Spectral involutions on rational elliptic surfaces (Q700568)

Motivated by the problem of compactifications of heterotic M-theory, the authors give a construction of standard-model bundles. This paper under review is the first part of the construction, which describes a four-dimensional family of special rational elliptic surfaces. The construction is the following: Take a nodal plane cubic \(\Gamma_1\) with a node \(A_8\) and take four generic points \(A_1, A_2, A_3, A_7\) on it. Let \(\Gamma\) be the unique smooth cubic passing through these five points and tangent to the line \(\langle A_7A_i\rangle\) for \(i=1,2,3,8\). Let \(A_4, A_5, A_6\) be the three remaining base points for the pencil of cubics spanned by \(\Gamma_1\) and \(\Gamma\). The rational surface \(B\) is obtained as the blowup of \(\mathbb{P}^2\) at the points \(A_i\), \(i=1,\dots, 8\), and the point \(A_9\) which is infinitesimally near \(A_8\) and corresponds to the line \(\langle A_7A_8\rangle.\) The surface \(B\) admits an elliptic fibration with a section. Furthermore, there exists an involution \(\tau_B\) with isolated fixed points on \(B\). All such surfaces form a four dimensional irreducible family. Then the authors carry out explicit calculation for the Fourier-Mukai transformation \(F: D^b(B) \to D^b(B)\) (defined by the Poincaré sheaf on \(B \times_{\mathbb{P}^1} B\)) and for its conjugate \(F^{-1} \circ \tau_B^* \circ F\). These results are the key ingredient in the subsequent paper [see \textit{R. Donagi, B. A. Ovrut, T. Pantev} and \textit{D. Waldram}, Adv. Theor. Math. Phys. 5, 563-615 (2001; see the following review Zbl 1027.14004)].