The $u$-plane integral, mock modularity and enumerative geometry

TL;DR

This paper connects low-energy topologically twisted $ ext{N}=2$ SYM theory on 4-manifolds with mock modular forms, enabling explicit calculations of Donaldson invariants and Gromov-Witten invariants through indefinite theta functions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach using mock modularity and indefinite theta functions to evaluate path integrals and invariants in topologically twisted $ ext{N}=2$ SYM theory, improving computational methods.

Findings

Explicit evaluation of correlation functions using mock modular forms.

Calculation of Donaldson invariants for specific 4-manifolds.

Expression of Gromov-Witten invariants in terms of indefinite theta functions.

Abstract

We revisit the low-energy effective $U(1)$ action of topologically twisted $\mathcal N=2$ SYM theory with gauge group of rank one on a generic oriented smooth 4-manifold $X$ with nontrivial fundamental group. After including a specific new set of $\mathcal Q$-exact operators to the known action, we express the integrand of the path integral of the low-energy $U(1)$ theory as an anti-holomorphic derivative. This allows us to use the theory of mock modular forms and indefinite theta functions for the explicit evaluation of correlation functions of the theory, including but not restricted to those that physically reproduce Donaldson invariants, thus facilitating the computations compared to previously used methods. As an explicit check of our results, we compute the path integral for the product ruled surfaces $X=\Sigma_g \times \mathbb{CP}^1$ for the reduction on either factor and compare the results with existing literature. In the case of reduction on the Riemann surface $\Sigma_g$, via an equivalent topological A-model on $\mathbb{CP}^1$, we will be able to express the generating function of genus zero Gromov-Witten invariants of the moduli space of flat rank one connections over $\Sigma_g$ in terms of an indefinite theta function, whence we would be able to make concrete numerical predictions of these enumerative invariants in terms of modular data, thereby allowing us to derive results in enumerative geometry from number theory.