Equivariant orbifold structures on the projective line and integrable hierarchies

Abstract

Let $\CP^1_{k,m}$ be the orbifold structure on $\CP^1$ obtained via uniformizing the neighborhoods of 0 and $\infty$ respectively by $z\mapsto z^k$ and $w\mapsto w^m.$ The diagonal action of the torus on the projective line induces naturally an orbifold action on $\CP^1_{k,m}.$ In this paper we prove that if k and m are co-prime then Givental's prediction of the equivariant total descendent Gromov-Witten potential of $\CP^1_{k,m}$ satisfies certain Hirota Quadratic Equations (HQE for short). We also show that after an appropriate change of the variables, similar to Getzler's change in the equivariant Gromov-Witten theory of $\CP^1$, the HQE turn into the HQE of the 2-Toda hierarchy, i.e., the Gromov-Witten potential of $\CP^1_{k,m}$ is a tau-function of the 2-Toda hierarchy. More precisely, we obtain a sequence of tau-functions of the 2-Toda hierarchy from the descendent potential via some translations. The later condition, that all tau-functions in the sequence are obtained from a single one via translations, imposes a serious constraint on the solution of the 2-Toda hierarchy. Our theorem leads to the discovery of a new integrable hierarchy (we suggest to be called the Equivariant Bi-graded Toda Hierarchy). We conjecture that this new hierarchy governs, i.e., uniquely determines, the equivariant Gromov-Witten invariants of $\CP^1_{k,m}.$