A characterization of complex quasi-projective manifolds uniformized by unit balls

Abstract

In 1988 Simpson extended the Donaldson-Uhlenbeck-Yau theorem to the context of Higgs bundles, and as an application he proved a uniformization theorem which characterizes complex projective manifolds and quasi-projective curves whose universal coverings are complex unit balls. In this paper we give a necessary and sufficient condition for quasi-projective manifolds to be uniformized by complex unit balls. This generalizes the uniformization theorem by Simpson. Several byproducts are also obtained in this paper.

With an appendix written jointly with Benoît Cadorel. Final version, 39 pages, to appear in Math. Ann