Nikulin involutions and the CHL string (Q2323524)

In the paper under review, the authors study \(K3\) surfaces obtained via Nikulin construction in the context of the CHL String. Let \(X\) be an algebraic \(K3\) surface defined over the field of complex numbers. A Nikulin involution is an involution \(i_{X} : X \rightarrow X\) such that \(i^{*}_{X}(\omega) = \omega\) for any holomorphic two-form \(\omega\) on \(X\). The fixed locus of \(i_{X}\) consists of eight distinct points. If one takes the quotient of \(X\) by \(i_{X}\) and then resolves the eight resulting \(A_{1}\)-singularities, it leads to a new smooth \(K3\) surface \(Y\) related to \(X\) via rational double-cover map \(\Phi\). The exceptional curves \(C_{1},\dots,C_{8}\) resulting on \(Y\) from the singularity resolution form an even-eight configuration, i.e., \[ \frac{1}{2}(C_{1} + \dots +C_{8}) \in NS(X). \] Van Geemen-Sarti involutions provide another interesting case of Nikulin construction. In this case, \(K3\) surface is endowed with a Jacobian elliptic fibration \(\pi_{X} : X \rightarrow \mathbb{P}^{1}\) which additionally to the trivial section \(\sigma\) carries an additional section \(\tau\) that makes an element of order two in the Mordell-Weil group \(MW(\pi_{X},\sigma)\). Fiberwise translations by the order-two section \(\tau\) are then known to define an involution \(\iota_{X}\) on \(X\), the so-called Van Geemen-Sarti involution. These are special Nikulin involutions, and when the Nikulin construction from above is carried out, the new \(K3\) surface \(Y\) inherits a dual Jacobian elliptic fibration \(\pi_{Y} : Y \rightarrow \mathbb{P}^{1}\), as well as own Van-Geemen-Sarti innvolution \(\iota_{Y}\). In the above Van Geemen-Sarti involution context, surfaces \(X\) and \(Y\) have Picard rank at least ten and, carry a lattice polarization of type \(H \oplus N\), where \(H\) is the standard rank two hyperbolic lattice and \(N\) is the rank-eight Nikulin lattice. The whole picture presented here can be viewed as an involution on the ten dimensional moduli space \(\mathcal{M}_{H \oplus N}\) of \(H \oplus N\)-polarized \(K3\) surfaces. In the first part of the paper, the authors study the non-generic situations related to \(K3\) surfaces \(Y\) with high Picard numbers. In the rest part of the paper, the authors study and interpret the mentioned construction in the contest of the string dualities linked with the eight dimensional CHL string. In particular, the authors determine explicitly the duality map between the moduli of the CHL string in eight dimensions and the dual F-theory models after restricting to a natural six-dimensional subspace of the full moduli space.