. We also prove that Hitchin's $L^2$ metric approaches the semi-flat metric exponentially. The metric comparison and the spectral period calculation show that each moduli space is a complete ALG gravitational instanton of type $E_6$. The asymptotic estimates are uniform on compact subintervals of the weight chamber.