Classification of horizontal SL(2)'s

Abstract

A variation of Hodge structure is a horizontal holomorphic mapping into a flag domain D; here "horizontal" indicates that the image of the map satisfies a system of partial differential equations known as the infinitesimal period relation (or Griffiths' transversality condition). Such maps arise as (lifts of) period mappings associated with families of polarized algebraic manifolds. The celebrated Nilpotent Orbit and SL(2)-Orbit Theorems of Schmid describe the asymptotic behavior of a variation of Hodge structure, and play a fundamental role in the analysis of singularities of the period mapping (equivalently, degenerations of Hodge structure). As a consequence, it became an important problem to describe the SL(2)'s appearing in Schmid's Theorem. We classify those horizontal SL(2)s and the related R-split polarized mixed Hodge structures. Many examples are included.