A construction of \(G_2\)-manifolds from K3 surfaces with a \(\mathbb{Z}_2^2\)-action (Q6044446)

\(G_2\)-manifolds are \(7\)-dimensional manifolds with a torsion-free \(G_2\)-structure, i.e., a \(3\)-form \(\varphi\) which is nondegenerate and satisfies \(\nabla \varphi=0\). Here \(\nabla\) is the Levi-Civita connection of the metric which is induced by \(\varphi\) itself in a nonlinear way. Such manifolds are Ricci-flat and the holonomy of the metric is contained in the exceptional Lie group \(G_2\leq SO(7)\). Since \(\nabla\) is obtained from \(\varphi\), the equation \(\nabla \varphi=0\) is a nonlinear PDE and is very difficult to solve. Thus, any construction of compact \(G_2\)-manifolds which are irreducible, i.e., not a product manifold is important. All the known constructions of compact \(G_2\)-manifolds are gluing construction with the first being a generalized Kummer construction by \textit{D. D. Joyce} [J. Differ. Geom. 43, No. 2, 291--328 (1996; Zbl 0861.53022); J. Differ. Geom. 43, No. 2, 291--328 (1996; Zbl 0861.53022)], followed by a \emph{twisted connected sum} construction by \textit{A. Kovalev} [J. Reine Angew. Math. 565, 125--160 (2003; Zbl 1043.53041)], \textit{A. Kovalev} and \textit{N.-H. Lee} [Math. Proc. Camb. Philos. Soc. 151, No. 2, 193--218 (2011; Zbl 1228.53064)] and a vast generalization of these by \textit{A. Corti} et al. [Duke Math. J. 164, No. 10, 1971--2092 (2015; Zbl 1343.53044)]. A new construction of compact \(G_2\)-manifolds was given by \textit{D. Joyce} and \textit{S. Karigiannis} [J. Differ. Geom. 117, No. 2, 255--343 (2021; Zbl 1464.53067)]. This paper looks at the Joyce-Karigiannis construction by resolving the singularities of \((S\times T^3)/\mathbb{Z}_2^2\) with \(S\) being a \(K3\) surface. The author achieves this by looking at different extensions of the action of \(\mathbb{Z}_2^2\) on \(S\) to \(S\times T^3\) and then finally checking whether the fundamental group of the resolved manifolds is finite to get a compact manifold with holonomy equal to \(G_2\). The author also computes the Betti numbers of the resolved manifolds to obtain new topological types of compact \(G_2\)-manifolds obtained by the Joyce-Karigiannis construction. The main theorems of the paper are Theorems 4.2, 4.8 and 4.11. The paper is well-written and explains the differential geometric and topological aspects clearly.