Automorphisms of tropical Hassett spaces (Q2676525)

Let \(\mathcal{M}_{g,n}\) denote the moduli stack of smooth \(n\)-marked curves of genus \(g\). Besides the well-known Deligne-Mumford compactification \(\overline{\mathcal{M}}_{g,n}\), there is the larger class of so-called \textit{Hassett-spaces}. These are modular compactifications \(\mathcal{M}_{g,n} \subset \overline{\mathcal{M}}_{g,w}\) depending on a weight vector \(w \in \mathbb{Q}^n \cap (0,1]^n\). The limiting objects are \textit{\(w\)-stable curves}, i.e. curves \(C\) for which \(K_C + \sum w_i p_i\) is ample and markings are allowed to coincide if their combined weight is at most 1. Just like we have a tropical analogue of \(\overline{\mathcal{M}}_{g,n}\) (the moduli space \(M_{g,n}^{\mathrm{trop}}\) of stable tropical \(n\)-marked curves of genus \(g\)), there are also tropical Hassett spaces \(M_{g,w}^{\mathrm{trop}}\). Denote the link of the cone point of \(M_{g,w}^{\mathrm{trop}}\) by \(\Delta_{g,w}\). In the present paper, the authors study the automorphism group of \(\Delta_{g,w}\). For \(g \geq 1\) they identify \(\operatorname{Aut}(\Delta_{g,n})\) with the automorphism group of the symmetric \(\Delta\)-complex \(K_w\) with vertices \(1, \ldots, n\) which has a simplex joining \(S \subseteq \{1, \ldots, n\}\) if and only if \(\sum_{i \in S} w_i \leq 1\). This does not coincide with the automorphism group of the algebraic space \(\overline{\mathcal{M}}_{g,w}\), but rather the authors show that \(\operatorname{Aut}(\Delta_{g,w})\) is precisely the subgroup of \(\operatorname{Aut}(\overline{\mathcal{M}}_{g,w})\) preserving the locus of singular curves. Furthermore, in the rational case (i.e. \(g = 0\)) the authors give a partial result: \(\operatorname{Aut}(\Delta_{0,w}) = \operatorname{Aut}(K_w)\) is still true if \(w\) is heavy/light. The technical ideas build on [\textit{S. Kannan}, Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 374, No. 8, 5805--5847 (2021; Zbl 1476.14105)], where the automorphism group of \(M_{g,n}^{\mathrm{trop}}\) was computed.