We prove that the Eynard-Orantin symplectic invariants of the curve xy-y^2=1 are the orbifold Euler characteristics of the moduli spaces of genus g curves. We do this by associating to the Eynard-Orantin invariants of xy-y^2=1 a problem of enumerating covers of the two-sphere branched over three points. This viewpoint produces new recursion relations---string and dilaton equations---between the quasi-polynomials that enumerate such covers.
We show how to define and count lattice points in the moduli space $\modm_{g,n}$ of genus g curves with n labeled points. This produces a polynomial with coefficients that include the Euler characteristic of the moduli space, and tautological intersection numbers on the compactified moduli space.
It is shown that rational points over finite fields of moduli spaces of stable quiver representations are counted by polynomials with integer coefficients. These polynomials are constructed recursively using an identity in the Hall algebra of a quiver.
This is a report on a joint project in experimental mathematics with Jonas Bergström and Carel Faber where we obtain information about modular forms by counting curves over finite fields.
We define and count lattice points in the moduli space of stable genus g curves with n labeled points. This extends a construction of the second author for the uncompactified moduli space. The enumeration produces polynomials with top degree coefficients tautological intersection numbers on the compactified moduli space and constant term the orbifold Euler characteristic of the compactified moduli space. We also prove a recursive formula which can be used to effectively calculate these polynomials.
We perform a study of the moduli space of framed torsion free sheaves on Hirzebruch surfaces by using localization techniques. After discussing general properties of this moduli space, we classify its fixed points under the appropriate toric action and compute its Poincare' polynomial. From the physical viewpoint, our results provide the partition function of N=4 Vafa-Witten theory on Hirzebruch surfaces, which is relevant in black hole entropy counting problems according to a conjecture due to Ooguri, Strominger and Vafa.
We give a mathematically rigorous proof of Nekrasov's conjecture: the integration in the equivariant cohomology over the moduli spaces of instantons on $\mathbb R^4$ gives a deformation of the Seiberg-Witten prepotential for N=2 SUSY Yang-Mills theory. Through a study of moduli spaces on the blowup of $\mathbb R^4$, we derive a differential equation for the Nekrasov's partition function. It is a deformation of the equation for the Seiberg-Witten prepotential, found by Losev et al., and further studied by Gorsky et al.
This paper is an elementary introduction to the theory of moduli spaces of curves and maps. As an application to enumerative geometry, we show how to count the number of bitangent lines to a projective plane curve of degree $d$ by doing intersection theory on moduli spaces.
We explain how to compute top-dimensional intersections of psi-classes on moduli spaces of m-stable curves. On the moduli spaces of Deligne-Mumford stable pointed curves of genus one, these intersection numbers are determined by two recursions, namely the string equation and the dilaton equation. We establish, for each integer m>0, an analogous pair of recursions which determine these intersection numbers on the moduli spaces of m-stable pointed curves of genus one.
We prove some combinatorial results required for the proof of the following conjecture of Nekrasov: The generating function of closed string invariants in local Calabi-Yau geometries obtained by appropriate fibrations of $A_N$ singularities over $P^1$ reproduce the generating function of equivariant $\hat{A}$-genera of moduli space of instants on $C^2$.
We first construct a derived equivalence between a small crepant resolution of an affine toric Calabi-Yau 3-fold and a certain quiver with a superpotential. Under this derived equivalence we establish a wall-crossing formula for the generating function of the counting invariants of perverse coherent systems. As an application we provide certain equations on Donaldson-Thomas, Pandeharipande-Thomas and Szendroi's invariants. Finally, we show that moduli spaces associated with a quiver given by successive mutations are realized as the moduli spaces associated the original quiver by changing the s…
This is a survey paper dealing with moduli aspects of curves over finite fields. It discusses counting points of moduli spaces, relations with modular forms and stratifications on moduli spaces.
We prove a closed formula counting semistable twisted Higgs bundles of fixed rank and degree over a smooth projective curve defined over a finite field. We also prove a formula for the Donaldson-Thomas invariants of the moduli spaces of twisted Higgs bundles over a curve.
We provide a definition of Tanaka-Thomas's Vafa-Witten invariants for étale gerbes over smooth projective surfaces using the moduli spaces of $μ_r$-gerbe twisted sheaves and Higgs sheaves. Twisted sheaves and their moduli are naturally used to study the period-index theorem for the corresponding $μ_r$-gerbe in the Brauer group of the surfaces. Deformation and obstruction theory of the twisted sheaves and Higgs sheaves behave like general sheaves and Higgs sheaves. We define virtual fundamental classes on the moduli spaces and define the twisted Vafa-Witten invariants using virtual localization…
We identify certain Gromov-Witten invariants counting rational curves with given incidence and tangency conditions with the Betti numbers of moduli spaces of point configurations in projective spaces. On the Gromov-Witten side, S. Fomin and G. Mikhalkin established a recurrence relation via tropicalization, which is realized on the moduli space side using Donaldson-Thomas invariants of subspace quivers.
A holomorphic 1-form on a compact Riemann surface S naturally defines a flat metric on S with cone-type singularities. We present the following surprising phenomenon: having found a geodesic segment (saddle connection) joining a pair of conical points one can find with a nonzero probability another saddle connection on S having the same direction and the same length as the initial one. The similar phenomenon is valid for the families of parallel closed geodesics. We give a complete description of all possible configurations of parallel saddle connections (and of families of parallel closed geo…
Hirzebruch surfaces provide an excellent example to underline the fact that in general symplectic manifolds, Gromov-Witten invariants might well count curves in the boundary components of the moduli space. We use this example to explain in detail that the counting argument given by Batyrev in "Quantum cohomology rings of toric manifolds" (Asterisque 218:9-34, 1993) does not work.
This is a survey on recent results on counting of curves over finite fields. It reviews various results on the maximum number of points on a curve of genus g over a finite field of cardinality q, but the main emphasis is on results on the Euler characteristic of the cohomology of local systems on moduli spaces of curves of low genus and its implications for modular forms.
Combining the MPS degeneration formula for the Poincaré polynomial of moduli spaces of stable quiver representations and localization theory, it turns that the determination of the Euler characteristic of these moduli spaces reduces to a combinatorial problem of counting certain trees. We use this fact in order to obtain an upper bound for the Euler characteristic in the case of the Kronecker quiver. We also derive a formula for the Euler characteristic of some of the moduli spaces appearing in the MPS degeneration formula.
For a partition $lambda=\{lambda_1 \geq λ_2 \geq λ_3 \}$ of non-negative integers, we calculate the Euler characteristic of the local system $V_λ$ on the moduli space of genus 3 hyperelliptic curves using a suitable stratification. For some $λ$ of low degree, we make a guess for the motivic Euler characteristic of $V_λ$ using counting of curves over finite fields.
We make cohomological computations related to the moduli space of genus three curves with symplectic level two structure by means of counting points over finite fields. In particular, we determine the cohomology groups of the quartic locus as representations of the symmetric group on seven elements.
We compute the rational Betti cohomology groups of the coarse moduli spaces of geometrically marked Del Pezzo surfaces of degree three and four as representations of the Weyl groups of the corresponding root systems. The proof uses a blend of methods from point counting over finite fields and techniques from arrangement complements.
We survey some results on counting the rational points of moduli spaces of quiver representations. We then make generalizations to Grassmannians and flags of quiver representations. These results have nice applications to the cluster algebra. Along the way, we use the full Hopf structure of the Hall algebra of a quiver.
After a short exposition of the basic properties of the tautological ring of the moduli space of genus g Deligne-Mumford stable curves with n markings, we explain three methods of detecting non-tautological classes in cohomology. The first is via curve counting over finite fields. The second is by obtaining length bounds on the action of the symmetric group S_n on tautological classes. The third is via classical boundary geometry. Several new non-tautological classes are found.
The trigonal curves of genus 5 can be represented by projective plane quintics that have 1 singularity of delta invariant 1. Combining this with a partial sieve method for plane curves we count the number of such curves over any finite field. The main application is that this then gives the motivic Euler characteristic of the moduli space of trigonal curves of genus 5.
We compute all loop topological string amplitudes on orientifolds of local Calabi-Yau manifolds, by using geometric transitions involving SO/Sp Chern-Simons theory, localization on the moduli space of holomorphic maps with involution, and the topological vertex. In particular we count Klein bottles and projective planes with any number of handles in some Calabi-Yau orientifolds.
We prove the genus zero part of the generalized Witten conjecture relating moduli spaces of spin curves to Gelfand-Dickey hierarchies. That is, we show that intersection numbers on the moduli space of stable r-spin curves assemble into a generating function which yields a solution of the semiclassical limit of the KdV_r equations. We formulate axioms for a cohomology class on this moduli space which allow one to construct a cohomological field theory of rank $r-1$ in all genera. In genus zero it produces a Frobenius manifold which is isomorphic to the Frobenius manifold structure on the base o…
In this paper, we proved the Gauss-Bonnet-Chern theorem on moduli space of polarized Kahler manifolds. Using our results, we proved the rationality of the Chern-Weil forms (with respect to the Weil-Petersson metric) on CY moduli. As an application in physics, by the Ashok-Douglas theory, counting the number of flux compactifications of the type IIb string on a Calabi-Yau threefold is related to the integrations of various Chern-Weil forms. We proved that all these integrals are finite (and also rational).
