The target space of a (4,0) supersymmetric two-dimensional sigma model with Wess-Zumino term has a connection with totally skew-symmetric torsion and holonomy contained in Sp(n)Sp(1) (resp. Sp(n)), QKT (resp. HKT)-spaces. We study the geometry of QKT, HKT manifold and their twistor spaces. We show that the Swann bundle of a QKT manifold admits a HKT structure with special symmetry if and only if the twistor space of the QKT manifold admits an almost hermitian structure with totally skew-symmetric Nijenhuis tensor, thus connecting two structures arising from quantum field theories and supersymmetric sigma models with Wess-Zumino term.
For the sake of hyperk{ä}hler SYZ conjecture, finding holomorphic Lagrangian fibrations becomes an important issue. Toric hyperk{ä}hler manifolds are real dimension $4n$ non-compact hyperk{ä}hler manifolds which are quaternion analog of toric varieties. The $n$ dimensional residue circle action on it admitting a hyperk{ä}hler moment map. We use the complex part of this moment map to construct a holomorphic Lagrangian fibration with generic fiber diffeomorphic to $(\mathbb{C}^*)^n$, and study the singular fibers.
Toric hyperk{ä}hler manifolds are quaternion analog of toric varieties. Bielawski pointed out that they can be glued by cotangent bundles of toric varieties. Following his idea, viewing both toric varieties and toric hyperk{ä}her manifolds as GIT quotients, we first establish geometrical criteria for the semi-stable points. Then based on these criteria, we show that the cotangent bundles of compact toric varieties in the core of toric hyperk{ä}hler manifold are sufficient to glue the desired toric hyperk{ä}hler manifold.
We consider the generalized Kahler structures (g,J_+,J_-) that arise on a hyperkahler manifold (M,g,I,J,K) when we choose J_+ and J_- from the twistor space of M. We find a relation between semichiral and arctic superfields which can be used to determine the generalized Kahler potential for hyperkahler manifolds whose description in projective superspace is fully understood. We use this relation to determine an S^2-family of generalized Kahler potentials for Euclidean space and for the Eguchi-Hanson geometry. Cotangent bundles of Hermitian symmetric spaces constitute a class of hyperkahler man…
We investigate invariants of compact hyperk{ä}hler manifolds introduced by Rozansky and Witten: they associate an invariant to each graph homology class. It is obtained by using the graph to perform contractions on a power of the curvature tensor and then integrating the resulting scalar-valued function over the manifold, arriving at a number. For certain graph homology classes, the invariants we get are Chern numbers, and in fact all characteristic numbers arise in this way. We use relations in graph homology to study and compare these hyperk{ä}hler manifold invariants. For example, we show t…
A twistor construction of the hierarchy associated with the hyper-Kähler equations on a metric (the anti-self-dual Einstein vacuum equations, ASDVE, in four dimensions) is given. The recursion operator R is constructed and used to build an infinite-dimensional symmetry algebra and in particular higher flows for the hyper-Kähler equations. It is shown that R acts on the twistor data by multiplication with a rational function. The structures are illustrated by the example of the Sparling-Tod (Eguchi-Hansen) solution. An extended space-time ${\cal N}$ is constructed whose extra dimensions corresp…
We characterize HKT structure in terms of nondegenrate complex Poisson bivector on hypercomplex manifold. We extend the characterization to the twistor space. After considering the flat case in detail, we show that the twistor space of hyperkaehler manifold admits a holomorphic Poisson structure. We briefly mention the relation to quaternionic and hypercomplex deformations on tori and K3 surfaces
We describe the relation between supersymmetric sigma-models on hyperkahler manifolds, projective superspace, and twistor space. We review the essential aspects and present a coherent picture with a number of new results.
We generalize the hyperkaehler quotient construction to the situation where there is no group action preserving the hyperkaehler structure but for each complex structure there is an action of a complex group preserving the corresponding complex symplectic structure. Many (known and new) hyperkaehler manifolds arise as quotients in this setting. For example, all hyperkaehler structures on semisimple coadjoint orbits of a complex semisimple Lie group $G$ arise as such quotients of $T^*G$. The generalized Legendre transform construction of Lindstroem and Rocek is also explained in this framework.
Let M be a hyperkähler manifold. The S^2-family of complex structures compatible with the hyperkähler metric can be assembled into a single complex structure on Z=MxS^2; the resulting complex manifold is known as the twistor space of M. We describe the analogous construction for generalized complex structures in the sense of Hitchin. Specifically, we exhibit a natural S^2xS^2-family of generalized complex structures compatible with the hyperkähler metric, and assemble them into a single generalized complex structure on X=MxS^2xS^2. We call the resulting generalized complex manifold the general…
In this paper we continue our study of the fourth order transgression on hyperähler manifolds introduced in the previous paper. We give a local construction for the fourth-order transgression of the Chern character form of an arbitrary vector bundle supplied with a self-dual connection on a four dimensional hyperkähler manifold. The construction is based on the harmonic twistor formalism. Remarkably, the resulted expression for the fourth order transgression is given in terms of the determinant of the $\bar{\partial}$-operator defined on fibers of the twistor fibration.
We briefly review the hierarchy for the hyper-Kähler equations and define a notion of symmetry for solutions of this hierarchy. A four-dimensional hyper-Kähler metric admits a hidden symmetry if it embeds into a hierarchy with a symmetry. It is shown that a hyper-Kähler metric admits a hidden symmetry if it admits a certain Killing spinor. We show that if the hidden symmetry is tri-holomorphic, then this is equivalent to requiring symmetry along a higher time and the hidden symmetry determines a `twistor group' action as introduced by Bielawski \cite{B00}. This leads to a construction for the …
Let $M$ be a hyperkaehler manifold, and $η$ a closed, positive (1,1)-form which is degenerate everywhere on $M$. We associate to $η$ a family of complex structures on $M$, called a degenerate twistor family, and parametrized by a complex line. When $η$ is a pullback of a Kaehler form under a Lagrangian fibration $L$, all the fibers of degenerate twistor family also admit a Lagrangian fibration, with the fibers isomorphic to that of $L$. Degenerate twistor families can be obtained by taking limits of twistor families, as one of the Kahler forms in the hyperkahler triple goes to $η$.
We construct an explicit example of a stable bundle on the twistor space $\mathrm{Tw}(M)$ of a hyperkähler manifold $M$ whose restrictions to all the fibres of the natural twistor projection $π: \mathrm{Tw}(M) \to \mathbb{CP}^1$ are nonstable. We also describe the relationship between bundles on $\mathrm{Tw}(M)$ that do not have subsheaves of strictly lower rank and bundles that stably restrict to the fibres of $π$, and announce a result whose proof will appear in a forthcoming paper.
A hyperkaehler manifold with a circle action fixing just one complex structure admits a natural a hyperholomorphic line bundle. This forms the basis for the construction of a corresponding quaternionic Kaehler manifold in the work of A.Haydys. We construct in this paper the corresponding holomorphic line bundle on twistor space and compute many examples, including monopole and Higgs bundle moduli spaces. We also show that the bundle on twistor space has a natural meromorphic connection which realizes it as the quantum line bundle for the hyperkaehler family of holomorphic symplectic structures…
We study the holomorphic vector bundles E over the twistor space Tw(M) of a compact simply connected hyperkähler manifold $M$. We give a characterization of the semistability condition for E in terms of its restrictions to the holomorphic sections of the holomorphic twistor projection π:Tw(M)\rightarrow CP^1. It is shown that if E admits a holomorphic connection, then E is holomorphically trivial and the holomorphic connection on E is trivial as well. For any irreducible vector bundle E on Tw(M) of prime rank, we prove that its restriction to the generic fibre of πis stable. On the other hand,…
We study the geometry of the twistor space of the universal hyperkaehler implosion Q for SU(n). Using the description of Q as a hyperkaehler quiver variety, we construct a holomorphic map from the twistor space Z_Q of Q to a complex vector bundle over P^1, and an associated map of Q to the affine space R of the bundle's holomorphic sections. The map from Q to R is shown to be injective and equivariant for the action of SU(n) x T^{n-1} x SU(2). Both maps, from Q and from Z_Q, are described in detail for n=2 and n=3. We explain how the maps are built from the fundamental irreducible representati…
This is the first in a series of papers in which we develop a twistor-based method of constructing hyperkaehler metrics from holomorphic functions and elliptic curves. As an application, we revisit the Atiyah-Hitchin manifold and derive in an explicit holomorphic coordinate basis closed-form formulas for, among other things, the metric, the holomorphic symplectic form and all three Kaehler potentials.
Given a holomorphic vector bundle $E$ on the twistor space $\mathrm{Tw}(M)$ of a simple hyperkähler manifold $M$, we view it as a family of bundles $\left\{E_I\right\}$ on the fibres $π^{-1}(I)$ of the twistor projection $π: \mathrm{Tw}(M) \to \mathbb{CP}^1$, and study the relationship between stability of $E$ and its fibrewise stability. We verify that the argument of Teleman establishing the Zariski openness of stability and semi-stability in families of bundles applies in the case of the family $\left\{E_I\right\}$. We prove a partial converse to a result of Kaledin and Verbitsky, showing t…
Inspired by the work of Leung-Wan, we study the mean curvature flow in hyperkähler manifolds starting from hyper-Lagrangian submanifolds, a class of middle dimensional submanifolds, which contains the class of complex Lagrangian submanifolds. For each hyper-Lagrangian submanifold, we define a new energy concept called the "twistor energy" by means of the associated twistor family (i.e. 2-sphere of complex structures). We will show that the mean curvature flow starting at any hyper-Lagrangian submanifold with sufficiently small twistor energy will exist for all time and converge to a complex La…
We study general linear perturbations of a class of 4d real-dimensional hyperkahler manifolds obtainable by the (generalized) Legendre transform method. Using twistor methods, we show that deformations can be encoded in a set of holomorphic functions of 2d+1 variables, as opposed to the functions of d+1 variables controlling the unperturbed metric. Such deformations generically break all tri-holomorphic isometries of the unperturbed metric. Geometrically, these functions generate the symplectomorphisms which relate local complex Darboux coordinate systems in different patches of the twistor sp…
We extend the twistor methods developed in our earlier work on linear deformations of hyperkahler manifolds [arXiv:0806.4620] to the case of quaternionic-Kahler manifolds. Via Swann's construction, deformations of a 4d-dimensional quaternionic-Kahler manifold $M$ are in one-to-one correspondence with deformations of its $4d+4$-dimensional hyperkahler cone $S$. The latter can be encoded in variations of the complex symplectomorphisms which relate different locally flat patches of the twistor space $Z_S$, with a suitable homogeneity condition that ensures that the hyperkahler cone property is pr…
We study Yang-Mills connections on holomorphic bundles over complex Kähler manifolds of arbitrary dimension, in the spirit of Hitchin's and Simpson's study of flat connections. The space of non-Hermitian Yang-Mills (NHYM) connections has dimension twice the space of Hermitian Yang-Mills connections, and is locally isomorphic to the complexification of the space of Hermitian Yang-Mills connections (which is, by Uhlenbeck and Yau, the same as the space of stable bundles). Further, we study the NHYM connections over hyperkähler manifolds. We construct direct and inverse twistor transform from NHY…
A hyperkähler manifold $M$ has a family of induced complex structures indexed by a two-dimensional sphere $S^2 \cong \mathbb{CP}^1$. The twistor space of $M$ is a complex manifold $Tw(M)$ together with a natural holomorphic projection $Tw(M) \to \mathbb{CP}^1$, whose fiber over each point of $\mathbb{CP}^1$ is a copy of $M$ with the corresponding induced complex structure. We remove one point from this sphere (corresponding to one fiber in the twistor space),and for the case of $M = \mathbb{R}^{4n}$, $n\in\mathbb{N}$, equipped with the standard hyperkähler structure, we construct one quantizat…
A hypercomplex structure on a differentiable manifold consists of three integrable almost complex structures that satisfy quaternionic relations. If, in addition, there exists a metric on the manifold which is Hermitian with respect to the three structures, and such that the corresponding Hermitian forms are closed, the manifold is said to be hyperkaehler. In the paper "Non-Hermitian Yang-Mills connections", Kaledin and Verbitsky proved that the twistor space of a hyperkaehler manifold admits a balanced metric; these were first studied in the article "On the existence of special metrics in com…
We compute the hessian of the natural Hermitian form successively on the Calabi family of a hyperkähler manifold, on the twistor space of a 4-dimensional anti-self-dual Riemannian manifold and on the twistor space of a quaternionic Kähler manifold. We show a strong convexity property of the cycle space of twistor lines on the Calabi family of a hyperkähler manifold. We also prove convexity properties of the 1-cycle space of the twistor space of a 4-dimensional anti-self-dual Einstein manifold of non-positive scalar curvature and of the 1-cycle space of the twistor space of a quaternionic Kähle…
Let $S$ be a smooth rational curve on a complex manifold $M$. It is called ample if its normal bundle is positive. We assume that $M$ is covered by smooth holomorphic deformations of $S$. The basic example of such a manifold is a twistor space of a hyperkahler or a 4-dimensional anti-selfdual Riemannian manifold $X$ (not necessarily compact). We prove "a holography principle" for such a manifold: any meromorphic function defined in a neighbourhood $U$ of $S$ can be extended to $M$, and any section of a holomorphic line bundle can be extended from $U$ to $M$. This is used to define the notion o…
We use twistor methods to promote Namikawa's universal Poisson deformations of conic affine symplectic singularities to families of hyperkähler structures deforming hyperkähler cone metrics. The metrics we produce are generally incomplete, but for specific classes of hyperkähler cones, even these incomplete metrics have some interest and applications: we study in detail the case of the nilpotent cone of a simple complex Lie algebra, with applications to hyperkähler metrics with symmetries and hyperkähler quotients, and the case of Kleinian singularities, with applications to codimension-4 sing…
We associate to the resolved conifold an affine special Kähler (ASK) manifold of complex dimension 1, and an instanton corrected hyperkähler (HK) manifold of complex dimension 2. We describe these geometries explicitly, and show that the instanton corrected HK geometry realizes an Ooguri-Vafa-like smoothing of the semi-flat HK metric associated to the ASK geometry. On the other hand, the instanton corrected HK geometry associated to the resolved conifold can be described in terms of a twistor family of two holomorphic Darboux coordinates. We study a certain conformal limit of the twistor coord…
For a fixed prequantum line bundle $L$ over a hyperKähler manifold $X$, we find a natural $\operatorname{Sp}(1)$-action on $Ω^*(X, L)$ intertwining a twistor family of $\operatorname{Spin}^{\operatorname{c}}$-Dirac Laplacians on the spaces of $L$-valued $(0, *)$-forms on $X$, noting that $L$ is holomorphic for only one complex structure in the twistor family. This establishes a geometric quantization of $X$ via Gukov-Witten brane quantization and leads to a proposal of a mathematical definition of $\operatorname{Hom}(\overline{\mathcal{B}}_{\operatorname{cc}}, \mathcal{B}_{\operatorname{cc}})$…
The Legendre transform and its generalizations, originally found in supersymmetric sigma-models, are techniques that can be used to give constructions of hyperkahler metrics. We give a twistor space interpretation to the generalizations of the Legendre transform construction. The Atiyah-Hitchin metric on the moduli space of two monopoles is used as a detailed example.
We first make a little survey of the twistor theory for hypercomplex, generalized hypercomplex, quaternionic or generalized quaternionic manifolds. This last theory was iniated by Pantilie, who shows that any generalized almost quaternionic manifold equipped with an appropriate connection admit a twistor space with an almost generalized complex structure. The aim of this article is to give an integrability criterion for this generalized almost complex structure and to give some examples especially in the case of generalized hyperkähler manifolds using the generalized Bismut connection, introdu…
The twistor space of a Riemannian 4-manifold carries two almost complex structures, $J_+$ and $J_-$, and a natural closed 2-form $ω$. This article studies limits of manifolds for which $ω$ tames either $J_+$ or $J_-$. This amounts to a curvature inequality involving self-dual Weyl curvature and Ricci curvature, and which is satisfied, for example, by all anti-self-dual Einstein manifolds with non-zero scalar curvature. We prove that if a sequence of manifolds satisfying the curvature inequality converges to a hyperkähler limit X (in the $C^2$ pointed topology) then X cannot contain a holomorph…
Almost contact structures can be identified with sections of a twistor bundle and this allows to define their harmonicity, as sections or maps. We consider the class of nearly cosymplectic almost contact structures on a Riemannian manifold and prove curvature identities which imply the harmonicity of their parametrizing section, thus complementing earlier results on nearly-K{ä}hler almost complex structures.
In this paper we propose and investigate in full generality new notions of (continuous, non-isometric) symmetry on hyperkähler spaces. These can be grouped into two categories, corresponding to the two basic types of continuous hyperkähler isometries which they deform: tri-Hamiltonian isometries, on one hand, and rotational isometries, on the other. The first category of deformations gives rise to Killing spinors and generate what are known as hidden hyperkähler symmetries. The second category gives rise to hyperholomorphic line bundles over the hyperkähler manifolds on which they are defined …
In this expository paper we review some twistor techniques and recall the problem of finding compact differentiable manifolds that can carry both Kähler and non-Kähler complex structures. Such examples were constructed independently by M. Atiyah, A. Blanchard and E. Calabi in the $1950$'s. In the $1980$'s V. Tsanov gave an example of a simply connected manifold that admits both Kähler and non-Kähler complex structures - the twistor space of a $K3$ surface. Here we show that the quaternion twistor space of a hyperkähler manifold has the same property.
In 2009 Gaiotto, Moore and Neitzke presented a new construction of hyperkähler metrics on the total spaces of certain complex integrable systems, represented as a torus fibration $\mathcal{M}$ over a base space $\mathcal{B}$, except for a divisor $D$ in $\mathcal{B}$, in which the torus fiber degenerates into a nodal torus. The hyperkähler metric $g$ is obtained via solutions $\mathcal{X}_γ$ of a Riemann-Hilbert problem. We interpret the Kontsevich-Soibelman Wall Crossing Formula as an isomonodromic deformation of a family of RH problems, therefore guaranteeing continuity of $\mathcal{X}_γ$ at…
The purpose of this article is to review some recent results on the geometry of neutral signature metrics in dimension four and their twistor spaces. The following topics are considered: Neutral Kähler and hyperkähler surfaces, Walker metrics, Neutral anti-self-dual 4-manifolds and projective structures, Twistor spaces of neutral metrics.
We use the theory of Gaiotto, Moore and Neitzke to construct a set of Darboux coordinates on the moduli space $\mathcal{M}$ of weakly parabolic $SL(2,\mathbb{C})$-Higgs bundles. For generic Higgs bundles ($\mathcal{E},RΦ)$ with $R\gg 0$ the coordinates are shown to be dominated by a leading term that is given by the coordinates for a corresponding simpler space of limiting configurations and we prove that the deviation from the limiting term is given by a remainder that is exponentially suppressed in $R$. We then use this result to solve an associated Riemann-Hilbert problem and construct a tw…
A trisymplectic structure on a complex 2n-manifold is a triple of holomorphic symplectic forms such that any linear combination of these forms has constant rank 2n, n or 0, and degenerate forms in $Ω$ belong to a non-degenerate quadric hypersurface. We show that a trisymplectic manifold is equipped with a holomorphic 3-web and the Chern connection of this 3-web is holomorphic, torsion-free, and preserves the three symplectic forms. We construct a trisymplectic structure on the moduli of regular rational curves in the twistor space of a hyperkaehler manifold, and define a trisymplectic reductio…
A universal lower bound for the first positive eigenvalue of the Dirac operator on a compact quaternionic Kaehler manifold M of positive scalar curvature is calculated. It is shown that it is equal to the first positive eigenvalue on the quaternionic projective space. For this, the horizontal tangent bundle on the canonical SO(3)-bundle over M is equipped with a hyperkaehlerian structure and the corresponding splitting of the horizontal spinor bundle is considered. The desired estimate is obtained by looking at hyperkaehlerian twistor operators on horizontal spinors.
We give a simple interpretation of the adapted complex structure of Lempert-Szoke and Guillemin-Stenzel: it is given by a polar decomposition of the complexified manifold. We then give a twistorial construction of an SO(3)-invariant hypercomplex structure on a neighbourhood of $X$ in $TTX$, where $X$ is a real-analytic manifold equipped with a linear connection. We show that the Nahm equations arise naturally in this context: for a connection with zero curvature and arbitrary torsion, the real sections of the twistor space can be obtained by solving Nahm's equations in the Lie algebra of certa…
Using quaternionic Feix--Kaledin construction we provide a local classification of quaternion-Kähler metrics with a rotating $S^1$-symmetry with the fixed point set submanifold $S$ of maximal possible dimension. For any Kähler manifold $S$ equipped with a line bundle with a unitary connection of curvature proportional to the Kähler form we explicitly construct a holomorphic contact distribution on the twistor space obtained by the quaternionic Feix-Kaledin construction from this data. Conversely, we show that quaternion-Kähler metrics with a rotating $S^1$-symmetry induce on the fixed point se…
We review the theory of quaternionic Kahler and hyperkahler structures. Then we consider the tangent bundle of a Riemannian manifold M with a metric connection D (with torsion) and with its well estabilished canonical complex structure. With an extra almost Hermitian structure on M it is possible to find a quaternionic Hermitian structure on TM, which is quaternionic Kahler if, and only if, D is flat and torsion free. We also review the symplectic nature of TM. Finally a proper S^3-bundle of complex structures is introduced, expanding to TM the well known twistor bundle of M.
We construct propose an anzatz for Spin(7) metrics as an R-bundle over closed G2 structures. These G2 structures are R3 bundles over 4-dimensional compact quaternion Kahler spaces. The inspiration for the anzatz metric comes from the Bryant-Salamon construction of G2 holonomy metrics and from the fact that the twistor space of any compact quaternion Kahler space is Kahler-Einstein. The reduction of the holonomy to a subgroup of Spin(7) gives non linear system relating three unknown functions of one variable. We obtain a particular solution and we find that the resulting metric is a Calabi-Yau …
We study the existence of three classes of Hermitian metrics on certain types of compact complex manifolds. More precisely, we consider balanced, SKT and astheno-Kähler metrics. We prove that the twistor spaces of compact hyperkähler and negative quaternionic-Kähler manifolds do not admit astheno-Kähler metrics. Then we provide examples of astheno-Kähler structures on toric bundles over Kähler manifolds. In particular, we find examples of compact complex non-Kähler manifolds which admit a balanced and an astheno-Kähler metrics, thus answering to a question in [52] (see also [24]). One of these…
