Affine Laumon spaces and iterated \(\mathcal{W}\)-algebras (Q6135919)

Recall that, given a Lie algebra \(\mathfrak g\) and a nilpotent element \(f\), one can construct the (affine) \(W\)-algebra \(W^k(g,f)\) from the affine vertex algebra \(V^k(g)\), using a procedure called quantum Hamiltonian reduction. In the present paper, the authors introduce the construction of an iterated \(W\)-algebra via an iterated version of the quantum Hamiltonian reduction. The ingredients for this iterated reduction are an ordered sequence \((\mathfrak a_1, \dots, \mathfrak a_L)\) of subalgebras of a simple Lie algebra \(\mathfrak g\), and a sequence \((f_1, \dots, f_L)\) of nilpotent elements of \((\mathfrak a_1, \dots, \mathfrak a_L)\). The iterated \(W\)-algebra \(W(\mathfrak g, (\mathfrak a_1, \dots, \mathfrak a_L), (f_1, \dots, f_L))\) is conjectured to be isomorphic, up to tensoring with free field algebras, with the \(W\)-algebra \(W^k(\mathfrak g, f)\), where \(f=f_1 + \dots + f_L\). In particular, the authors conjecture that there is an isomorphism of vertex algebras \[ W^k_L (\mathfrak{gl}_N , (\mathfrak{gl}_{N_1} ,\dots, \mathfrak{gl}_{N_L} ), (f_1, \dots, f_L)) \simeq W^k (\mathfrak{gl}_N , f ) \otimes \bigotimes_{1\leq i< j\leq L}\beta\gamma^{ m_im_j(s_j-s_i)}, \] where each \(\beta\gamma\)-factor denotes the vertex algebra of a pair of symplectic bosons. As positive evidence, characters and refined characters formulae for the two vertex algebras are shown to be the same. Recall that the affine Laumon space of type \(\mathbf{r}=(r_0, \dots, r_l)\) is a moduli space of framed parabolic torsion-free sheaves on \(\mathbb{P}^1\times\mathbb{P}^1\). The authors conjecture that the Verma modules of certain vertex subalgebras of \(W^k_L (\mathfrak{gl}_N , (\mathfrak{gl}_{N_1} ,\dots, \mathfrak{gl}_{N_L} ), (f_1, \dots, f_L))\) coincide with the cohomology of affine Laumon spaces. Vertex algebras with this property are expected from AGT correspondence, but are known only in the rectangular case, i.e. when \(\mathbf{r}=(s, \dots, s)\). The authors explicitly describe the generating function of Poincaré polynomials of affine Laumon spaces of type \(\mathbf{r}=(r_0, \dots, r_{l-1})\), \(l\leq2\), satisfying \(r_0\geq r_1\geq\dots\geq r_{l-1}\geq 1\). Then, they show that this expression is the same of the refined character formula of a certain subalgebra of \[W^k (\mathfrak{gl}_N , f ) \otimes \bigotimes_{1\leq i< j\leq L}\beta\gamma^{ m_im_j(s_j-s_i)},\] which, under the main conjecture, should be isomorphic to a certain subalgebra of the iterated \(W\)-algebra.