Ekedahl, Lando, Shapiro, and Vainshtein announced a remarkable formula expressing Hurwitz numbers (counting covers of the projective line with specified simple branch points, and specified branching over one other point) in terms of Hodge integrals. We give a proof of this formula using virtual localization on the moduli space of stable maps, and describe how the proof could be simplified by the proper algebro-geometric definition of a "relative space".
We prove some combinatorial results related to a formula on Hodge integrals conjectured by Mariño and Vafa. These results play important roles in the proof and applications of this formula by the author jointly with Chiu-Chu Melissa Liu and Kefeng Liu. We also compare with some related results on Hurwitz numbers and obtain some closed expressions for the generating series of Hurwitz numbers and the related Hodge integrals.
In 2009 Kokotov, Korotkin and Zograf gave a formula for the class of the Hodge bundle on the Hurwitz space of admissible covers of genus g and degree d of the projective line. They gave an analytic proof of it. In this note we give an algebraic proof and an extension of the result.
Hodge classes on the moduli space of admissible covers with monodromy group G are associated to irreducible representations of G. We evaluate all linear Hodge integrals over moduli spaces of admissible covers with abelian monodromy in terms of multiplication in an associated wreath group algebra. In case G is cyclic and the representation is faithful, the evaluation is in terms of double Hurwitz numbers. In case G is trivial, the formula specializes to the well-known result of Ekedahl-Lando-Shapiro-Vainshtein for linear Hodge integrals over the moduli space of curves in terms of single Hurwitz…
In this paper we find an explicit formula for the number of topologically different ramified coverings $C\to\CP^1$ (C is a compact Riemann surface of genus g) with only one complicated branching point in terms of Hodge integrals over the moduli space of genus g curves with marked points.
In this paper we describe explicit generating functions for a large class of Hurwitz-Hodge integrals. These are integrals of tautological classes on moduli spaces of admissible covers, a (stackily) smooth compactification of the Hurwitz schemes. Admissible covers and their tautological classes are interesting mathematical objects on their own, but recently they have proved to be a useful tool for the study of the tautological ring of the moduli space of curves, and the orbifold Gromov-Witten theory of DM stacks. Our main tool is Atiyah-Bott localization: its underlying philosophy is to transla…
In this paper, we present some Hurwitz-Hodge integral identities which are derived from the Laplace transform of the cut-and-join equation for the orbifold Hurwitz numbers. As an application, we prove a conjecture on Hurwitz-Hodge integral proposed by J. Zhou in 2008.
Let G be the group A_4 or Z_2xZ_2. We compute the integral of λ_g on the Hurwitz locus H_G\subset M_g of curves admitting a degree 4 cover of P^1 having monodromy group G. We compute the generating functions for these integrals and write them as a trigonometric expression summed over the positive roots of the E_6 and D_4 root systems respectively. As an application, we prove the Crepant Resolution Conjecture for the orbifolds [C^3/A_4] and [C^3/(Z_2xZ_2)].
Using Atiyah-Bott localization on the space of stable maps to the stack quotient $[\mathbb{P}^1/\mathbb{Z}_2]$, we find recursions that determine all Hodge integrals with descendent insertions at one marked point on the hyperelliptic locus $\overline{\mathcal{H}}_{g, 2g + 2} \subseteq \overline{\mathcal{M}}_{g, 2g + 2}$. The initial conditions required for our recursions are gravitational descendents at one marked point, which are known to be $\frac{1}{2}$. We discover a new structure concerning these intersection numbers: for a fixed monomial of $λ$-classes, the resulting family of hyperellip…
Virasoro constraints are applied to degree zero Gromov-Witten theory of weighted projective stacks $\mathbb{P}(1,N)$ and $\mathbb{P}(1,1,N)$ to obtain formulas of descendant cyclic Hurwitz-Hodge integrals in higher genera.
We provide a formula describing the G-module structure of the Hurwitz-Hodge bundle for admissible G-covers in terms of the Hodge bundle of the base curve, and more generally, for describing the G-module structure of the push-forward to the base of any sheaf on a family of admissible G-covers. This formula can be interpreted as a representation-ring-valued relative Riemann-Hurwitz formula for families of admissible G-covers.
Let Z_3 act on C^2 by non-trivial opposite characters. Let X =[C^2/Z_3] be the orbifold quotient, and let Y be the unique crepant resolution. We show the equivariant genus 0 Gromov-Witten potentials of X and Y are equal after a change of variables -- verifying the Crepant Resolution Conjecture for the pair (X,Y). Our computations involve Hodge integrals on trigonal Hurwitz spaces which are of independent interest. In a self contained Appendix, we derive closed formulas for these Hurwitz-Hodge integrals.
We use algebraic methods to compute the simple Hurwitz numbers for arbitrary source and target Riemann surfaces. For an elliptic curve target, we reproduce the results previously obtained by string theorists. Motivated by the Gromov-Witten potentials, we find a general generating function for the simple Hurwitz numbers in terms of the representation theory of the symmetric group S_n. We also find a generating function for Hodge integrals on the moduli space M_{g,2} of Riemann surfaces with two marked points, similar to that found by Faber and Pandharipande for the case of one marked point.
In this note, we use the method of [3] to give a simple proof of famous Witten conjecture. Combining the coefficients derived in our note and this method, we can derive more recursion formulas of Hodge integrals.
Hurwitz numbers, which count certain covers of the projective line (or, equivalently, factorizations of permuations into transpositions), have been extensively studied for over a century. The Gromov-Witten potential F of a point, the generating series for Hodge integrals on the moduli space of curves, has been a central object of study in Gromov-Witten theory. We define a slightly enriched Gromov-Witten potential G (including integrals involving one "lambda-class"), and show that after a non-trivial change of variables, G=H in positive genus, where H is a generating series for Hurwitz numbers.…
This article is an extended version of preprint math.AG/9902104. We find an explicit formula for the number of topologically different ramified coverings of a sphere by a genus g surface with only one complicated branching point in terms of Hodge integrals over the moduli space of genus g curves with marked points.
We prove two explicit formulae for one-part double Hurwitz numbers with completed 3-cycles. We define "combinatorial Hodge integrals" from these numbers in the spirit of the celebrated ELSV formula. The obtained results imply some explicit formulae and properties of the combinatorial Hodge integrals.
We propose a new, conjectural recursion solution for Hurwitz numbers at all genera. This conjecture is based on recent progress in solving type B topological string theory on the mirrors of toric Calabi-Yau manifolds, which we briefly review to provide some background for our conjecture. We show in particular how this B-model solution, combined with mirror symmetry for the one-leg, framed topological vertex, leads to a recursion relation for Hodge integrals with three Hodge class insertions. Our conjecture in Hurwitz theory follows from this recursion for the framed vertex in the limit of infi…
For any finite abelian group G, the equivariant Gromov-Witten invariants of C^r/G can be viewed as a certain kind of abelian Hurwitz-Hodge integrals. In this note, we use Tseng's orbifold quantum Riemann-Roch theorem to express this kind of abelian Hurwitz-Hodge integrals as a sum over Feynman graphs, where the weight of each graph is expressed in terms of descendant integrals over moduli spaces of stable curves and representations of G. This expression will play a crucial role in the proof of the remodeling conjecture (arXiv:0709.1453, arXiv:0807.0597) for affine toric Calabi-Yau 3-orbifolds …
We generalise a result of Kazarian regarding Kadomtsev-Petviashvili integrability for single Hodge integrals to general cohomological field theories related to Hurwitz-type counting problems or hypergeometric tau-functions. The proof uses recent results on the relations between hypergeometric tau-functions and topological recursion, as well as the Eynard-DOSS correspondence between topological recursion and cohomological field theories. In particular, we recover the result of Alexandrov of KP integrability for triple Hodge integrals with a Calabi-Yau condition.
We prove that a generalisation of simple Hurwitz numbers due to Johnson, Pandharipande and Tseng satisfy the topological recursion of Eynard and Orantin. This generalises the Bouchard-Marino conjecture and places Hurwitz-Hodge integrals, which arise in the Gromov--Witten theory of target curves with orbifold structure, in the context of the Eynard-Orantin topological recursion.
In this ``experimental'' research, we use known topological recursion relations in genera-zero, -one, and -two to compute the n-point descendant Gromov-Witten invariants of P^1 for arbitrary degrees and low values of n. The results are consistent with the Virasoro conjecture and also lead to explicit computations of all Hodge integrals in these genera. We also derive new recursion relations for simple Hurwitz numbers similar to those of Graber and Pandharipande.
We define hypergeometric functions using intersection homology valued in a local system. Topology is emphasized; analysis enters only once, via the Hodge decomposition. By a pull-back procedure we construct special subsets S_{pi}, derived from Hurwitz spaces, of Deligne-Mostow moduli spaces DM(n,mu). Certain DM(n,mu) are known to be ball quotients, uniformized by hypergeometric functions valued in a complex ball (i.e., complex hyperbolic space). We give sufficient conditions for S_{pi} to be a subball quotient. Analyzing the simplest examples in detail, we describe ball quotient structures att…
Starting from a beautiful idea of Kanev, we construct a uniformization of the moduli space A_6 of principally polarized abelian 6-folds in terms of curves and monodromy data. We show that the general ppav of dimension 6 is a Prym-Tyurin variety corresponding to a degree 27 cover of the projective line having monodromy the Weyl group of the E_6 lattice. Along the way, we establish numerous facts concerning the geometry of the Hurwitz space of such E_6-covers, including: (1) a proof that the canonical class of the Hurwitz space is big, (2) a concrete geometric description of the Hodge-Hurwitz ei…
We establish a polynomial recursion formula for linear Hodge integrals. It is obtained as the Laplace transform of the cut-and-join equation for the simple Hurwitz numbers. We show that the recursion recovers the Witten-Kontsevich theorem when restricted to the top degree terms, and also the combinatorial factor of the lambda_g formula as the lowest degree terms.
In this note we derive some consequences from the Mariño-Vafa formula and the cut-and-join equation, these include unified simple proofs of the $λ_g$ conjecture and some other Hodge integral identities. We also describe a proof of the ELSV formula relating Hurwitz numbers and Hodge integrals by using the cut-and-join equation, following our proof of the Mariño-Vafa formula.
In this paper we study the topology of the moduli spaces of representations of degree $2$ for free monoids. We calculate the virtual Hodge polynomials of the character varieties for several types of $2$-dimensional representations. Furthermore, we count the number of isomorphism classes for each type of $2$-dimensional representations over any finite field ${\Bbb F}_q$, and show that the number coincides with the virtual Hodge polynomial evaluated at $q$.
We study higher genus Fan--Jarvis--Ruan--Witten theory of any chain polynomial with any group of symmetries. Precisely, we give an explicit way to compute the cup product of Polishchuk and Vaintrob's virtual class with the top Chern class of the Hodge bundle. Our formula for this product holds in any genus and without any assumption on the semi-simplicity of the underlying cohomological field theory.
We prove a closed formula for integrals of the cotangent line classes against the top Chern class of the Hodge bundle on the moduli space of stable pointed curves. These integrals are computed via relations obtained from virtual localization in Gromov-Witten theory. An analysis of several natural matrices indexed by partitions is required.
Generalized Kontsevich Matrix Model (GKMM) with a certain given potential is the partition function of $r$-spin intersection numbers. We represent this GKMM in terms of fermions and expand it in terms of the Schur polynomials by boson-fermion correspondence, and link it with a Hurwitz partition function and a Hodge partition by operators in a $\widehat{GL}(\infty)$ group. Then, from a $W_{1+\infty}$ constraint of the partition function of $r$-spin intersection numbers, we get a $W_{1+\infty}$ constraint for the Hodge partition function. The $W_{1+\infty}$ constraint completely determines the S…
Goulden, Jackson and Vakil observed a polynomial structure underlying one-part double Hurwitz numbers, which enumerate branched covers of $\mathbb{CP}^1$ with prescribed ramification profile over $\infty$, a unique preimage over 0, and simple branching elsewhere. This led them to conjecture the existence of moduli spaces and tautological classes whose intersection theory produces an analogue of the celebrated ELSV formula for single Hurwitz numbers. In this paper, we present three formulas that express one-part double Hurwitz numbers as intersection numbers on certain moduli spaces. The first …
We compute the degree of Hurwitz-Hodge classes $λ_1^e$ on one dimensional moduli spaces of cyclic admissible covers of the projective line. We also compute the degree of the the first Chern class of the Hodge bundle $λ_1$ for all one dimensional moduli spaces. In higher dimension, we express the divisor class $λ_1$ as a linear combination of $ψ$ classes and boundary strata.
In the context of orientable circuits and subcomplexes of these as representing certain singular spaces, we consider characteristic class formulas generalizing those classical results as seen for the Riemann-Hurwitz formula for regulating the topology of branched covering maps and that for monoidal transformations which include the standard blowing-up process. Here the results are presented as cap product pairings, which will be elements of a suitable homology theory, rather than characteristic numbers as would be the case when taking Kronecker products once Poincaré duality is defined. We fur…
We prove a remarkable formula for Hodge integrals conjectured by Marino and Vafa based on large N duality, using functorial virtual localization on certain moduli spaces of relative stable morphisms.
We study the behavior of Hodge-theoretic genera under morphisms of complex algebraic varieties. We prove that the additive $χ_y$-genus which arises in the motivic context satisfies the so-called ``stratified multiplicative property", which shows how to compute the invariant of the source of a proper surjective morphism from its values on various varieties that arise from the singularities of the map. By considering morphisms to a curve, we obtain a Hodge-theoretic analogue of the Riemann-Hurwitz formula. We also study the contribution of monodromy to the $χ_y$-genus of a smooth projective fami…
Given a curve over a finite field, we compute the number of stable bundles of not necessarily coprime rank and degree over it. We apply this result to compute the virtual Poincare polynomials of the moduli spaces of stable bundles over a curve. A similar formula for the virtual Hodge polynomials and motives is conjectured.
We construct Eagon--Northcott cycles on Hurwitz space and compare their classes to Kleiman's multiple point loci. Applying this construction towards the classification of Betti tables of canonical curves, we find that the value of the extremal Betti number records the number of minimal pencils. The result holds under transversality hypotheses equivalent to the virtual cycles having a geometric interpretation. We analyse the case of two minimal pencils, showing that the transversality hypotheses hold generically.
The ELSV formula, first proved by Ekedahl, Lando, Shapiro, and Vainshtein, relates Hurwitz numbers to Hodge integrals. Graber and Vakil gave another proof of the ELSV formula by virtual localization on moduli spaces of stable maps to the projective line, and also explained how to simplify their proof using moduli spaces of relative stable maps to the projective line relative to a point. In this expository article, we explain what the ELSV formula is and how to prove it by virtual localization on moduli spaces of relative stable maps, following Graber-Vakil. This note is based on lectures given…
Integrals of the Chern classes of the Hodge bundle in Gromov-Witten theory are studied. We find a universal system of differential equations which determines the generating function of these integrals from the standard descendent potential (for any target X). We use virtual localization and classical degeneracy calculations to find trigonometric closed form solutions for special Hodge integrals over the moduli space of pointed curves. These formulas are applied to two computations in Gromov-Witten theory for Calabi-Yau 3-folds. The genus g, degree d multiple cover contribution of a rational cu…
We determine the topological Euler number of certain moduli space of 1-dimensional closed subschemes in a smooth projective variety which admits a Zariski-locally trivial fibration with 1-dimensional fibers. The main approach is to use virtual Hodge polynomials and torus actions. The results might shed some light on the corresponding Donaldson-Thomas invariants.
This is the second of series of papers studyig moduli spaces of a certain class of coherent sheaves, which we call stable perverse coherent sheaves, on the blow-up of a projective surface at a point. The followings are main results of this paper: a) We describe the wall-crossing between moduli spaces caused by twisting of the line bundle associated with the exceptional divisor. b) We give the formula for virtual Hodge numbers of moduli spaces of stable perverse coherent sheaves. Moreover we also give proofs of the followings which we observed in a special case in arXiv:0802.3120: c) The moduli…
