Configurations of points on degenerate varieties and properness of moduli spaces (Q2360057)

The setting of the article under review is twofold: (i) a smooth algebraic stack \(X\) with a smooth divisor \(D \subset X\), (ii) a degeneration \(\pi : W \to B\) over a curve with special fibre given by the union of two smooth algebraic stacks meeting transversally along a smooth divisor. In the setting (i) the authors construct the relative configuration space \(X_D^{[n]}\), which is a natural compactification of the cartesian product \((X \setminus D)^n\). In the setting (ii) they construct the stack \(W^{[n]}_\pi\), which compactifies the space of \(n\) ordered points on the smooth fibres of \(\pi\). Their methods rely on the universal approach to expanded pairs and expanded degenerations, developed in [\textit{D. Abramovich} et al., Commun. Algebra 41, No. 6, 2346--2386 (2013; Zbl 1326.14020)]. If the spaces in (i) are schemes, an alternative construction of \(X_D^{[n]}\) already appeared in [\textit{B. Kim} and \textit{F. Sato}, Sel. Math., New Ser. 15, No. 3, 435--443 (2009; Zbl 1177.14029)]. In the second part of the paper, the authors apply their constructions to prove the properness of the stack \(K_{\mathrm{pd}}\) of predeformable expanded stable maps in the sense of \textit{J. Li} [J. Differ. Geom. 57, No. 3, 509--578 (2001; Zbl 1076.14540)], in both the settings (i) and (ii). When the spaces in (i) and (ii) are schemes, the properness of \(K_{\mathrm{pd}}\) was already proved in [loc. cit.] with different methods. This kind of properness result is the first ingredient in the statement and the proof of degeneration formulas in Gromov-Witten theory.