On some topological equivalences for moduli spaces of $G$-bundles

Abstract

Let $X$ be a smooth projective curve of genus $g \geq 3$, and let $G$ be a nontrivial connected reductive affine algebraic group over $\mathbb{C}$. Examining the moduli spaces of regularly stable $G$-Higgs bundles and holomorphic $G$-connections with a fixed topological type $d\in \pi_1(G)$ over $X$, we establish that the $k$-th homotopy groups of these two moduli spaces are isomorphic for $k \leq 2g-4$. We also prove that the mixed Hodge structures on the rational cohomology groups of these two moduli spaces are pure and isomorphic. Lastly, we explicitly describe the homotopy groups of the moduli space of $\mathrm{SL}(n,\mathbb{C})$-connections over $X$.