Nonabelian Hodge theory for stacks and a stacky P=W conjecture

Abstract

We introduce a version of the P=W conjecture relating the Borel-Moore homology of the stack of representations of the fundamental group of a genus g Riemann surface with the Borel-Moore homology of the stack of degree zero semistable Higgs bundles on a smooth projective complex curve of genus $g$. In order to state the conjecture we propose a construction of a canonical isomorphism between these Borel-Moore homology groups. We relate the stacky P=W conjecture with the original P=W conjecture concerning the cohomology of smooth moduli spaces of twisted objects, and the PI=WI conjecture concerning the intersection cohomology groups of singular moduli spaces of untwisted objects. In genus zero and one, we prove the conjectures that we introduce in this paper.