We consider $C^2$ families $t\mapsto f_t$ of $C^4$ unimodal maps $f_t$ whose critical point is slowly recurrent, and we show that the unique absolutely continuous invariant measure ${\mu }_t$ of $f_t$ depends differentiably on $t$, as a distribution of order $1$. The proof uses transfer operators on towers whose level boundaries are mollified via smooth cutoff functions, in order to avoid artificial discontinuities. We give a new representation of ${\mu }_t$ for a Benedicks-Carleson map $f_t$, in terms of a single smooth function and the inverse branches...

If the monodromy representation of a VHS over a hyperbolic curve stabilizes a rank two subspace, there is a single non-negative Lyapunov exponent associated with it. We derive an explicit formula using only the representation in the case when the monodromy is discrete.