Richard Wentworth

Title: WKB, Opers, and Limiting Configurations

Abstract: The moduli space of SL(2) Higgs bundles on a closed Riemann
surface is a hyperkaehler variety homeomorphic to the space of SL(2)
flat connections.  The end of the moduli space is parametrized by
"limiting configurations" that are related to asymptotic spectral data
for the Higgs bundle. Motivated by results in the exact WKB analysis
of the Schrodinger equation, we will discuss the limiting behavior of
complex projective structures (or "Opers"). A bridge between the
various points of view is provided by Thurston's notion of a "pleated
surface".  This is joint work with Andreas Ott, Jan Swoboda, and
Michael Wolf.