Maxim Kontsevich - Wall-crossing and geometry at infinity of Betti moduli spaces
Channel: Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques (IHÉS)
Date: 2013-11-20

Linear algebraic differential equation (in one variable) depending on a small parameter produces a spectral curve, which is a point in the base of a Hitchin integrable system. Gaiotto, Moore and Neitzke discovered a remarkable structure on the Hitchin base, consisting in certain integer numbers (BPS counting) associated with cycles on the spectral curves, and satisfying universal wall-crossing constraint at hypersurfaces of discontinuity. For a generic spectral curve the wall-crossing structure leads to a preferred coordinate system on the Betti moduli space (a.k.a. the character variety, or the moduli space of monodromy data).
I'll speak about interpretation of BPS counting as trees on the Hitchin base, about generalized Strebel differentials and associated quivers, and how one can effectively calculate BPS counting using algebraic curves in Betti moduli spaces.