Hermitian, pluriclosed metrics with vanishing Bismut-Ricci form give a natural extension of Calabi-Yau metrics to the setting of complex, non-Kahler manifolds, and arise independently in mathematical physics. We reinterpret this condition in terms of
the Hermitian-Einstein equation on an associated holomorphic Courant algebroid, and thus refer to solutions as Bismut Hermitian-Einstein. This implies Mumford-Takemoto slope stability obstructions, and using these we exhibit infinitely many topologically distinct complex manifolds in every dimension with vanishing first Chern class which do not admit Bismut Hermitian-Einstein metrics. This reformulation also leads to a new description of pluriclosed flow in terms of Hermitian metrics on holomorphic Courant algebroids, implying new global existence results, in particular on all complex non-Kahler surfaces of nonnegative Kodaira dimension. On complex manifolds which admit Bismut-flat metrics we show global existence and convergence of pluriclosed flow to a Bismut-flat metric, which in turn gives a classification of generalized Kahler structures on these spaces.
This book gives an introduction to fundamental aspects of generalized Riemannian, complex, and Kahler geometry. This leads to an extension of the classical Einstein-Hilbert action, which yields natural extensions of Einstein and Calabi-Yau structures
as `canonical metrics in generalized Riemannian and complex geometry. The generalized Ricci flow is introduced as a tool for constructing such metrics, and extensions of the fundamental Hamilton/Perelman regularity theory of Ricci flow are proved. These results are refined in the setting of generalized complex geometry, where the generalized Ricci flow is shown to preserve various integrability conditions, taking the form of pluriclosed flow and generalized Kahler-Ricci flow. This leads to global convergence results, and applications to complex geometry. A purely mathematical introduction to the physical idea of T-duality is given, and a discussion of its relationship to generalized Ricci flow.
We consider $G_2$-structures with torsion coupled with $G_2$-instantons, on a compact $7$-dimensional manifold. The coupling is via an equation for $4$-forms which appears in supergravity and generalized geometry, known as the Bianchi identity. First
studied by Friedrich and Ivanov, the resulting system of partial differential equations describes compactifications of the heterotic string to three dimensions, and is often referred to as the $G_2$-Strominger system. We study the moduli space of solutions and prove that the space of infinitesimal deformations, modulo automorphisms, is finite dimensional. We also provide a new family of solutions to this system, on $T^3$-bundles over $K3$ surfaces and for infinitely many different instanton bundles, adapting a construction of Fu-Yau and the second named author. In particular, we exhibit the first examples of $T$-dual solutions for this system of equations.
We introduce a moment map picture for holomorphic string algebroids where the Hamiltonian gauge action is described by means of Morita equivalences, as suggested by higher gauge theory. The zero locus of our moment map is given by the solutions of th
e Calabi system, a coupled system of equations which provides a unifying framework for the classical Calabi problem and the Hull-Strominger system. Our main results are concerned with the geometry of the moduli space of solutions, and assume a technical condition which is fulfilled in examples. We prove that the moduli space carries a pseudo-Kahler metric with Kahler potential given by the dilaton functional, a topological formula for the metric, and an infinitesimal Donaldson-Uhlenbeck-Yau type theorem. Finally, we relate our topological formula to a physical prediction for the gravitino mass in order to obtain a new conjectural obstruction for the Hull-Strominger system.
We give a complete solution to the existence problem for gravitating vortices with non-negative topological constant $c geqslant 0$. Our first main result builds on previous results by Yang and establishes the existence of solutions to the Einstein-B
ogomolnyi equations, corresponding to $c=0$, in all admissible Kahler classes. Our second main result completely solves the existence problem for $c>0$. Both results are proved by the continuity method and require that a GIT stability condition for an effective divisor on the Riemann sphere is satisfied. For the former, the continuity path starts from a given solution with $c = 0$ and deforms the Kahler class. For the latter result we start from the established solution in any fixed admissible Kahler class and deform the coupling constant $alpha$ towards $0$. A salient feature of our argument is a new bound $S_g geqslant c$ for the curvature of gravitating vortices, which we apply to construct a limiting solution along the path via Cheeger-Gromov theory.
We construct new examples of solutions of the Hull-Strominger system on non-Kahler torus bundles over K3 surfaces, with the property that the connection $ abla$ on the tangent bundle is Hermite-Yang-Mills. With this ansatz for the connection $ abla$,
we show that the existence of solutions reduces to known results about moduli spaces of slope-stable sheaves on a K3 surface, combined with elementary analytical methods. We apply our construction to find the first examples of T-dual solutions of the Hull-Strominger system on compact non-Kahler manifolds with different topology.
In this paper we introduce a set of equations on a principal bundle over a compact complex manifold coupling a connection on the principal bundle, a section of an associated bundle with Kahler fibre, and a Kahler structure on the base. These equation
s are a generalization of the Kahler-Yang-Mills equations introduced by the authors. They also generalize the constant scalar curvature for a Kahler metric studied by Donaldson and others, as well as the Yang-Mills-Higgs equations studied by Mundet i Riera. We provide a moment map interpretation of the equations, construct some first examples, and study obstructions to the existence of solutions.
We introduce the category of holomorphic string algebroids, whose objects are Courant extensions of Atiyah Lie algebroids of holomorphic principal bundles, as considered by Bressler, and whose morphisms correspond to inner morphisms of the underlying
holomorphic Courant algebroids in the sense of Severa. This category provides natural candidates for Atiyah Lie algebroids of holomorphic principal bundles for the (complexified) string group and their morphisms. Our main results are a classification of string algebroids in terms of Cech cohomology, and the construction of a locally complete family of deformations of string algebroids via a differential graded Lie algebra.
The solution of the Calabi Conjecture by Yau implies that every Kahler Calabi-Yau manifold $X$ admits a metric with holonomy contained in $operatorname{SU}(n)$, and that these metrics are parametrized by the positive cone in $H^2(X,mathbb{R})$. In th
is work we give evidence of an extension of Yaus theorem to non-Kahler manifolds, where $X$ is replaced by a compact complex manifold with vanishing first Chern class endowed with a holomorphic Courant algebroid $Q$ of Bott-Chern type. The equations that define our notion of `best metric correspond to a mild generalization of the Hull-Strominger system, whereas the role of the second cohomology is played by an affine space of `Aeppli classes naturally associated to $Q$ via secondary holomorphic characteristic classes introduced by Donaldson
We introduce a notion of Ricci flow in generalized geometry, extending a previous definition by Gualtieri on exact Courant algebroids. Special stationary points of the flow are given by solutions to first-order differential equations, the Killing spi
nor equations, which encompass special holonomy metrics with solutions of the Hull-Strominger system. Our main result investigates a method to produce new solutions of the Ricci flow and the Killing spinor equations. For this, we consider T-duality between possibly topologically distinct torus bundles endowed with Courant structures, and demonstrate that solutions of the equations are exchanged under this symmetry. As applications, we give a mathematical explanation of the dilaton shift in string theory and prove that the Hull-Strominger system is preserved by T-duality.
