Constructing the virtual fundamental class of a Kuranishi atlas (Q2414162)

If \(X\) is a compact metrizable space, then a weak Kuranishi atlas \(\mathcal{K}\) of dimension \(d\) on \(X\) consists of the following elements: (i) a footprint cover or a finite open cover of \(X\) by nonempty sets \(\{F_i\}_{i\in A}\), a poset \(\mathcal{I_K}=\left\{I\subset A;\ F_I=\bigcap_{i\in I}F_i\ne\varnothing\right\}\) that indexes the charts, (ii) charts \(K_I=(U_I,\Gamma_I,E_I,s_I,\psi_I)\), where \(U_I\) is a finite-dimensional topological manifold of dimension \(d+\dim E_I\), \(E_I=\prod_{i\in I}E_i\) is a product of even-dimensional vector spaces such that \(\dim U_I-\dim E_I=d\), \(\Gamma_I=\prod_{i\in I}\Gamma_i\) is a product of finite groups that acts on \(U_I\) and acts by a product of linear actions on \(E_I\), \(s_I:U_I\to E_I\) is a \(\Gamma_I\)-equivariant map, and the footprint map \(\psi_I:s^{-1}_I(0)\to X\) induces a homeomorphism \(s_I^{-1}(0)/\Gamma_I\overset{\cong}{\to} F_I\), (iii) coordinates charts, and (iv) equivariant submersion condition stating that for each \(I\subset J\), each point \(x\in\widetilde U_{IJ}\subset U_J\) has a product neighborhood that is compatible with the section \(s_{J\backslash I}\), that is, for each such \(x\) with stabilizer subgroup \(\Gamma_x\subset\Gamma_I\) there is a \(\Gamma_x\)- equivariant local homeomorphism of the form \((*)\ \varphi^E_x:(E_{J\backslash I,\delta}\times W_x,\{0\}\times W_x)\to(U_J,\widetilde U_{IJ})\), where \(E_{J\backslash I,\delta}\) is a \(\delta\)-neighborhood of \(0\) in \(E_{J\backslash I}\) and \(W_x\) is a \(\Gamma_x\)-invariant neighborhood of \(x\) in \(\widetilde U_{IJ}\), such that \(s_{J\backslash I}\circ\varphi^E_x(e,y)=e\), \(e\in E_{J\backslash I,\delta}\). If \(X\) is a compact space that is locally the zero set of a Fredholm operator \(\mathcal{F}\) of index \(d\), such as a moduli space of \(J\)-holomorphic stable curves, then the question of how to define its fundamental class is central to symplectic geometry, since so much information about the properties of this geometry depends on the ability to count the number of elements in \(X\). In [Proc. Lond. Math. Soc. (3) 115, No. 2, 221--292 (2017; Zbl 1384.53065)], the present author and \textit{K. Wehrheim} used atlases to clarify the passage from atlas to virtual fundamental class. A weighted branched manifold of dimension \(d\) is a pair \((Z,\Lambda_Z)\) consisting of a topological space \(Z\) together with a function \(\Lambda_Z:Z\to\mathbb{Q}^+\) and an equivalence class of tuples \((G,\Lambda_G,f)\), where \((G,\Lambda_G)\) is a \(d\)-dimensional weighted branched groupoid and \(f:|G|_{|\mathcal{H}}\to Z\) is a homeomorphism that induces the function \(\Lambda_Z=\Lambda_G\circ f^{-1}\), where \(G\) is a groupoid and \(\Lambda_G:|G|_{|\mathcal{H}}\to\mathbb{Q}^+=\mathbb{Q}\cap(0,\infty)\) satisfies certain compatibility conditions. In this paper, the authors explain how to define the virtual fundamental class of \(X\) by representing \(X\) via the zero set of a map \(\mathcal{J}_M:M\to E\), where \(E\) is a finite-dimensional vector space and the domain \(M\) is an oriented, weighted branched topological manifold. The main result of the paper states that if \(\mathcal{K}\) is a \(d\)-dimensional Kuranishi atlas on a compact space \(X\) that satisfies the submersion condition \((*)\), having total obstruction space \(E_A=\prod_{i\in I}E_i\), and total isotropy group \(\Gamma_A=\prod_{i\in I}\Gamma_i\), then there is an associated weighted branched \(D\)-dimensional manifold \((M,\Lambda)\), \(D=d+\dim E_A\), with an action of \(\Gamma_A\), and a \(\Gamma_A\)-equivariant map \(\mathcal{J}_M:M\to E_A\) with a compact zero set \(\mathcal{J}_M^{-1}(0)\). Moreover, there is a map \(\psi:\mathcal{J}_M^{-1}(0)\to X\) that induces a homeomorphism \(\mathcal{J}_M^{-1}(0)/\Gamma_A\overset{\cong}{\to}X\). The second result states that if \(\mathcal{K}\) is a \(d\)-dimensional Kuranishi atlas on a compact space \(X\) as above, then there is a unique homology class \([X]^{\mathrm{vir}}_{\mathcal{K}}\in\check{H}_d(X;\mathbb{Q})\) that is defined as follows. For \(b\in\check{H}_d(X;\mathbb{Q})\) and \(D=d+\dim E_A\), \(\langle[X]^{\mathrm{vir}}_{\mathcal{K}},b\rangle=(\mathcal{J}_M)_*(\hat b)\in\check{H}_{\dim E_A}(E_A,E_A\backslash\{0\};\mathbb{Q})\cong\mathbb{Q}\), where \(\hat b\) is the image of \(b\) under the composition \(\check{H}^d(X;\mathbb{Q})\overset{\psi^*}{\to}\check{H}^d(\mathcal{J}^{-1}_M(0);\mathbb{Q})\overset{\mathcal{D}}{\to}\check{H}_{\dim E_A}(M,M\backslash\mathcal{J}^{-1}_M(0);\mathbb{Q})\), and \(\mathcal{D}\) is given by cap product with the fundamental class \(\mu_M\).