A new codimension 2 relation among descendent strata in the moduli space of stable, 3-pointed, genus 2 curves is found. The space of pointed admissible double covers is used in the calculation. The resulting differential equations satisfied by the genus 2 gravitational potentials of varieties in Gromov-Witten theory are described. These are analogous to the WDVV-equations in genus 0 and Getzler's equations in genus 1. As an application, genus 2 descendent invariants of the projective plane are determined, including the classical genus 2 Severi degrees.
In Part 1 of this paper, we study gravitational descendents of Gromov-Witten invariants for general projective manifolds, applying the Behrend-Fantechi construction of the virtual fundamental classes. In Part 2, we calculate the topological recursion relations in genus 2. There are two of these, one for the second descendent of a field, and one for the first descendents of two fields. The proof uses the results of Part 1 together with a thorough study of intersection theory on the moduli space $\bar{M}_{2,2}$.
The Gopakumar-Vafa type invariants on Calabi-Yau 4-folds (which are non-trivial only for genus zero and one) are defined by Klemm-Pandharipande from Gromov-Witten theory, and their integrality is conjectured. In a previous work of Cao-Maulik-Toda, $\mathrm{DT}_4$ invariants with primary insertions on moduli spaces of one dimensional stable sheaves are used to give a sheaf theoretical interpretation of the genus zero GV type invariants. In this paper, we propose a sheaf theoretical interpretation of the genus one GV type invariants using descendent insertions on the above moduli spaces. The con…
We define stationary descendent integrals on the moduli space of stable maps from disks to $(\mathbb{CP}^1,\mathbb{RP}^1)$. We prove a localization formula for the stationary theory involving contributions from the fixed points and from all the corner-strata. We use the localization formula to prove a recursion relation and a closed formula for all genus $0$ disk cover invariants in the stationary case. For all higher genus invariants, we propose a conjectural formula.
The paper is devoted to the open topological recursion relations in genus 1, which are partial differential equations that conjecturally control open Gromov-Witten invariants in genus 1. We find an explicit formula for any solution analogous to the Dijkgraaf-Witten formula for a descendent Gromov-Witten potential in genus 1. We then prove that at the approximation up to genus 1 the exponent of an open descendent potential satisfies a system of explicitly constructed linear evolutionary PDEs with one spatial variable.
In their fundamental work, B. Dubrovin and Y. Zhang, generalizing the Virasoro equations for the genus 0 Gromov-Witten invariants, proved the Virasoro equations for a descendent potential in genus 0 of an arbitrary conformal Frobenius manifold. More recently, a remarkable system of partial differential equations, called the open WDVV equations, appeared in the work of A. Horev and J. P. Solomon. This system controls the genus 0 open Gromov-Witten invariants. In our paper, for an arbitrary solution of the open WDVV equations, satisfying a certain homogeneity condition, we construct a descendent…
The Virasoro conjecture is a conjectured sequence of relations among the descendent Gromov-Witten invariants of a smooth projective variety in all genera; the only varieties for which it is known to hold are a point (Kontsevich) and Calabi-Yau threefolds (S. Katz). We review the statement of the conjecture and its proof in genus 0, following Eguchi, Hori and Xiong. This version incorporates many changes and improvements compared with the first, and a small number of misprints from the second. It will appear in the AMS volume "Hirzebruch 70", edited by P. Pragacz et al.
The main objective of this paper is to give a summary of our recent work on recursion formulae for intersection numbers on moduli spaces of curves and their applications. We also present a conjectural relation between tautological rings and the mock theta function.
We construct topological recursion relations (TRR's) at higher genera $g\ge2$ for general 2-dimensional topological field theories coupled to gravity. These TRR's when combined with Virasoro conditions enable one to determine the number of higher genus holomorphic curves in any Fano varieties. In the case of $CP^2$ we reproduce the known results at genus $g=2$.
In this paper, we give a new genus-4 topological recursion relation for Gromov-Witten invariants of compact symplectic manifolds via Pixton's relations on the moduli space of curves. As an application, we prove Pixton's relations imply a known topological recursion relation on $\bar{\mathcal{M}}_{g,1}$ for genus $g\leq4$.
We introduce a factorization for the map between moduli spaces of stable maps which forgets one marked point. This leads to a study of universal relations in the cohomology of stable map spaces in genus zero.
We state and prove a topological recursion relation that expresses any genus-g Gromov-Witten invariant of a projective manifold with at least a (3g-1)-st power of a cotangent line class in terms of invariants with fewer cotangent line classes. For projective spaces, we prove that these relations together with the Virasoro conditions are sufficient to calculate the full Gromov-Witten potential. This gives the first computationally feasible way to determine the higher genus Gromov-Witten invariants of projective spaces.
We prove Getzler's claims about the tautological ring of stable curves of genus one, i.e. that the tautological ring coincides with the even cohomology ring, and that all relations between generators follow from the WDVV relation and Getzler's relation.
We derive explicit universal equations for primary Gromov-Witten invariants by applying Getzler's genus one relation to quantum powers of Euler vector field. As an application, we provide some evidences for the genus-1 Virasoro conjecture.
New relations among the genus-zero Gromov-Witten invariants of a complex projective manifold $X$ are exhibited. When the cohomology of $X$ is generated by divisor classes and classes ``with vanishing one-point invariants,'' the relations determine many-point invariants in terms of one-point invariants.
In this paper, we give a new genus-3 topological recursion relation for Gromov-Witten invariants of compact symplectic manifolds. This formula also applies to intersection numbers on moduli spaces of spin curves. A by-product of the proof of this formula is a new relation in the tautological ring of the moduli space of 1-pointed genus-3 stable curves.
We provide an explicit formula for all primary genus-zero $r$-spin invariants. Our formula is piecewise polynomial in the monodromies at each marked point and in $r$. To deduce the structure of these invariants, we use a tropical realization of the corresponding cohomological field theories. We observe that the collection of all WDVV relations is equivalent to the relations deduced from the fact that genus-zero tropical CohFT cycles are balanced.
We use Pixton's relations to prove a reconstruction theorem for genus 2 Gromov-Witten invariants in the style of Kontsevich-Manin (genus 0) and Getzler (genus 1). We also calculate genus 2 (descendant) Gromov-Witten invariants of $\mathbb{P}^2$ blown up at a finite number of points in general position.
Some divisor class relations are proved and used to compute the Cartier divisor class of the virtual canonical bundle for genus 0 maps to a smooth target.
A recursion relation of hyperelliptic psi functions of genus two, which was derived by D.G. Cantor (J. reine angew. Math. 447 (1994) 91-145), is studied. As Cantor's approach is algebraic, another derivation is presented as a natural extension of the analytic derivation of the recursion relation of the elliptic psi function.
We illustrate the relation between supermoduli integration and picture changing operators (PCOs) particularly concerning the role of vertical integration, in the context of superstring vacuum amplitudes, by an explicit comparison of different parameterizations of the supermoduli space of genus two super Riemann surfaces.
Given a complex curve C of genus 2, there is a well-known relationship between the moduli space of rank 3 semistable bundles on C and a cubic hypersurface known as the Coble cubic. Some of the aspects of this is known to be related to the geometric invariant theory of the third exterior power of a 9-dimensional complex vector space. We extend this relationship to arbitrary fields and study some of the connections to invariant theory, which will be studied more in-depth in a followup paper.
We bound the dimensions of the graded pieces of the tautological ring of the universal curve from below for genus up to 27 and from above for genus up to 9. As a consequence we obtain the precise structure of the tautological ring of the universal curve for genus up to 9. In particular, we see that it is Gorenstein for these genera.
Let $f:S \fr B$ be a surface fibration with fibres of genus 5. We find a linear relation between the fundamental invariants of the surface. Namely $K_f^2=χ_f+N$ where $N$ is the number of trigonal fibres. Our proof is based on the analysis of the relative canonical algebra $\cal{R}(f)$.
We extend Igusa's description of the relation between invariants of binary sextics and Siegel modular forms of degree two to a relation between covariants and vector-valued Siegel modular forms of degree two. We show how this relation can be used to effectively calculate the Fourier expansions of Siegel modular forms of degree two.
In this paper, we give some new genus-3 universal equations for Gromov-Witten invariants of compact symplectic manifolds. These equations were obtained by studying new relations in the tautological ring of the moduli space of 2-pointed genus-3 stable curves. A byproduct of our search for genus-3 equations is a new genus-2 universal equation for Gromov-Witten invariants.
As shown in a previous paper, certain naturally arising cones of holomorphic vector bundle sections over the main component $\ov\M_{1,k}^0(¶,d)$ of the moduli space of stable genus-one holomorphic maps into $¶$ have a well-defined euler class. In this paper, we extend this result to moduli spaces of perturbed, in a restricted way, $J$-holomorphic maps. We show that euler classes of such cones relate the reduced genus-one Gromov-Witten invariants of complete intersections to the corresponding GW-invariants of the ambient projective space. As a consequence, the standard genus-one GW-invariants o…
Simple boundary expressions for the k-th power of the cotangent line class on the moduli space of stable 1-pointed genus g curves are found for k >= 2g. The method is by virtual localization on the moduli space of maps to the projective line. As a consequence, nontrivial tautological classes in the kernel of the push-forward map associated to the irreducible boundary divisor of the moduli space of stable g+1 curves are constructed. The geometry of genus g+1 curves then provides universal equations in genus g Gromov-Witten theory. As an application, we prove all the Gromov-Witten identities con…
In the Hurwitz space of rational functions on CP^1 with poles of given orders, we study the loci of multisingularities, that is, the loci of functions with a given ramification profile over 0. We prove a recursion relation on the Poincare dual cohomology classes of these loci and deduce a differential equation on Hurwitz numbers.
Among abelian extensions of a congruence function field, an asymptotic relation of class number and genus is established. The proof is classical, employing well-known results from congruence function field theory.
In the paper "The universal Kummer threefold", Q. Ren, S. Sam, G. Schrader, and B. Sturmfels (arXiv:1208.1229), conjectured equations for the universal Kummer variety in genus 3 case. Though, most of these equations are obtained from the Fourier-Jacobi expansion of relations among theta constants in genus 4, the more prominent one, Coble's quartic was obtained differently. The aim of the current paper is to show that Coble's quartic can be obtained as Fourier-Jacobi expansion of a relation among theta-constants in genus 4. We get also one more relation that could be in the ideal described in "…
After recalling several constructions of the moduli space of curves of genus zero by different people we give our alternative construction of the moduli space. This gives a simple description of the intersection ring of this space. We give a basis for the Chow groups and an explicit duality between the Chow groups in complementary degrees. There is a recursive description of this algebra by S. Keel. Our presentation is simpler in the sense that there are fewer generators and fewer relations and our description is explicit.
We obtain a simple, recursive presentation of the tautological (κ, ψ, and λ) classes on the moduli space of curves in genus zero and one in terms of boundary strata (graphs). We derive differential equations for the generating functions for their intersection numbers which allow us to prove a simple relationship between the genus zero and genus one potentials. As an application, we describe the moduli space of normalized, even, rank one cohomological field theories in genus one in coordinates which are additive under taking tensor products. Our results simplify and generalize those of Kaufmann…
Let X be a projective manifold, and let H be the associated small phase space; this is a Frobenius manifold with canonical choice of fundamental solution for the Dubrovin connection. The large phase space of X may be identified with the jet-space of curves in H. In this paper, we formulate the differential equations satisfied by the higher-genus potentials F_g of X, such as topological recursion relations and the Virasoro constraints, in an intrinsic fashion on the jet space of H, that is, in such a way that the equations do not depend on the choice of fundamental solution. This effort is rewa…
In this paper we analyze the large genus asymptotics for intersection numbers between $ψ$-classes, also called correlators, on the moduli space of stable curves. Our proofs proceed through a combinatorial analysis of the recursive relations (Virasoro constraints) that uniquely determine these correlators, together with a comparison between the coefficients in these relations with the jump probabilities of a certain asymmetric simple random walk. As an application of this result, we provide the large genus limits for Masur-Veech volumes and area Siegel-Veech constants associated with principal …
Hausel introduced a commutative algebra -- the multiplicity algebra -- associated to a fixed point of the C^*-action on the Higgs bundle moduli space. Here we describe this algebra for a fixed point consisting of a very stable rank 2 vector bundle and zero Higgs field for a curve of low genus. Geometrically, the relations in the algebra are described by a family of quadrics and we focus on the discriminant of this family, providing a new viewpoint on the moduli space of stable bundles. The discriminant in our examples demonstrates that as the bundle varies, we obtain a continuous variation in …
Let $\X$ be an irreducible, smooth, projective curve of genus $g \geq 2$ defined over the complex field $\C.$ Then there is a covering $π: \X \longrightarrow ¶^1,$ where $¶^1$ denotes the projective line. The problem of expressing branch points of the covering $π$ in terms of the transcendentals (period matrix, thetanulls, e.g.) is classical. It goes back to Riemann, Jacobi, Picard and Rosenhein. Many mathematicians, including Picard and Thomae, have offered partial treatments for this problem. In this work, we address the problem for cyclic curves of genus 2, 3, and 4 and find relations among…
These notes cover our series of three lectures at Humboldt University in Berlin for the October 2010 conference "Intersection theory on moduli space" (organized by G. Farkas). The topic concerns relations among the kappa classes in the tautological ring of the moduli space of genus g curves. After a discussion of classical constructions in Wick form, we derive an explicit set of relations obtained from the virtual geometry of the moduli space of stable quotients. In a series of steps, the stable quotient relations are transformed to simpler and simpler forms. Our final result establishes a pre…
In [Gi3] Givental introduced and studied a space of formal genus zero Gromov-Witten theories $GW_0$, i.e. functions satisfying string and dilaton equations and topological recursion relations. A central role in the theory plays the geometry of certain Lagrangian cones and a twisted symplectic group of hidden symmetries. In this note we show that the Lagrangian cones description of the action of this group coincides with the genus zero part of Givental's quantum Hamiltonian formalism. As an application we identify explicitly the space of $N=1$ formal genus zero GW theories with lower-triangular…
We study genus 2 function fields with elliptic subfields of degree 2. The locus $Ł_2$ of these fields is a 2-dimensional subvariety of the moduli space $\mathcal M_2$ of genus 2 fields. An equation for $Ł_2$ is already in the work of Clebsch and Bolza. We use a birational parameterization of $Ł_2$ by affine 2-space to study the relation between the j-invariants of the degree 2 elliptic subfields. This extends work of Geyer, Gaudry, Stichtenoth and others. We find a 1-dimensional family of genus 2 curves having exactly two isomorphic elliptic subfields of degree 2; this family is parameterized …
The moduli space $\bar{M}_A$ of weighted pointed stable curves of genus zero is stratified according to the degeneration types of such curves. We show that the homology groups of the moduli space $\bar{M}_A$ are generated by the strata of $\bar{M}_A$ and give all additive relations between them. We also observe that the Chow groups $A_i \bar{M}_A$ and the homology groups $H_{2i} \bar{M}_A$ are isomorphic. This generalizes Kontsevich-Manin's and Losev-Manin's theorems to arbitrary weight data $A$.
The Chow group of zero cycles in the moduli space of stable pointed curves of genus zero is isomorphic to the integer additive group. Let $M$ be monomial in this Chow group. If no two factors of $M$ fulfill a particular quadratic relation, then the monomial can be represented equivalently by a specific tree; otherwise, $M$ is mapped to zero under the stated isomorphism. Starting from this tree representation, we introduce a graphical algorithm for computing the corresponding integer for $M$ under the aforementioned isomorphism. The algorithm is linear with respect to the size of the tree.
A genus 2 curve $C$ has an elliptic subcover if there exists a degree $n$ maximal covering $ψ: C \to E$ to an elliptic curve $E$. Degree $n$ elliptic subcovers occur in pairs $(E, E')$. The Jacobian $J_C$ of $C$ is isogenous of degree $n^2$ to the product $E \times E'$. We say that $J_C$ is $(n, n)$-split. The locus of $C$, denoted by $Ł_n$, is an algebraic subvariety of the moduli space $\M_2$. The space $Ł_2$ was studied in Shaska/Völklein and Gaudry/Schost. The space $Ł_3$ was studied in Shaska (2004) were an algebraic description was given as sublocus of $\M_2$. In this survey we give a br…
