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Francesco Sala

Publications and source records attributed to Francesco Sala.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Cohomological Hall algebra of Higgs sheaves on a curve

We define the cohomological Hall algebra ${AHA}_{Higgs(X)}$ of the ($2$-dimensional) Calabi-Yau category of Higgs sheaves on a smooth projective curve $X$, as well as its nilpotent and semistable variants, in the context of an arbitrary oriented Borel-Moore homology theory. In the case of usual Borel-Moore homology, ${AHA}_{Higgs(X)}$ is a module over the (universal) cohomology ring $\mathbb{H}$ of the stacks of coherent sheaves on $X$ . We show that it is a torsion-free $\mathbb{H}$-module, and we provide an explicit collection of generators (the collection of fundamental classes $[Coh_{r,d}]$ of the zero-sections of the map $Higgs_{r,d} \to Coh_{r,d}$, for $r \geq 0, d \in Z$).

math.AG↗

AGT relations for abelian quiver gauge theories on ALE spaces

We construct level one dominant representations of the affine Kac-Moody algebra $\widehat{\mathfrak{gl}}_k$ on the equivariant cohomology groups of moduli spaces of rank one framed sheaves on the orbifold compactification of the minimal resolution $X_k$ of the $A_{k-1}$ toric singularity $\mathbb{C}^2/\mathbb{Z}_k$. We show that the direct sum of the fundamental classes of these moduli spaces is a Whittaker vector for $\widehat{\mathfrak{gl}}_k$, which proves the AGT correspondence for pure $\mathcal{N}=2$ $U(1)$ gauge theory on $X_k$. We consider Carlsson-Okounkov type Ext-bundles over products of the moduli spaces and use their Euler classes to define vertex operators. Under the decomposition $\widehat{\mathfrak{gl}}_k\simeq \mathfrak{h}\oplus \widehat{\mathfrak{sl}}_k$, these vertex operators decompose as products of bosonic exponentials associated to the Heisenberg algebra $\mathfrak{h}$ and primary fields of $\widehat{\mathfrak{sl}}_k$. We use these operators to prove the AGT correspondence for $\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal abelian quiver gauge theories on $X_k$.

math.RT↗

Framed sheaves on root stacks and supersymmetric gauge theories on ALE spaces

We develop a new approach to the study of supersymmetric gauge theories on ALE spaces using the theory of framed sheaves on root toric stacks, which illuminates relations with gauge theories on $\mathbb{R}^4$ and with two-dimensional conformal field theory. We construct a stacky compactification of the minimal resolution $X_k$ of the $A_{k-1}$ toric singularity $\mathbb{C}^2/\mathbb{Z}_k$, which is a projective toric orbifold $\mathscr{X}_k$ such that $\mathscr{X}_k\setminus X_k$ is a $\mathbb{Z}_k$-gerbe. We construct moduli spaces of torsion free sheaves on $\mathscr{X}_k$ which are framed along the compactification gerbe. We prove that this moduli space is a smooth quasi-projective variety, compute its dimension, and classify its fixed points under the natural induced toric action. We use this construction to compute the partition functions and correlators of chiral BPS operators for $\mathcal{N}=2$ quiver gauge theories on $X_k$ with nontrivial holonomies at infinity. The partition functions are computed with and without couplings to bifundamental matter hypermultiplets and expressed in terms of toric blowup formulas, which relate them to the corresponding Nekrasov partition functions on the affine toric subsets of $X_k$. We compare our new partition functions with previous computations, explore their connections to the representation theory of affine Lie algebras, and find new constraints on fractional instanton charges in the coupling to fundamental matter. We show that the partition functions in the low energy limit are characterised by the Seiberg-Witten curves, and in some cases also by suitable blowup equations involving Riemann theta-functions on the Seiberg-Witten curve with characteristics related to the nontrivial holonomies.

math.AG↗

Framed sheaves on projective stacks

Given a normal projective irreducible stack $\mathscr X$ over an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero we consider framed sheaves on $\mathscr X$, i.e., pairs $(\mathcal E,ϕ_{\mathcal E})$, where $\mathcal E$ is a coherent sheaf on $\mathscr X$ and $ϕ_{\mathcal E}$ is a morphism from $\mathcal E$ to a fixed coherent sheaf $\mathcal F$. After introducing a suitable notion of (semi)stability, we construct a projective scheme, which is a moduli space for semistable framed sheaves with fixed Hilbert polynomial, and an open subset of it, which is a fine moduli space for stable framed sheaves. If $\mathscr X$ is a projective irreducible orbifold of dimension two and $\mathcal F$ a locally free sheaf on a smooth divisor $\mathscr D\subset \mathscr X$ satisfying certain conditions, we consider $(\mathscr{D}, \mathcal{F})$-framed sheaves, i.e., framed sheaves $(\mathcal E,ϕ_{\mathcal E})$ with $\mathcal E$ a torsion-free sheaf which is locally free in a neighborhood of $\mathscr D$, and ${ϕ_{\mathcal{E}}}_{| \mathscr{D}}$ an isomorphism. These pairs are $μ$-stable for a suitable choice of a parameter entering the (semi)stability condition, and of the polarization of $\mathscr X$. This implies the existence of a fine moduli space parameterizing isomorphism classes of $(\mathscr{D}, \mathcal{F})$-framed sheaves on $\mathscr{X}$ with fixed Hilbert polynomial, which is a quasi-projective scheme. In an appendix we develop the example of stacky Hirzebruch surfaces. This is the first paper of a project aimed to provide an algebro-geometric approach to the study of gauge theories on a wide class of 4-dimensional Riemannian manifolds by means of framed sheaves on "stacky" compactifications of them. In particular, in a subsequent paper we will use these results to study gauge theories on ALE spaces of type $A_k$.

math.AG↗

N=2 quiver gauge theories on A-type ALE spaces

We survey and compare recent approaches to the computation of the partition functions and correlators of chiral BPS observables in $\mathcal{N}=2$ gauge theories on ALE spaces based on quiver varieties and the minimal resolution $X_k$ of the $A_{k-1}$ toric singularity $\mathbb{C}^2/\mathbb{Z}_k$, in light of their recently conjectured duality with two-dimensional coset conformal field theories. We review and elucidate the rigorous constructions of gauge theories for a particular family of ALE spaces, using their relation to the cohomology of moduli spaces of framed torsion free sheaves on a suitable orbifold compactification of $X_k$. We extend these computations to generic $\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal quiver gauge theories, obtaining in these instances new constraints on fractional instanton charges, a rigorous proof of the Nekrasov master formula, and new quantizations of Hitchin systems based on the underlying Seiberg-Witten geometry.

hep-th↗

Restriction theorems for $μ$-(semi)stable framed sheaves

We provide a generalization of Mehta-Ramanathan theorems to framed sheaves: we prove that the restriction of a $μ$-semistable framed sheaf on a nonsingular projective irreducible variety, of dimension greater or equal than two, to a general hypersurface of sufficiently high degree is again $μ$-semistable. The same holds for $μ$-stability under some additional assumptions.

math.AG↗

Symplectic structures on moduli spaces of framed sheaves on surfaces

We provide generalizations of the notions of Atiyah class and Kodaira-Spencer map to the case of framed sheaves. Moreover, we construct closed two-forms on the moduli spaces of framed sheaves on surfaces. As an application, we define a symplectic structure on the moduli spaces of framed sheaves on some birationally ruled surfaces.

math.AG↗

Representations of the Heisenberg algebra and moduli spaces of framed sheaves

We give a `geometrical' construction of an action of a Heisenberg algebra on the homology of the moduli spaces of torsion free sheaves on a complex smooth connected projective surface, framed along a smooth connected genus zero curve. This result generalizes Nakajima's construction for the Hilbert schemes of points.

math.AG↗