The Quill 32 ~ What is the Geometric Langlands Correspondence about?

The Langlands program is vast and quite ambitious. Having started with Langlands in the 1960s with a letter to Weil in number fields, it [Langlands program] then moved to a similar setting in function fields, and it was eventually realized as a geometric correspondence by Beilinson-Drinfeld. Continuing this, we see the progress in mathematical physics with works, for instance, by Kapustin-WittenFrenkel, and Gaiotto-Teshner. The proof of the categorical geometric Langlands conjecture by Gaitsgory et al., available here, is for the global, unramified case. Peter Scholze's work in the geometric Langlands program—which has been dubbed the Langlands Program 2.0—conjectures in the arithmetic Langlands in a form similar to the geometric Langlands conjecture. A talk by Scholze at the Bourbaki meeting is available here, and the write-up here. David Ben-Zvi gave a talk at the AMS Current Events Bulletin at the Joint Mathematical Meetings on 'What is the Geometric Langlands Correspondence about?' and this post contains philosophical elements from his talk and the survey article, which presents the program wonderfully.


The central idea behind the Geometric Langlands Correspondence (GLC) is that arithmetic, geometry, and symmetry are different manifestations rather than distinct objects. GLC is a statement about the nonabelian analog of the Fourier tranform. The Fourier transform concerns the spectral data of certain 'functions'. In GLC, we study the moduli spaces of bundles and local systems rather than linear spaces, and we replace functions by geometric objects such as sheaves.

Given a smooth projective algebraic curve $X$, there is a moduli stack Bun$_G$ on $X$ of principal $G$-bundles. (In the Quill 16, we attempted to describe the Bun$_G$.) This moduli stack parameterizes the principal $G$-bundles on $X$. We know that $X$ is a compact Riemann surface (because every compact Riemann surface is a projective variety), and if it has no punctures, marked points, or modifications of divisors, then it is called the unramified case. So, in such a case, the simplest thing is to assume there are no singular points or anything exceptional happening at a point. However, in the case of number fields, ramification is inescapable. The case of ramified (and local investigations of the ramification points) is still being largely studied in GLC. Anyway, the modern statement of GLC is an equivalence of (derived categories of) differential equations (called $\mathcal{D}-$modules) on one side and ind-coherent sheaves (with nilpotent singular support) on the other side (also called the spectral side) which is described using the Langlands dual group $^LG$: $$\mathcal{D}\text{Bun}_G \sim \text{IndCoh}_{\mathcal{N}} (\text{Loc}_{^LG})$$
where $\text{Loc}_{^LG}$ is the moduli stakc of $^LG$-local systems on $X$. Classically, the spectral parameters are Galois representations, but geometrically, they are defined using local systems. One can think of them as a flat connection or a representation. Now, a category of quasi-coherent sheaves is not sufficient on (a derived stack) $\text{Loc}_{^LG}$ because it cannot see the singular geometry, for which Gaitsgory (and Rosenbluym) introduced Ind-Coherent sheaves $\text{IndCoh}$ and $\mathcal{N}$ represents a nilpotent cone (see here?).  Roughly speaking, GLC predicts the geometric objects in the moduli stack of $G$-bundles by studying the spaces for the local systems on $^LG$.

In physics, geometric Langlands emerges as S-duality in supersymmetric gauge theory in four dimensions. A ramified case has also been worked on by Gukov and Witten in this paper. While the subject continues to thrive and I continue to work on my poor understanding of it, it is a far-reaching web of mathematics and physics that is being developed at a remarkable rate by remarkable standards.

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The Quill 31 ~ Moduli Functor and Representability in Moduli Theory

The classification of objects (by isomorphism classes) is an important problem in mathematics. These objects can be representations of a quiver, subspaces $V \subseteq \mathbb{C}^n$ of dimension $k$, plane curves, and so on. We classify by studying the relevant moduli. Moduli have their earliest roots in Riemann's 1857 paper. Over time, it has influenced many areas of mathematics through the work of invariant theorists like Hilbert, Weil, Mumford (and his Geometric Invariant Theory), and, of course, Grothendieck, with his formalization of analytic moduli theory. The study of moduli has advanced significantly since Grothendieck's definition of representability and the introduction of (pre)stacks and descent theory.


We will define the moduli functor in this post. So, a moduli space is a space (a scheme or a variety) whose points are in natural bijection with the isomorphism classes of families of objects (algebro-geometric objects such as those mentioned above). The meaning of 'space' depends on the context. Let us understand the meaning of the natural bijection. We need a functorial viewpoint here, and the Yoneda lemma would be handy. In algebraic geometry, we usually study objects over a base scheme $S$. But what about the objects under a base change? Hence, the language of functors.

A moduli functor is a contravariant functor $$F: \text{Sch}^{\text{op}} \to \text{Set}$$ which assigns to each scheme $S$ the set of isomorphism classes of families of objects over $S$, where for a map $f: S \to T$, we have $F(f): F(T) \to F(S)$ which is the pullback map from a family of objects over $T$ to $S$. So the moduli functor will retain the classification problem under a base change.

Recall that we say that a contravariant functor $F: \mathcal{C}^{\text{op}}$ is representable by an object $X$ if there is a natural isomorphism $$\xi: F \to h_X$$ where $h_X$ is the functor of points associated to $X$. Now, whenever a functor $F: \text{Sch}^{\text{op}} \to \text{Set}$ is representable by a scheme $M$, such that $\xi: F \to h_M$ and $h_M(S) = Hom(S,M)$, then we call $M$ a fine moduli space. There is also a universal family on the scheme $S$ such that its pullback recovers all the families in $\mathcal{C}$. But we do not always get a fine moduli space and a universal family (the family of objects in $M$ for $id: M \to M$). In other cases, we may get a coarse moduli space. Furthermore, representability by a scheme can fail if the objects have nontrivial automorphism groups; then we move to a moduli stack (hopefully in the next post).

A very good example of representability in moduli theory is the Grassmannian. Grassmannian is used to classify the k-dimensional linear subspaces of an n-dimensional vector space. But in algebraic geometry, we are looking for families of objects over a base scheme $S$. We have a functor $$G(k,n): \text{Sch}^{\text{op}} \to \text{Set}$$ such that $G(k,n)$ associates to scheme $S$ the set $G(k,n)(S)$ of isomorphism classes of surjections $q: \mathcal{O}^{\oplus n}_S \to \mathcal{Q}$ where $Q$ is locally free $\mathcal{O}_S$-module of rank $n-k$. So, $\mathcal{Q}$ is locally free of rank $n$, but the quotient must be locally free of rank $n-k$. There is also a notion pullback here. So it is a moduli functor. In fact, it is representable by the Grassmannian scheme (making it a fine moduli space). There is a generalization of the Grassmannian moduli functor by Grothendieck (see here) in the construction of the Hilbert and Quot schemes.

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Beyond the Bridge: Quiver Moduli, Motivic Hall Algebra, and Auslander-Reiten Triangles

This month's post is rather about an announcement of a note that I have written titled "Quiver Moduli, Motivic Hall Algebra, and Auslander-Reiten Triangles", which is available at this link. The note discusses quiver moduli, their passage to the motivic Hall algebra, and then to the AR quiver via the stack correspondence. This motivic Hall algebra and the Hall geometry already have data on extensions, which can provide a playground for AR theory in both abelian categories ($\text{Rep}_{k}Q$ or $\text{Mod-}kQ$) and the derived category/triangulated settings. Using the Hall correspondence and its fibers, we show how to recover the AR quiver and AR sequences for a Dynkin quiver.


Obviously, AR theory is a specific interest, which can lead to other general themes in homological algebra. Moreover, this passage has interesting potential points about the algebra of BPS states.

Update (27th June, 2026): This note has been revised with a result and posted to arXiv with the title Hall Geometry and Auslander-Reiten Quiver, available to read at https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.27362.

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The Quill 30 ~ Grothendieck Ring of Varieties and Motivic Measure

ACT: Motive or Intention?

In Hales's words, 'motivic measure is to traditional measures what an algebraic variety is to its set of solutions'.

The theory of motivic integration was studied by Kontsevich to prove Batyrev's conjecture that two birationally equivalent Calabi-Yau manifolds have the same Hodge numbers. Obviously, this was rooted in the mirror symmetry in string theory, which asserts that for a given pair of mirror smooth Calabi-Yau varieties $X$ and $Y$, their Hodge numbers have a relation $$h^{p,q}(X) = h^{n-p,q}(Y)$$. Still, it is not necessary that a mirror of a Calabi-Yau variety would be smooth; it can be singular. Hence, the idea was to find the relation between the Hodge numbers of crepant resolutions (which we would not discuss here!).

Given a category of varieties over $k$, we construct the Grothendieck ring of varieties $K_0(var_k)$ generated by the isomorphism classes $[X]$ with relations (and they are called scissors relation), that for any closed subvariety $Y \subseteq X$, $$[X] = [Y] + [X\backslash Y]$$ and there is a ring structure on $K_0(var_k)$ as $$[X]\cdot[Y] = [X \times_k Y]$$ If one wishes to study the motivic ring, then we need to also quotient $K_0(var_k)$ (which is free abelian group) by a congruence relation (which would be about motives). Given $X$ and $Y$ nonsingular projective varieties in $var_k$, we say $[X] = [Y]$ whenever their virtual Chow motives are equal. But this is not part of the definition of $K_0(var_k)$. In essence, we wish to know about the additive invariants, and this is where motivic measure is a good general theory, in fact, universal.

Kontsevich's idea was to define the localization of the Grothendieck ring of varieties $\mathcal{M}_k$. Take the class $\mathbb{L} = [\mathbb{A}^1_k]$ of affine varieties (see this Borisov18). Then $$\mathcal{M}_k = K_0(var_k)[\mathbb{L}^{-1}]$$ and associate to each variety a volume in completion $\tilde{\mathcal{M}}_k$ (we will talk about the arc spaces perhaps some other time). The need of $\tilde{\mathcal{M}}_k$ arises in integration theory.

But for any commutative ring $R$, a motivic measure is a ring homomorphism $$\mu: K_0(var_k) \to R$$ which gives a lot of information about geometrical invariants. Note that the measure does not take values now in only $\mathbb{R}$, but in a ring $R$. In logic, it is also helpful to consider the measures of a formula, not only of a set; see this paper by Hales for more. But I do not understand it to comment now.

If $k=\mathbb{F}_q$, then a measure taking value in $\mathbb{Z}$ is just the counting measure $K_0(var_k) \to \mathbb{Z}$, $[X] \mapsto \#X(\mathbb{F}_q)$. (I am also wondering about its connection to the Weil Zeta function now. Maybe, see motivic zeta function.) The Euler characteristic is also a measure (assume $k=\mathbb{C}$) $\chi_{\mathbb{C}}:K_0(var_{\mathbb{C}}) \to \mathbb{Z}$, $[X] \mapsto \chi_{\mathbb{C}}(X)$ (see Example 1.22 here to see how it is a ring homomorphism). And the Hodge-Deligne polynomial is also a measure encoding mixed Hodge numbers $K_0(var_k) \to \mathbb{Z}[u,v]$ and this was the central theme of birational Calabi-Yau discussion.

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The Quill 29 ~ A Grothendieck Spectral Sequence

ACT: Local-to-Global Spectral Sequence

Although originally planned for PtoS, I believe the following will be more appropriate for the Quill series and might be addressed briefly in Grothendieck spectral sequences therein. The definition of a spectral sequence would be handy for the following.

In this post, we will address Ext groups (see 5.86 here) and the notion of the local-to-global spectral sequence. Some kinds of sheaves can be thought of as modules over rings of algebraic functions (and we have talked about them previously in Quill over here), namely (quasi)-coherent sheaves. Let us work with coherent sheaves. Given two sheaves $\mathcal{G}, \mathcal{H}$, we can define either global $Ext^n_X(\mathcal{G}, \mathcal{H})$, which is abelian group for each $n \in \mathbb{Z}$, where $X$ is a (regular) scheme or local $\underline{Ext}^n_{\mathcal{O}_X}(\mathcal{G}, \mathcal{H})$ which are not groups but sheaves of abelian groups.

Just like a projective resolution of a module, we have a locally free resolution of a sheaf. Given a coherent sheaf $\mathcal{G}$, we write a resolution by locally-free sheaves (bundles)
$$0 \to \mathcal{E}_n \to \mathcal{E}_{n-1} \to \cdots \to \mathcal{E}_0 \to \mathcal{G} \to 0$$
which is exact for some $n$. Then we apply $\underline{Hom}(-,\mathcal{H})$ to the locally-free resolution $$0 \to \underline{Hom}(\mathcal{E}_0, \mathcal{H}) \to \underline{Hom}(\mathcal{E}_1, \mathcal{H}) \to \cdots \to \underline{Hom}(\mathcal{E}_n, \mathcal{H}) \to 0$$ and take the cohomology of the following resolution so $$\underline{Ext}^n_{\mathcal{O}_X} \cong H^n (\underline{Hom}(\mathcal{E}_{\bullet}, \mathcal{H}))$$ this is exactly the local Ext sheaves $\underline{Ext}^n_{\mathcal{O}_X}$. Even though the locally-free resolution of the sheaf is not unique, the local Ext sheaves can be uniquely written.

Now, there is a very interesting spectral sequence which relates the global Ext and local Ext (sheaves), which is the local-to-global spectral sequence (in cohomological version) $$E^{p,q}_2 = H^p \left( X, \underline{Ext}^q_{\mathcal{O}_X} (\mathcal{G},\mathcal{H}) \right) \Rightarrow Ext^{p+q}_X (\mathcal{G}, \mathcal{H})$$ and this is an example of Grothendieck spectral sequence!
(*) The open-string spectra between D-branes can be computed using the Ext group. See here.

Postscript: 1) Anveshanā enters into its second year of publication, and the issue for January 2026 is up online to read here. 2) The Prelude to Schemes (PtoS) project was started a few months ago, and regular updates follow on this website. After homological algebra, I am writing notes for the Algebraic Geometry section.

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The Quill 28 ~ Dinaturality and (Co)ends

Given two categories and functors $\mathcal{F}: \mathcal{A} \to \mathcal{B}$ and $\mathcal{G}: \mathcal{A} \to \mathcal{B}$ then the natural transformation between $\mathcal{F}$ and $\mathcal{G}$ is given by $\eta: \mathcal{F} \Rightarrow \mathcal{G}$ and every morphism $f: X \to Y$ in $\mathcal{A}$, we have family of maps $\eta_X$ and $\eta_Y$ and following commutes
Now, we will define a dinatural transformation. Given two categories $\mathcal{A}, \mathcal{B}$ and two functors $\mathcal{F}, \mathcal{G}: \mathcal{A}^{op} \times \mathcal{A} \to \mathcal{B}$, a dinatural transformation given by $\alpha: \mathcal{F} \Rightarrow \mathcal{G}$ a family of arrows
$$\alpha_{{A}}: \mathcal{F}({A},{A}) \to  \mathcal{G}({A},{A})$$ such that for any $f: A \to A'$, the following hexagon diagram commutes
The fact that it is called a dinatural transformation is because the functor $\mathcal{F}: \mathcal{A}^{op} \times \mathcal{A}$ maps the two terms of the same A first contravariantly in the first component and second covariantly in the second component.

Moving next, we wish to define a wedge for a dinatural transformation. Recall, a constant functor $\Delta_B: \mathcal{A}^{op} \times \mathcal{A} \to \mathcal{B}$ which maps each object in $\mathcal{A}^{op} \times \mathcal{A}$ to a particular object $B \in \mathcal{B}$ and each morphism to the identity morphism of that particular object $(id_B)$. Let $\mathcal{F}: \mathcal{A}^{op} \times \mathcal{A} \to \mathcal{B}$ be a functor, then a wedge for $\mathcal{F}$ is a dinatural transformation $\Delta_B \Rightarrow \mathcal{F}$ from the constant functor on the object $B \in \mathcal{B}$ defined by $(A,A') \mapsto B, (f,f') \mapsto id_B$. Dually, a co-wedge is defined when the codomain is the constant functor on the object $B$, so for a dinatural transformation $\mathcal{F} \Rightarrow \Delta_B$.

Fixing a functor $\mathcal{F}$, we can construct a category of wedges $Wd(\mathcal{F})$ by changing the domain, which is the constant functor, and the morphism between these wedges would be the morphism between the domains such that following commutes for $\alpha: \Delta_B \Rightarrow \mathcal{F}, \alpha': \Delta_B' \Rightarrow \mathcal{F}$ and $g: \Delta_B \to \Delta_B'$
Similarly, one has a category of cowedges $Cwd(\mathcal{F})$, and the morphisms between the cowedges are the morphisms between the codomains.

We define the end of the functor $\mathcal{F}$ that consists of the terminal wedge in the category of wedges $Wd(\mathcal{F})$. Let us say that it is end($\mathcal{F}$) $\in \mathcal{B}$. And dually, the coend($\mathcal{F}$) is the initial cowedge of the category $Cwd(\mathcal{F})$.

A good reference for coends, dinaturality, and extranaturality is https://arxiv.org/abs/1501.02503 (beware of some friendly typos). (Co)ends have an interesting calculus, and they appear in Hochschild (co)homology and Tannaka duality (and Hopf algebra), which we will explore shortly(!).

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The Quill 27 ~ Tannaka Duality, Affine Group Schemes and Hopf Algebra

As I believe, one of the most significant developments in mathematics has been the study of dualities. There are many standard ones, like Hilbert's Nullstellensatz, Schemes, Gelfand duality, or Tannaka duality (on the dualities note, you may see Lecture 1 of Scholze's Gestalten notes). We will see the Tannaka (Grothendieck–Saavedra–Deligne–Milne) duality for a commutative Hopf algebra, however, in an incomplete way here. Other similar posts include theQuill20 and theQuill21


An affine group scheme is defined over a field $k$ to be the representable functor $G: \mathsf{CAlg_k} \to \mathsf{Grp}$. The coordinate ring on $G$, denoted by $\mathcal{O}(G)$, forms a commutative Hopf algebra structure (this can be realized using Yoneda's Lemma). The converse also exists, that given a commutative Hopf algebra $A$, we can find the corresponding affine group scheme, which is the spectra $Spec A(R) = Hom_k(A, R)$. The representation of an affine group scheme is given by a natural transformation of functors $\rho: G \to Aut_V$ where $Aut_V(R) = Aut_R(V \otimes_k R)$ is another functor valued in $\mathsf{Grp}$. If rank $n$ vector space $V$ is free, then $\rho: G \to GL_n$ as $Aut_V \cong GL_n$.  Moreover, the comodules over Hopf Algebra, in this case, we will take $\mathcal{O}(G)$, are defined as usual.

The claim is that there is a canonical equivalence between the category of representations of the affine group scheme $G$ and the category of comodules over the Hopf algebra $\mathcal{O}(G)$
$$ \mathsf{Rep_k(G)} \simeq  \mathsf{Comod_k(\mathcal{O}(G))}.$$ Recall, if there exists a symmetric (tensor), faithful, exact, k-linear fiber functor $\omega: \mathsf{T} \to \mathsf{Vect_k}$, then we call $\mathsf{T}$ a (neutral) Tannakian category $\mathsf{T} \cong \mathsf{Rep_k(G)}$ which is a rigid, k-linear,  tensor category and there exists a fundamental group associated to the Tannakian category which is the affine group $G= Aut^{\otimes}(\omega)$. (One can also realize that the tensor structure on $Rep_k(G)$ is induced by the Hopf algebra.) Overall, the duality between affine group schemes and commutative Hopf algebras is $$ \{\text{affine group schemes over k} \} \leftrightarrow \{ \text{commutative Hopf Algebra over k}\}$$ $$ G \to \mathcal{O}(G)$$ $$ Spec A \leftarrow A$$
Given a fiber functor $\omega: \mathsf{T} \to \mathsf{Vect_k}$, we can get a Hopf algebra $H$ from co-end construction (we will discuss (co)ends shortly on this blog) $$H = \int^{X \in \mathsf{T}} \omega(X)^\vee \otimes_k \omega(X).$$ The matrix coefficients from the coend $H$ can be realized to be associated with the representative functions on $G$ for $\omega$ a forgetful functor. Given a monoidal functor $\omega: \mathsf{T} \to \mathsf{Vect_k}$, one says that $\mathsf{T}$ is equivalent to the category $\mathsf{Comod_k(\mathcal{O}(G))}$ and under this Tannakian hypothesis and ($T \cong \mathsf{Rep_k(G)}$), we have $H \cong \mathcal{O}(G)$. More appropriately, the Hopf algebra structure on $H$ is given by the coend construction, where the (co)multiplication and (co)unit are given by the tensor structure of $\omega$. (I apologize for having rushed this part for this post; please see this, this, and this text for more appropriate definitions and follow-ups.) 

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The Quill 26 ~ Kimchi, Coffee and Stable $\infty$-category

1) 'Les avantages du Kimchi sont nombreux et évidents,' writes Grothendieck his essay on his favorite Korean dish, written at Les Aumettes on 15 October 1983, the same year when he began writing Pursuing Stacks. It is, at its essence, a meaningful perspective on fermentation and preservation. The original scan of the recipe was communicated by Johanna Grothendieck and can be found here. Equally important is the significance attributed to the cultural foundation of the food. He also encourages patience during the whole process of cutting the vegetables (and later fruits in what he called Kimchis sucrés), cleaning the pots, environmental factors, waiting during fermentation, careful preservation, and so on. 

An English translation has been done by crowdsourcing and can be found here

2) While I have never made or eaten Kimchi, I am, however, fascinated by a different culture, namely that of coffee. On a contrasting level of stooping, I have written a brief essay on the cultural chain of coffee production. It can be found here. There is no recipe for good coffee therein, but I remark on the careful journey of a seed to processing and then to careful and different methods of roasting. I believe there must be more precise and professional accounts of the topics in my essay, but my intention was to provide a commentary on the 'artistic' chain of coffee production.

3) If you do not care about either Kimchi or Coffee, then let there be an $\infty$-category (or quasi-category), and what follows is a (turbulent) definition of stable $\infty$-category. An $\infty$-category is called pointed if it has a zero object. The following is an equivalent definition
  1. The $\infty$-category has an initial object 0.
  2. The $\infty$-category has a final object 1.
  3. $0 \simeq 1$
In a pointed category, a triangle is called a fiber sequence if it is a pullback, and a cofiber sequence if it is a pushout. Now, let there be a pointed $\infty$-category. And let a morphism $f: X \to Y$, then we have the following definition of fiber and cofiber (which are just limits in a category). A fiber of $f$ is a fiber sequence (a pullback square)
so $W= fib(f)$. With its dual language, a cofiber of $g$ is a cofiber sequence (a pushout square)
so $Z=cofib(f)$.

An $\infty$-category $\mathcal{C}$ is called stable if the following is satisfied
  1. It is pointed.
  2. Every morphism in $\mathcal{C}$ admits a fiber and a cofiber.
  3. A triangle in $\mathcal{C}$ is a fiber sequence if and only if it is a cofiber sequence. (Basically, a commutative diagram is a pushout square if and only if it is a pullout square.)
The last point (3) in the above definition, which is the coincidence of fiber sequences and cofiber sequences, contributes to the invertibility of the suspension function $\Sigma$ and loop functor $\Omega$. Any exact triangle can thus be rotated using the invertibility. (Well, these functors are self-equivalences of the homotopy category of the $\infty$-category, which is a triangulated category and hence, exact triangles and $\Sigma$ become the translation functor.)

4) But why do we care about a stable $\infty$-category? We have seen previously in The Quill (see here) that there is no canonical functorial way to define (co)-limits in a triangulated category. This poses a problem of gluing, as mentioned by Lurie. For having this feature, we have to develop the stable $\infty$-category for which the homotopy category carries the triangulated structures where the distinguished triangles are the (co)fiber sequences. A prime example developed by Lurie is the $\infty$-category of Spectra (which is an interesting discussion in its own right). It is interesting to study the motivation behind the development of the theory of stable $\infty$-categories. We will discuss them in due course.

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Anyons and Modular Tensor Categories

This post is jointly written by Vaibhav Kalvakota and Aayush Verma (and note that neither of us is an expert in anyons!). We discuss the anyon statistics and later relate the ideas of (fusion and) modular tensor categories with them.

We begin with a couple of words about anyon statistics. In three dimensions, the exchange of two indistinguishable particle positions $(r,p)$ makes the wavefunction $\psi(r,p)$ acquire a phase, but when we exchange the positions once more, it is equivalent to a trivial loop. Hence, the phase acquired must satisfy some constraints $$\psi(r,p) = e^{2i\theta} \psi(r,p)$$ where $\theta=n\pi$, which are exactly the constraints that define boson exchange statistics (when $n$ is an even integer) or fermion exchange statistics (when $n$ is an odd integer).

However, in two dimensions, a closed loop exchange is not equivalent to a trivial loop. The $\theta$-statistics, which are followed by neither bosons nor fermions, lead to anyon statistics in two dimensions. And since the following is true

From Sumathi Rao's paper https://arxiv.org/pdf/1610.09260
the particles are defined using a braid group (which is the fundamental group of the configuration space) and not a permutation group. Moreover, in anyon exchange, the history of double exchanges is not forgotten, unlike for bosons and fermions, where it is a trivial exchange, as we remarked earlier. For more on anyon statistics, see this paper by Rao.

A fusion category $\mathcal{C}$ is a semisimple tensor category which is rigid, composed of finite isoclasses of simples, and has a simple unit object (refer to this for more). The most important algebraic rules in $\mathcal{C}$ is the fusion rules; given $V_{i}$ and $V_{j}$ simples, their tensor product (fusion) can be decomposed into some other simple $V_k$ as \[ V_{i}\boxtimes V_{j} = \bigoplus _{k\in I} N _{ij}^{k}V_{k}\;, \] where $I$ indexes the objects in $\mathcal{C}$, and $N_{ij}^{k}$ are non-negative integers. Physically, $N _{ij}^{k}$ accounts for the number of distinct topologically invariant ways in which anyons $i, j$ fuse to create anyon $k$. Fusion of two anyons does not give a unique anyon, as we saw that there could be more ways to do the fusion. Fusion rules are associative. These fusion rules create a fusion ring, which is also the Grothendieck group of the category $\mathcal{C}$. When there are more than two anyons, the change of basis in the state space (fusion in a particular order) is given by F-matrices (see this talk and this paper). Fusion of non-abelian anyons is more complicated than that of abelian anyons, see this

Anyon exchanges are essentially just braiding across objects like $\mathbf{b}_{ij}: V_{i} \boxtimes V_{j} \rightarrow V_{j} \boxtimes V_i$. Here, the hexagonal identities apply as usual:


For each object, we also attribute a twist $\theta _{i}$, and for anyons, for a full $2\pi $ rotation, we obtain a phase or a topological spin. Not that this only happens in two dimensions, and in ordinary 3d, this would just be the usual particle spin statistics. Since we now have two pieces of data corresponding to the $S$ and $T$ matrices -- for the braiding and twisting respectively, they generate a projective representation of SL$_2(Z)$, from which we also get the charge conjugation matrix and the central charge; the $S$ and $T$ matrices follow: $$(ST)^3=\Lambda C, \\ S^2=C,\\ C^2 = I_n, $$ where $\Lambda $ is \[ \Lambda = \frac{1}{\mathcal{D}} \sum d_{i}^2\theta _{i} = e^{2\pi i c/8}\;. \] Here, $d_{i}$ is the quantum dimension and $\mathcal{D}$ is the global quantum dimension $\sqrt{\sum _{i} d_{i}^2}$. Moreover, the Verlinde formula describes the fusion coefficients in terms of the $S$-matrix \[ N_{ij}^{k} = \sum \frac{S_{ax}S_{bx}S^*_{cx}}{S_{0a}}\;, \] where $S_{0a}$ is just $d_a/\mathcal{D}$ which is an important result in CFT as well as modular tensor categories.

This way, not only do we obtain a fusion category, but something with braiding structure and modular data (i.e., the $S$-matrix is invertible), which leads us to modular tensor categories more broadly. These have important consequences in finding a consistent theory of anyons.

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The Quill 25 ~ Auslander-Reiten Translate and (a bit of) AR Sequence

This post will be very specific (but basic in nature); for those who are not familiar with Quivers, please take a look here or here (or here, which is slightly advanced). Most (if not all!) of my knowledge about Auslander-Reiten theory of quivers comes from Prof. Amit Kuber.

The Auslander-Reiten (AR) quiver is a picture of a quiver with all of its indecomposable representations. For instance, in the $A_3$ quiver with linear orientation ($1 \to 2 \to 3$), we can draw the following AR quiver

AR graph for $A_3$
We are interested in finding an AR sequence in this quiver that is an exact sequence
$$0 \to A \xrightarrow{f}  B \xrightarrow{g} C \to 0$$
which is called an almost split sequence if
1) It does not split 
2) $f$ is a left almost minimal split and $g$ is a right almost minimal split (a lot is here packed, please see the definitions in AR paper, III)
3) $A$ and $C$ are indecomposable in $rep_k Q$ (category of finite-dimensional representations of quiver Q)

Such AR sequences are the main interest of Auslander-Reiten theory.  There is an AR sequence that can be easily observed from the AR quiver, which is
$$ 0 \to \tau V \to E \to V \to 0$$
where $V$ is some indecomposable and non-projective and $\tau V$ is the AR translate of $V$, which is the main subject of this post. There does not exist an AR translation of a projective representation since we begin with a projective resolution of an indecomposable, and if that is a projective, then it is not very interesting, and we fail to get a minimal projective resolution.

A projective resolution of a representation is helpful because of the equivalence between projectives and injectives using the Nakayama functor (which we may discuss in another post, but you may see this). The general idea is that  $$\nu : proj_k Q \to inj_k Q$$ and similarly, there exists an inverse $\nu^{-1}$. So, for any indecomposable $V$, we write its projective resolution as $$\cdots P_2 \to P_1 \to P_0 \to V \to 0$$ where $P_0 \to V$ is a surjection given that our category has enough projectives and, of course, our category is hereditary. We then have the AR translation of $V$ given by (for a minimal projective resolution)
$$0 \to \tau V  \to \nu P_1 \to \nu P_0$$  where $\nu$ is the Nakayama functor $\nu = DHom_A(-,A)$ which sends a projective to its corresponding injective.

For example, in $A_3$, if we take $V=110$ (where the digits are the dimension vectors of the vector spaces of representation $k \to k \to 0$), then we have the minimal projective resolution as $$ 001 \to 111 \to 110\to 0$$ and the AR translation of $110$ is $$0 \to \tau V = 011 \to 111 \to 100$$ (where $\tau V = ker (\nu (P_1) \to \nu(P_0))$ which, if you observe in the AR quiver, then it is the indecomposable which you reach after one step moving to the left side (if you can). Similarly, we can find the AR translation of all the other non-projective indecomposable. Using $\tau V$, we define the AR sequence $0 \to \tau V \to E \to V \to 0$ which is an almost split sequence (and dually, $0 \to V \to E \to \tau^{-1} V\to 0$). From here, we land into the discussion of extensions (derived functors!) and how to define these extensions using the AR quiver for which Auslander-Reiten wrote their beautiful formula (some other time).

If you could tell, there is a lot of homological algebra (and category theory) that exists between these steps, and Auslander-Reiten theory has interesting consequences in triangulated settings as well (see Happel). You can also refer to the notes here.

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The Quill 24 ~ Failure of Functorial Cones in Triangulated Categories

In this post, we will quickly discuss the (basic) definition of triangulated categories and why there exist non-functorial cones in these categories. (The whole motivation, at least pointed in, to pass to some stable homotopy theory, like $\infty$-category, is built somewhat around this failure of triangulated categories.) We will discover more about these in the coming posts.


A triangulated category is an additive category with a shift functor that satisfies some axioms (see below). It is represented by $(\mathcal{T},[1],\Delta)$ where $[1]$ is a shift-functor (an autoequivalence $[1]: \mathcal{T} \to \mathcal{T}$) and $\Delta$ are distinguished triangles. A distinguished triangle is of the form
$$X \to Y \to Z \to X[1]$$
and the triangulated category $\mathcal{T}$ satisfies Verdier's axioms (of which an important one is the octahedral axiom, TR4). A good example of a triangulated category is the derived category of an abelian category. Anyhow, I will stop this definition by mentioning that we can see these distinguished triangles as a replacement of short exact sequences in abelian categories. For more on these triangulated categories, please see.

Our goal here is to see why there is no canonical functorial definition of (co)limits in a triangulated category. When working with some nice definition like $Qcoh(X_i) = A_i-mod$ where we have taken an open cover on $X$, we want the gluing to be defined. This motivates one to develop dg-enhancements, stable $\infty$-category, and so on (for some other day) to recover 'functorial cones'. However, I must mention that there exists a notion of homotopy (co)limits (see this work). In a distinguished triangle diagram, those come at the third vertex ($Z$). I do not know much about this theory, but they face certain restrictions too (like totalization, non-functoriality, and so on). Anyway, let us proceed with our problem. We will be mostly dealing with Stevenson's argument.

The argument is as follows. If an idempotent complete triangulated category $\mathcal{T}$ which  admits a functorial cone, then it is a semisimple abelian category. A functorial cone is a functor defined as $\text{cone}: Mor(\mathcal{T}) \to \mathcal{T}$ where $Mor(\mathcal{T})$ is a category with objects $f: X \to Y$ for $X, Y$ in $\mathcal{T}$ (also called arrow category). For any morphism $f$, we can write a distinguished triangle
$$X \xrightarrow{f} Y \xrightarrow{g} cone(f) \xrightarrow{h} X[1]$$
and this triangle satisfies Verdier's axioms. Any morphism between two morphisms $f, f'$ is a commutative square. And there exists a coherent choice, which means that two cones of the same morphism are equivalent up to canonical isomorphism. For a non-functorial cone, cones are defined up to non-unique isomorphisms. Hence, there does not exist a coherent choice for a cone that is natural for the commutative square of morphisms.

Given a functorial cone in a category, this implies the existence of functorial weak colimits, and if a category also admits split idempotents, there exist actual colimits. Let us say our $\mathcal{T}$ is such a category. The functorial cone provides a functorial weak cokernel. In $\mathcal{T}$ for a functorial cone, there would exist an actual cokernel. Similarly, the category has an actual kernel as well. This makes $\mathcal{T}$ into an abelian category (it was already defined to be an additive category). Now, in the triangulated category $\mathcal{T}$, all monomorphisms and epimorphisms split, which makes $\mathcal{T}$ into a semi-simple abelian category. This is proposition 3.1, Stevenson. Without idempotents, one would still arrive at the same conclusion.

The only problem is that there are only trivial examples of triangulated categories that are semi-simple abelian categories. Hence, non-trivial triangulated categories cannot admit functorial cones. For example, the derived category of bounded coherent sheaves on a variety, the stable homotopy category of spectra, and so on are some examples that are not semi-simple categories. This brings us to conclude that a triangulated category admits non-functorial cones. To restore functoriality, one would need more than a triangulated structure, and such motivations will be discussed in due course.

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The Quill 23 ~ Arithmeticity and Thinness of (Hypergeometric) Monodromy Groups

I was in a talk given on monodromy groups and the arithmetic (and thinness) property of them by Jitendra Bajpai. This post is a quick write-up on that problem.

For any hypergeometric differential equation of order $n$ on a Riemann sphere with three punctures $\mathbb{P}^1(\mathbb{C}) / \{0,1,\infty \}$, one has linearly $n$ independent solutions which are called hypergeometric functions. For the $\alpha, \beta$ parameters, we write the local monodromies using the (local) space of solutions through the monodromy representation $\rho: \pi_1 \to GL(V)$. The subgroup $\rho(\pi_1)$ of $GL(V)$ is called the monodromy group associated with our hypergeometric equation and parameters $\alpha, \beta$. Accoriding to Levelt's theorem (and later worked by Beukers–Heckman), there exists a (local) basis of solution space of hypergeometric equation such that the monodromy group associated to it (corresponding to $\alpha, \beta$) is generated by the companion matrices $A$ and $B$ of polynomials $f,g$ such that the polynomials are cyclotomic (then one can conjugate the monodromy groups) which means their roots are roots of unity, primitive, self-reciprocal, and thus have no common root. The monodromies are defined locally using these companion matrices. This monodromy group $\Gamma(f,g)$ is a subgroup of $GL_n(\mathbb{C})$.

Now, when we restrict to the polynomials $f,g$ with integer coefficients, then the monodromy group becomes a subgroup of $GL_n(\mathbb{Z})$. We are very much interested in this special representation. However, there is a very large gap between the monodromy group $\Gamma$ and $GL_n(\mathbb{C})$, hence we look for something in between, which is the Zariski closure of $\Gamma$. For the order $n=1$, we see that $\Gamma$ sits in $GL_1(\mathbb{Z})$; however, with order $2$ and higher, we have non-trivial things going on like finite and infinite index, and so on. For order $n=2$, the Zariski closure (here it is the smallest algebraic group that contains $\Gamma$ in $GL_n(\mathbb{Z})$) of $\Gamma$ is $SL_2(\mathbb{Z})$. Then a nice question is to ask if $\Gamma$ is of finite index in its Zariski closure, then it is called arithmetic, and if it infinite index, then it is called thin.

Let us denote for $\Gamma$ its Zariski closure $\Gamma^{Zar}$ as $G$, so $\Gamma \subset G(\mathbb{Z})$. Typically, one has $G=Sp_\Omega(\mathbb{Z})$ where $\Omega$ is a symplectic form on $\mathbb{Z}^n$ or $G=O_Q$ where $Q$ is a quadratic form. The details about when $G$ is symplectic and orthogonal are here. Anyway, the important question is to ask for any given order, $\Gamma(f,g)$ has a finite (arithmetic) or infinite (thin) index in $G(\mathbb{Z})$. For the number theoretic motivation behind the arithmeticity and thinness, see these notes by Sarnak. In order $n=2,3$, there are arithmetic monodromy groups. However, for $n=4$, the situation is more non-trivial and it contains both arithmetic and thin groups. There are $14$ cases in which the monodromy groups are associated with Calabi-Yau 3-folds. The periods of the three-form $\omega$ on the moduli of a CY 3-fold solve a fourth-order differential equation. (I do not understand much connection more than this for these 14 special cases connected to CY right now.) Anyway, again, one is asking how many of them are arithmetic and how many are thin. They were studied in this paper. As it turned out, 7 of the 14 cases are thin and the other 7 are arithmetic, and Kontsevich was also involved in the problem.

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The Quill 22 ~ de Rham Class Field Theory and Fourier Transform on $\mathcal{D}$-modules

I realize that there have been many posts in the Quill series about math. Many apologies for that.
Let $G$ be an abelian variety. We define the 1-shifted Cartier duality (following Ben-Zvi's notations) to be

$$(G [1])^V = Hom(G, \mathbb{G}_m)$$ But there is a slight issue in the algebraic geometric side of the usual $\mathcal{B}$ side. Instead, let us do the class field theory in de Rham space. We can define $X_{dR}$ for an abelian and smooth variety $X$ as $$X_{dR} = X/\hat{\Delta}$$ where $\hat{\Delta}$ is the formal neighbourhood of the diagonal. It just imposes a relation $x \sim y$ if $x$ and $y$ are infinitesimally close to the identity. (A nice physics equivalent description is modding out the local gauge redundancy.) Though it is not technically a scheme, it is enough to do algebraic geometry. Actually, at many places, it is defined as a functor of points. So we will consider (quasic-coherent) sheaves on it. $$QC(X_{dR}) = QC(X)^\Delta$$ which is just another way of saying that $QC(X_{dR})$ contains flat-connections given by the identification $\mathcal{F}_x \xrightarrow{\sim} \mathcal{F}_y$ if $\mathcal{F}_x$ and $\mathcal{F}_y$ are $x$ and $y$ are infitemsally close. Actually, the following is true and interesting $$QC(X_{dR}) = \mathcal{D}_X-Mod$$ where $\mathcal{D}_X$ is the category of quasi-coherent sheaves. So the flat connections are exactly $\mathcal{D}$ modules. In physics, one can translate this by saying that the sheaves of $X_{dR}$ give the solutions to the Yang-Mills equation $F=dA + A \wedge A= 0$, so basically flat gauge field configurations.

All right. Let us take an abelian group $G$, then we can define the de Rham space of $G$ as $$G_{dR} = G/\hat{G}$$ where $\hat{G}$ is the formal neighbourhood of identity (same as before). A very good example is a vector space. The original Fourier-Mukai dual of $V$ has to do with the classifying space of the formal completion of the dual (we may discuss this in the following Quill(s)). But for $V_{dR}$ it is more interesting. Firstly, for $V$ (an abelian group) $$V_{dR}= V/ \hat{V}$$ Or equivalently, it is a chain complex (derived algebraic geometry) $V_{dR} = [ \hat{V} \to V]$. Now, the $1-$shifted Cartier duality is $$(V/\hat{V})^V [1]= (V^*/\hat{V}^*)$$ so $V_{dR}$ is canonically self-dual. Which means many things. But the best is that $\mathcal{D}(V) \simeq \mathcal{D}(V^*)$. This is better said as a Fourier transform of $\mathcal{D}$-modules. And it is nothing but the algebraic-geometric incarnation of electric-magnetic duality.

This is one nice symmetric way of doing abelian class field theory in algebraic geometry.
To learn more, see this paper by Ben-Zvi and Nadler.

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The Quill 21 ~ The Meaning of Tannakian Construction and Anveshanā July 2025

Note that this contains some incomplete accounts. 

First, we will see what a tensor category is. Actually, we are interested in a symmetric monoidal category with a tensor functor. For a category \( \mathcal{C} \), we have a bifunctor
$$ \otimes \colon \mathcal{C} \times \mathcal{C} \rightarrow \mathcal{C}, $$
and for a unit object \( \mathbf{1} \in \mathcal{C} \), we have natural isomorphisms
$$ \mathbf{1} \otimes - \simeq - \simeq - \otimes \mathbf{1}. $$
Furthermore, the category is symmetric, which means that for \( M, N \in \mathcal{C} \), we have a symmetry isomorphism
$$ M \otimes N \simeq N \otimes M. $$
Anyway, we are interested in the case of schemes over a ring. For a commutative ring \( R \), the scheme is given by \( \mathrm{Spec}\, R \), which is constructed by gluing affines. But the functions on a space \( X \) in algebraic geometry are limited, unlike in differential or geometric topology, where functions like \( C^\infty \) span the whole space. So, instead, we step up to discuss stacks. They are algebraic-geometric spaces—more general than schemes and algebraic spaces—and the origin of the mathematics of stacks is in Grothendieck's work on fibered categories and descent (SGA 1).

In this Tannakian construction, one is interested in seeing whether geometric objects like schemes and stacks can be recovered from linear categories associated with them. See the paper by Lurie, Tannaka Duality for Geometric Stacks, and also Tannaka Duality Revisited by Bhatt and Halpern-Leistner.

Informally, one can say that given a commutative ring \( R \), we may view
$$ X = \varinjlim \mathrm{Spec}\, R, $$
and then we are interested in sheaves
$$ \mathrm{QC}(X) = \varprojlim R\text{-Mod}. $$
One then has to realize that
$$ \mathrm{QC}(X) \colon \text{Stacks} \to (\otimes\text{-categories})^{\mathrm{op}} $$
and that there is a right adjoint
$$ \mathrm{Spec} \colon (\otimes\text{-categories})^{\mathrm{op}} \to \text{Stacks}. $$
Given a category \( \mathcal{C} \), we are interested in defining a geometric object \( \mathrm{Spec}\, \mathcal{C} \), which will be the best way to approximate \( \mathcal{C} \) in algebraic geometry.

Now, the Tannakian reconstruction here is about building a space (a stack or scheme) from tensor categories, i.e., symmetric monoidal categories. From the adjunction map, there is a faithful embedding
$$ X \mapsto \mathrm{Spec}\, \mathrm{QC}(X), $$
where \( X \) is a geometric stack (think of an Artin stack, for instance). The above map is also called the 1-affinization or Tannakanization, and it provides the best affine approximation to \( X \) via its category of quasi-coherent sheaves. For the parts I skipped in the above discussion, please see this lecture by David Ben-Zvi.

Also sharing the July issue of Anveshanā magazine. This features interviews with Aparna Dar (IIT Kanpur), Sumathi Rao (TIFR-ICTS, Bengaluru), and Jyoti Hegde (Veenagram, Sirsi), and a selection of articles, including an essay by C.S. Aravinda on the hyphen in Harish-Chandra.  

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The Quill 20 ~ Tannaka-Krein Duality and Reconstruction

Tannaka-Krein duality, in its classical form, says that given a compact group $G$, one can reconstruct the group $G$ from the category of the finite-dimensional complex representations $\Pi(G)$. And $\Pi(G)$ is a tensor category (thus having a monoidal structure). For a locally compact abelian group, it is a much easier case and from Pontryagin duality, one has that the dual group $\hat{G}$ is the space of 1-dimensional representations of G (namely characters), and the dual group determines the group $G$, please see this note from last year. However, for non-abelian cases, the category of representation $\Pi(G)$ contains all finite-dimensional $\mathbb{C}-$linear representations, not just 1-dimensional irreducible representations like abelian case. Actually, as I think, it is helpful to see that Pontryagin duality is an abelian prelude to Tannaka-Krein duality. The latter also generalized a lot of the framework later, which culminated in the Tannakian framework of Grothendieck, quantum groups by Drinfeld, Deligne's tensor categories, and so on.

But one can say that given
$$\Pi(G) \cong \Pi(H)$$
which is an equivalence of symmetric monoidal categories, $G \cong H$ will not always be true unless there are some conditions to observe. This was emphasized by introducing a faithful, exact, forgetful, $\mathbb{C}$-linear fiber functor which preserves the tensor products and forgets the group action $\omega$
$$\omega: \Pi(G) \rightarrow Vect_\mathbb{C}$$
which forgets the group action and remembers the underlying vector spaces. The group $G$ can now be associated with the automorphism of the fiber functor
$$G \cong \underline{Aut}^{\otimes}(\omega).$$
This essentially means that all the information about the group is encoded in $\Pi(G)$, and given this fiber functor, we can reconstruct our group. In more standard words, given any symmetrical monoidal category $\mathcal{C}$, if one has a fiber functor $\omega: \mathcal{C} \rightarrow Vect_\mathbb{C}$, then under the suitable conditions, there exists a compact group $G$ such that $\mathcal{C} \cong \Pi(G)$ and $G  \cong \underline{Aut}^{\otimes}(\omega)$.

The framework of Tannakian categories and fiber functor was introduced by Grothendieck-Deligne in the 1960s, while Tannaka originally used the ring of representative functions.

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The Quill 19 ~ A Quick Sheafification

In this quick post, I wish to state a simple Lemma.


Let $X$ be a topological space. Let $(\mathcal{C}, F)$ be a type of algebraic structure. Let $\mathcal{F}$ be a presheaf with values in $\mathcal{C}$ on $X$. Then there exists a sheaf $\mathcal{F}^{\#}$ with values in $\mathcal{C}$ and a morphism $\mathcal{F} \to \mathcal{F}^{\#}$ of presheaves with values in $\mathcal{C}$ with the following properties:
   1. The map $\mathcal{F} \to \mathcal{F}^{\#}$ identifies the underlying sheaf of sets of $\mathcal{F}^{\#}$ with the sheafification of the underlying presheaf of sets of $\mathcal{F}$.
    2. For any morphism $\mathcal{F} \to \mathcal{G}$, where $\mathcal{G}$ is a sheaf with values in $\mathcal{C}$, there exists a unique factorization $\mathcal{F} \to \mathcal{F}^{\#} \to \mathcal{G}$.

Proof: We start with a pre-sheaf $\mathcal{F}$ with values in $\mathcal{C}$ (some category). However, this is a pre-sheaf of abelian groups. We can use a forgetful functor
$$F(\mathcal{F}): Open(X)^{op}  \to Sets $$
Now with the classical sheafification, we get a sheaf of sets $F(\mathcal{F})^{\#}$. So, we have the elements and can be glued.

We wish to lift the algebraic structure for this sheaf of sets. We can assume that $\mathcal{C}$ has filtered colimits. These colimits preserve the algebraic operations. For any $U \in X$, $\mathcal{F}^{\#}$ is a canoncial object in $\mathcal{C}$. 

The second part of the lemma, which is a universal property where $\mathcal{G}$ is a sheaf in $\mathcal{C}$
$$\mathcal{F} \to \mathcal{F}^{\#} \to \mathcal{G}$$
Let us assume a morphism $\mathcal{F} \to \mathcal{G}$, then the forgetful functor gives
$$F(\mathcal{F}) \to F(\mathcal{G})$$
and since $F(\mathcal{G})$ is a sheaf, $F(\mathcal{F})^\#$ (which is a sheafification of $F(\mathcal{F}$) is a sheaf. And as we saw that $F$ creates a colimit, there is a morphism in the category $\mathcal{C}$. There is a morphism lifted $\mathcal{F}^\# \to \mathcal{G}$ and thus one has the factorization $\mathcal{F} \to \mathcal{F}^{\#} \to \mathcal{G}.$

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The Quill 18 ~ More on $\mathcal{D}$-Modules

$\mathcal{D}$-modules are very important objects of algebraic analysis and algebraic geometry. We briefly talked about it in the last post. $\mathcal{D}$-modules are modules over the ring of differential operators. In this post, let us briefly revise the Weyl Algebra because it is very important to enter the world of $\mathcal{D}$-modules. Weyl Algebra can be constructed as a $\mathcal{D}$- module.


The best application of $\mathcal{D}$-modules has been to solve the differential equations with Bernard Malgrange applied to the (differential) equations with constant coefficients initially. Then, Kashiwara in 1971 applied the equations with analytic coefficients. And if I am right, this was also the second birth of algebraic analysis after Sato.

And as said, Coutinho, $\mathcal{D}$- modules have two branches which depend on the base variety: algebraic and analytic. Moreover, $\mathcal{D}$- modules are not restricted to the Weyl Algerbas.

Let $K$ be a field of characteristic zero and $K[X]$ be the ring of polynomials. Now, $K[X]$ is an infinite-dimensional vector space over K, and the linear operators are denoted by the $End_K K[X]$. These will be two linear operators $x_i$ and $\partial_i$. (Remember that polynomials in $K[X]$ are defined in $n$ commuting indeterminates over $K$). Let us take a polynomial $m$ in $K[X]$. The operators are defined as
$$x_i (m) = x_i \cdot m$$
$$ \partial_i(m) = \frac{\partial m}{\partial x_i}$$
The Weyl Algebra $A_n$ is defined as the subalgebra of $End_K K[X]$ (and hence a $K$-algebra) generated from $x_i$ ($x_1,x_2,\cdots,x_n$) and $\partial_i$ ($\partial_1,\partial_2 \cdots, \partial_n$).

Moreover, the most important part of Weyl Algebra is that they are not commutative. So one finds,
$$\partial_i\cdot x_i =  x_i \cdot \partial_i +1$$
and hence $[\partial_i, x_i]=1$ (it is very easy to see this).

A Historical Note: Weyl Algebra played a crucial role in the development of quantum mechanics (see this). Also, $A_n$ notation was used by Dixmier to denote the algebra that physicists use to describe systems with $n$ degrees of freedom.

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The Quill 17 ~ D-Modules

$\mathcal{D}$-modules are very important objects in algebraic geometry and mathematical physics (for example, in string theory). In a previous post, we saw that Hecke eigensheaves on a $Bun_G$ (a set of isomorphisms of vector bundles) are $\mathcal{D}$-modules. They are a quasi-coherent sheaf of the scheme of differential operators.


As the name suggests, $\mathcal{D}$-modules are just modules over the ring of differential operators on some variety $X$. 
Let $X$ be a smooth variety over a field $k$ (of char 0), then $O_X$ is the structure sheaf over it. Let $\mathcal{F}$ be a quasi-coherent sheaf over $O_X$. Let us denote $D$ as a differential operator and for open affine subset $U\in X$, $\mathcal{D}(U)$ denotes the ring of differential operators on $X$. Then $U \to D(U)$ is a quasi-coherent sheaf of $O_X$-modules. And we call this sheaf of differentials operators $\mathcal{D}$-modules.

$\mathcal{D}$ is sheaf of non-commutative algebra. A very good example is Weyl Algebra $A_n(k)$. Locally, they are generated by the Heisenberg commutation relations here. Globally, we are interested in seeing if a solution exists by gluing them. So, $\mathcal{D}$-modules help us to understand local-global pictures of linear differential equations.

There is a specific class of D-modules that were of interest to Kashiwara - holonomic modules in the Riemann-Hilbert correspondence. Anyway, the central concept to understand in $\mathcal{D}$ is that they are a sheaf of modules over the ring of differential operators and they are quasi-coherent to $O_X$-modules. For physicists, geometric Langlands has been putting the duality between the category of D-modules on $Bun_G$ and the Fukaya category of Lagrangians in its cotangent bundle. Moreover, $\mathcal{D}$-modules give a geometric meaning to the automorphic forms.

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The Quill 16 ~ What is $Bun_n(\mathbb{F}_q)$?

We take a finite field $\mathbb{F}_q$ and define a curve (smooth, projective) over it, $X$. Now $X$ can also be taken on a Riemann surface when doing geometric Langlands (that is, switching from the curves defined over the finite fields to curves defined over the Riemann surface). Anyway, we define 

$$Bun_n = \{\text{set of isomorphism classes of $n$ rank (holomorphic) vector bundles on curve } X \}$$
$Bun_n$ is a moduli space and an algebraic stack, so a moduli stack! The set would be countable, as there are finitely many vector bundles over each finite field extension. One is then interested in studying a restricted (cuspoidal) space of functions on $Bun_n$.

Well, the Hecke operators (which correspond to modifications at points) from classical Langlands can be geometrized as well. They can be projected to the $Bun_n$ as well. We can define Hecke eigensheaves on $Bun_n$ which correspond to moduli of the rank $n$ local systems on the curve $X$. This is the geometric Langlands correspondence. There is the Hecke correspondence between the Hecke stack and the moduli stack.
Moreover, these Hecke eigensheaves are D-modules on $Bun_n$ satisfying a certain property set by the vector bundle $E$.

Now, a very short remark on why $Bun_n$ is an algebraic stack but not a scheme. Because the moduli space has non-trivial automorphisms. Moreover, a general scheme can not track the automorphisms, so if you were to construct a scheme $Bun_n$, you would fail to account for the automorphism groups. Moreover, the stack structure on $Bun_n$ is important for Langlands correspondence as well, even for defining D-modules on it or for the Hecke correspondence to work. We will look into the Hecke eigenvsheaves and what comes before all of these geometrizations in some later post.

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Revering Musings on String Compactification (but mostly de Sitter)

With Vaibhav Kalvakota, I wrote some notes on string compactification starting from supergravity compactification and ending with whether there exists a de Sitter solution in string theory in non-classical cases. This review was meant to initiate discussions on the de Sitter case.


Abstract. These notes are written on the (realistic) string compactifications and the string de Sitter vacua problem. A lot of unanswered questions remain in these regime which are highlighted using a historical canvas and exposition. We discuss also the KKLT proposal and other recent discussions around if there is a de Sitter vacua? In the exposition, we review the Calabi-Yau manifolds, supergravity compactification, flux compactification, moduli stabilization, and all that. This has been written in the same series where we wrote on the de Sitter quantum gravity and observables, ‘Revering Musings on de Sitter and Holography, 2023’.

The preprint is available at this link now.

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