Hecke operators on symplectic surfaces and $\chi$-independence

Abstract

We prove Toda's chi-independence conjecture for the BPS cohomology of moduli spaces of one-dimensional sheaves on quasi-projective symplectic surfaces, relative to the Chow variety. We also identify the BPS Lie algebra associated with one-dimensional Mukai vectors with the subspace of tautological classes, giving an extension of Markman's tautological generation theorem from primitive to arbitrary Mukai vectors. The main structure input is a bialgebra structure on the cohomological Hall algebra of coherent sheaves on a quasi-projective symplectic variety S. The coproduct is obtained, by dimensional reduction, from a factorization coproduct for 3d cohomological Hall algebras, and gives rise to a global BPS Lie algebra attached to the stack of coherent sheaves on S. The link between this structure and the applications to chi-independence and tautological generation is provided by Hecke operators on BPS cohomology, which modify one-dimensional sheaves by zero-dimensional quotients. To make this construction work, we prove that there is an identification between the affinized BPS cohomology of the semistable locus and the primitive part of the coproduct on the entire moduli stack