Kleinian singularities, derived categories and Hall algebras (Q1974134)

Based in part on the authors' preface: The Kleinian singularities \({\mathbb C}^2/G\) associated to finite subgroups \(G \subset SL_2({\mathbb C})\) are important in algebraic geometry, singularity theory and other branches of mathematics. New remarkable properties continue to be discovered, one such being the McKay correspondence and its interpretation by Gonzalez-Springberg and Verdier in terms of the minimal resolution \({\mathbb C}^2//G\). Their results give identifications \[ K_0({\mathbb C}^2//G) \simeq Rep(G) \simeq \widehat{\mathbf h}_Z \] where \(K_0\) is the Grothendieck group, Rep is the representation ring and \(\widehat{\mathbf h}_Z\) is the root lattice of the affine Lie algebra (of type A-D-E) associated to \(G\). The paper under review first extends these results by describing the derived category of coherent sheaves on \({\mathbb C}^2//G\), rather than just \(K_0\). The approach is a refinement of techniques by Kronheimer and Nakajima. Then the authors define an Euler-characteristic version \({\mathbb H}\) of the Hall algebra of the category of coherent sheaves on \({\mathbb C}^2//G\), and exhibit a subalgebra in \({\mathbb H}\) isomorphic to \(U(\text{g}_G^+)\), where \(\text{g}_G^+\) is the nilpotent part of the finite dimensional Lie-algabra (of type A-D-E) corresponding to G. As a consequence, taking the intersection graph of the \({\mathbb P}^1_i\) as a Dynkin graph, they get a possibly infinite-dimensional Kac-Moody Lie algebra, and prove that the positive part of this algebra acts in the space of functions on isomorphism classes of coherent sheaves in S. This partly extends results of Nakajima to a wider geometric context.