The branched deformations of the special Lagrangian submanifolds (Q6093397)

Special Lagrangian submanifolds are an important class of calibrated submanifolds of Calabi-Yau $n$-folds. According to McLean's deformation theorem [\textit{R. C. McLean}, Commun. Anal. Geom. 6, No. 4, 705--747 (1998; Zbl 0929.53027)], the \(C^1\)-deformations of a special Lagrangian submanifold \(L\) can be parameterized by harmonic \(1\)-forms on \(L\) for the induced metric. Generalizing this framework, \textit{S. Donaldson} [Q. J. Math. 72, No. 1--2, 199--235 (2021; Zbl 1492.53084)] conjectured that nondegenerate multivalued harmonic \(1\)-forms can be suitable candidates for parametrizing branched deformations of special Lagrangian submanifolds. The author confirms this for a special class of \(1\)-forms, so-called \(\mathbb{Z}_2\) harmonic \(1\)-forms. There are special Lagrangian submanifolds for which McLean's deformations do not exist. As a corollary, the author proves that there exist special Lagrangian submanifolds which are rigid in the classical sense but have branched deformations.