The classical and quantum geometry of polyhedral singularities and their resolutions
The classical and quantum geometry of polyhedral singularities and their resolutions
Let G be a finite subgroup of SO(3). Such groups admit an ADE classification: they are the cyclic groups, the dihedral groups, and the symmetries of the platonic solids. The singularity C3/G has a natural Calabi-Yau resolution Y given by Nakamura's G-Hilbert scheme. The classical geometry of Y (its cohomology) can be described in terms of the representation theory of G. The quantum geometry of Y (its quantum cohomology) can be described in terms of R, the ADE root system associated to G. This leads to an interesting family of algebra structures on the affine root lattice of R. Other aspects of the "quantum geometry" of Y and C3/G (namely their Gromov-Witten and Donaldson-Thomas theories) are also governed by the root system R. One nice application is an attractive formula for the number of colored boxes piled in the corner of a room—generalizing the classical formula of MacMahon for the case of uncolored boxes.