Geometry Advanced Class, Hilary Term 2025

Pantev-Toen-Vaquie-Vezzosi shifted symplectic derived algebraic geometry, and subsequent developments

Fridays 9.30-11.0 in weeks 1 and 3-8 in rooms: week 1 (24/1/25) C4, week 3 (7/2/25) C5, week 4 (14/2/25) C4, week 5 (21/2/25) C5, week 6 (28/2/25) C4, week 7 (7/3/25) C5, week 8 (13/3/25) C1. All welcome.

In 2011, in the context of Toen-Vezzosi’s theory of Derived Algebraic Geometry, Pantev-Toen-Vaquie-Vezzosi https://arxiv.org/abs/1111.3209 introduced the notion of ‘k-shifted symplectic structure’ on a derived scheme or derived stack. They showed that derived moduli stacks of coherent sheaves on a Calabi-Yau m-fold have (2–m)-shifted symplectic structures. They also defined ‘k-shifted Lagrangians’ in k-shifted symplectic stacks.
The theory has been applied in Donaldson-Thomas theory and its generalizations, which study enumerative invariants of coherent sheaves on Calabi-Yau 3- or 4-folds. It has been developed in several important ways since the original paper.
This class will build on the reading group run by Chenjing Bu and Andres Ibanez Nunez in TT24, though you do not need to have gone to this. As the subject is very technical and tends to long papers, we will not aim to present results in detail, but instead to provide a survey or broad overview. The idea is that each week, a volunteer will explain an important paper in the field.

Provisional programme:

Week 1: Dominic, introduction.

Week 3: Chenjing, on Calaque-Haugseng-Scheimbauer, ‘The AKSZ Construction in Derived Algebraic Geometry as an Extended Topological Field Theory’.

Week 4: Another volunteer (preferable), or Dominic on CY4 virtual classes.

Week 5: Nick Kuhn.

Week 6: ? Sam Moore, on Blanc-Katzarkov-Pandit,  ‘Generators in formal deformations of categories’.

Week 7: Lukas, on something exciting.

Week 8: Open problem session.

PDF files to download:

Programme

Week 1, Dominic's slides