Flips of moduli spaces and transition formulas for Donaldson polynomial invariants of rational surfaces (Q1909682)

The paper deals with a problem which has attracted a lot of attention recently. Let \(X\) be a projective smooth complex surface, and \(\Delta\), \(c\) be a divisor on \(X\) and an integer, respectively. If \(L\) is an ample line bundle on \(X\), let \({\mathcal M}_L (\Delta,c)\) be the moduli space of (Gieseker) \(L\)-semistable rank-two torsion-free sheaves \(F\) on \(X\) with \(\text{det} F\cong {\mathcal O}_X (\Delta)\) and \(e_2(F)=c\). If \(c_1(L)\) belongs to the complement of a certain set of walls in the ample cone, one can define certain classes in the cohomology of \({\mathcal M}_L (\Delta,c)\); intersection of these classes defines a so-called Donaldson polynomial of \(X\). If \(p_g (X)>0\) these polynomials do not depend on the choice of \(L\), if \(p_g(X) =0\) they depend only on the open chamber (in the complement of the walls) containing \(c_1(L)\): If \({\mathcal C}\) denotes the chamber, let \(D^X_{\Delta,c} ({\mathcal C})\) be the corresponding polynomial. Assuming \(p_g(X) =0\), the question is: How does \(D^X_{\Delta,c} ({\mathcal C})\) vary when we change the chamber? It suffices to determine the difference \(\delta^X_{\Delta,c} ({\mathcal C}_+, {\mathcal C}_-): =D^X_{\Delta,c} ({\mathcal C}_+) - D^X_{\Delta,c} ({\mathcal C}_-)\) for chambers separated by a single wall. If \({\mathcal M}_+\), \({\mathcal M}_-\) are the corresponding moduli spaces, the authors describe how to obtain \({\mathcal M}_+\) from \({\mathcal M}_-\) by a sequence of blow-ups and blow-downs (flips); this result holds with no restriction on \(p_g(X)\). The authors analyze in greater detail the case when \(X\) is rational with \(-K_X\) effective, and they obtain formulae for some of the differences \(\delta^X_{\Delta,c} ({\mathcal C}_+, {\mathcal C}_-)\).