The symplectic arc algebra is formal (Q288386)

Khovanov cohomology associates to an oriented link \(\kappa\subset S^3\) a bigraded group \(\mathrm{Kh}^{\ast,\ast}(\kappa)\), whose Euler characteristic is the (suitably normalized) Jones polynomial of \(\kappa\). This cohomology is defined via diagrammatic combinatorics [\textit{M. Khovanov}, Duke Math. J. 101, No. 3, 359--426 (2000; Zbl 0960.57005)] or representation theory [\textit{M. Khovanov}, Algebr. Geom. Topol. 2, 665--741 (2002; Zbl 1002.57006)]. An attempt to get a geometric model of Khovanov cohomology is the symplectic Khovanov cohomology \(\mathrm{Kh}^\ast_{\mathrm{symp}}(\kappa)\) [\textit{P. Seidel} and \textit{I. Smith}, Duke Math. J. 134, No. 3, 453--514 (2006; Zbl 1108.57011)]. The authors prove that combinatorial Khavanov and symplectic Khavanov cohomologies have the same total rank over a characteristic zero field [\textit{M. Abouzaid} and \textit{I. Smith}, ``Khovanov homology from Floer cohomology'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:1540.01230}]. The proof is based on a formality theorem for the symplectic arc algebra over a field of characteristic zero. This formality theorem is proved in this paper (Theorem 1.1) and stated as follows: Let \(\mathcal Y_k\) be a transverse slice to the adjoint quotient map \(\chi:\mathfrak{sl}_{2k}(\mathbb C)\to\mathbb C^{2k-1}\) at a nilpotent matrix with two equal Jordan blocks (see Section 5). \(\mathcal Y_k\) inherits an exact Kähler structure. Any crossingless matching \(\mathcal P\) of \(2k\) points defines a Lagrangian submanifold \((S^2)^k\cong L_\mathcal P\subset\mathcal Y_k\). It defines an object in the Fukaya category of \(\mathcal Y_k\). The subcategory \(\mathcal F(\mathcal Y_k)\) of the Fukaya category of \(\mathcal Y_k\) with objects \(\{L_{\mathcal P}\}\) is quasiequivalent to the \(A_\infty\) algebra \(\oplus_{\mathcal P,\mathcal P'}HF^\ast(L_{\mathcal P},L_{\mathcal P'})\), which is called the symplectic arc algebra. Then this paper proves the following. Theorem 1.1. Fix a coefficient field \(\mathbf{k}\) of characteristic zero. The \(A_\infty\)-category \(\mathcal F(\mathcal Y_k)\) defined over \(\mathbf{k}\) is formal. Here (Definition 2.1), a \(\mathbb Z\)-graded \(A_\infty\) algebra \(\mathcal A\) over \(\mathbf{k}\) equipped with \(A_\infty\)-products \[ \mu^d_{\mathcal A}:\mathcal A^{\otimes d}\to\mathcal A \] is called ``formal'' if \(\mathcal A\) is quasi-isomorphic to \(A=H(\mathcal A)\), the cohomology groups with respect to \(\mu_1\). In Section 2, it is shown if \(\mathbf{k}\) has characteristic zero, \(\mathcal A\) is formal if it admits a pure vector field (Theorem 2.6. and Corollary 2.13). A ``pure vector field'' is a degree-1 Hochschild cocycle \(b\) (\(\mathbf{nc}\)-vector field) such that \(b^0=0\) and the induced endomorphism of \(A\) agrees with the Euler vector field (Definitions 2.3 and 2.5). Section 3 abstracts the particular features of the geometric situation encountered later which enables us to define an \(\mathbf{nc}\)-vector field on an exact Fukaya category \(\mathcal F(M)\) via counting discs in a partial compactification. Here, \(M\) is a symplectic manifold obtained by removing three divisors from an algebraic manifold (Hypothesis 3.1). The authors claim to obtain a \(\mathbb Z\)-graded category over an arbitrary characteristic field \(\mathbf{k}\), this paper works within the setting of \textit{P. Seidel} [Fukaya categories and Picard-Lefschetz theory. Zürich: European Mathematical Society (EMS) (2008; Zbl 1159.53001)]. The construction of \(\mathbf{nc}\)-vector fields in this section is adapted to the Milnor fiber of the \(A_k\)-singularity \(\mathbb C^2/\mathbb Z_{k+1}\) in Section 4. The authors remark that the formality of the corresponding Fukaya category is already known [\textit{P. Seidel} and \textit{R. Thomas}, Duke Math. J. 108, No. 1, 37--108 (2001; Zbl 1092.14025)]. But the geometric construction of \(\mathbf{nc}\)-vector fields in this section underpins a more general construction for Hilbert schemes on the Milnor fiber which appears in later sections. Section 5 explains the geometry of \(\mathcal Y_k\) and the definition of the arc algebra following [Seidel and Smith, loc. cit.]. Then, by counting discs in the partial compactification \(\mathrm{Hilb}^{\{k\}}(\bar{A}_{2k-1})\) according to the general scheme of Section 3, an \(\mathbf{nc}\)-vector filed on \(\mathcal Y_k\) is constructed. This vector field is essentially inherited from the \(\mathbf{nc}\)-vector field on \(A_{2k-1}\) constructed in Section 4. This proves Theorem 1.1.