On double Hurwitz numbers in genus 0

We study double Hurwitz numbers in genus zero counting the number of covers \CP^1\to\CP^1 with two branching points with a given branching behavior. By the recent result due to Goulden, Jackson and Vakil, these numbers are piecewise polynomials in the multiplicities of the preimages of the branching points. We describe the partition of the parameter space into polynomiality domains, called chambers, and provide an expression for the difference of two such polynomials for two neighboring chambers. Besides, we provide an explicit formula for the polynomial in a certain chamber called totally negative, which enables us to calculate double Hurwitz numbers in any given chamber as the polynomial for the totally negative chamber plus the sum of the differences between the neighboring polynomials along a path connecting the totally negative chamber with the given one.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figure

On deformations of quasi-Miura transformations and the Dubrovin-Zhang bracket

In our recent paper we proved the polynomiality of a Poisson bracket for a class of infinite-dimensional Hamiltonian systems of PDE's associated to semi-simple Frobenius structures. In the conformal (homogeneous) case, these systems are exactly the hierarchies of Dubrovin-Zhang, and the bracket is the first Poisson structure of their hierarchy. Our approach was based on a very involved computation of a deformation formula for the bracket with respect to the Givental-Y.-P. Lee Lie algebra action. In this paper, we discuss the structure of that deformation formula. In particular, we reprove it using a deformation formula for weak quasi-Miura transformation that relates our hierarchy of PDE's with its dispersionless limit.Comment: 21 page

Tautological relations in Hodge field theory

We propose a Hodge field theory construction that captures algebraic properties of the reduction of Zwiebach invariants to Gromov-Witten invariants. It generalizes the Barannikov-Kontsevich construction to the case of higher genera correlators with gravitational descendants. We prove the main theorem stating that algebraically defined Hodge field theory correlators satisfy all tautological relations. From this perspective the statement that Barannikov-Kontsevich construction provides a solution of the WDVV equation looks as the simplest particular case of our theorem. Also it generalizes the particular cases of other low-genera tautological relations proven in our earlier works; we replace the old technical proofs by a novel conceptual proof.Comment: 35 page

A new proof of Faberʼs intersection number conjecture

AbstractWe give a new proof of Faberʼs intersection number conjecture concerning the top intersections in the tautological ring of the moduli space of curves Mg. The proof is based on a very straightforward geometric and combinatorial computation with double ramification cycles