The rigid limit in special Kähler geometry - from -fibrations to special Riemann surfaces: a detailed case study (Q4699693)

Special Kähler geometry is a geometrical structure that is defined by the action functional (containing two derivatives) of the scalars in vector multiplets of \(N=2\) supersymmetric theories in 4 dimensions. There are two types: Local special geometry applies to local supersymmetry, i.e., supergravity and strings, while rigid special geometry applies to rigid supersymmetry, i.e, \(N=2\) supersymmetric gauge theory in flat spacetime. The highly constrained structure of the special geometry makes it possible to find exact analytical expressions for many low-energy effective actions. The paper studies the essential steps involved in taking the rigid limit of a local special Kähler manifold for two examples. Both are moduli spaces of Calabi-Yau manifolds realized as \(K3\) fibrations in weighted projective spaces. All the periods are calculated even before \(K3\) degenerates to an asymptotically locally Euclidean manifold in the limit, the non-trivial ones remaining in the limit being identified as periods of a meromorphic form on the relevant Riemann surface. The results of the paper may be used for a full expansion of the \(N=2\) supergravity action with vector multiplets, which starts with a rigid supersymmetry action.