In this study group, we first want to get an overview of various different definitions of character varieties, the topologies on them, and the most important subspaces. Then, we contrast the “most flexible” and the “most rigid” cases: discrete and faithful or quasi-Fuchsian representations, where the character varieties are large and rich in structure, vs. examples where it is not clear if the character variety contains more than just a few isolated points. We want to focus on instructive examples, which besides the already mentioned classical quasi-Fuchsian representations, could include representations of free groups or Coxeter groups. We would also like to understand compactification techniques and their interpretation as group actions on trees or buildings.

This study group takes place during the winter term 25/26:

• Thursdays 10:50-12:00
• Room D2-314@Uni-Paderborn
  Sophus-Lie room (A3 01)@MPI Liepzig
  as well as on Zoom

If you are interested in attending virtually, please contact one of the organizers.

A current version of the seminar program can be found here.

Organizers:

• Jacques Audibert (MPI Leipzig)
• Benjamin Delarue (Uni Leipzig)
• Guenda Palmirotta (Uni Paderborn)
• Tobias Weich (Uni Paderborn)