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# The Harder-Narasimhan system in quantum groups and cohomology of quiver moduli

## 1 Introduction

The geometry of quiver representations is by now recognized as an area with many connections to such diverse fields as representation theory of algebras, geometric invariant theory, quantum group theory and representation theory of (Kac-Moody) Lie algebras.
The connection to methods of Geometric Invariant Theory is provided by the construction of moduli spaces of quiver representations of \[Kin\]. In particular, one can expect analogies to the theory of moduli of vector bundles on curves, generalizing the approach advertised in \[Ra\].
On the other hand, the connection to quantum group theory is given by the realization of quantized enveloping algebras of (Kac-Moody) Lie algebras of \[Rin\], \[Gr\] via the Hall algebra approach, which can be interpreted (see \[Kap\]) as a convolution algebra construction on parameter spaces of quiver representations.
The aim of the present paper is to develop a synthesis of both methods. We start with a particular instance of the above mentioned analogy to vector bundle theory, namely the Harder-Narasimhan recursion \[HN\], which was originally used for computing Betti numbers of moduli spaces.
The first main result of this paper (Proposition 4.8) is a materialization of the Harder-Narasimhan recursion in the quantized enveloping algebra of a symmetric Kac-Moody Lie algebra. It leads to a canonical orthogonal system, the HN system, in such algebras (Theorem 4.9), which is recursively computable.
The HN system comprises a surprising amount of information on the moduli spaces of (semi-)stable quiver representations: as the second main result, just by evaluating at a character of the quantum group, we recover in Theorem 6.7 the Betti numbers of such moduli spaces completely (modulo the standard assumption (see e.g. \[Kir\]) that semistability and stability coincide). The proof uses the Weil conjectures, in analogy to the original approach of Harder and Narasimhan in the vector bundle situation (see also \[Kir\], \[Gö\] for similar situations).
The third main result is a resolution of the Harder-Narasimhan recursion, in the spirit of \[Z\], \[LR\] in the vector bundle case (Theorem 5.1), together with a fast algorithm for Betti number computation (Corollary 6.9). Whereas the cited works use involved explicit calculations, resp. the Langlands lemma from the theory of Eisenstein series, the present proof uses only some simple (polygonal and simplicial) combinatorics. It should be noted that our materialization of the Harder-Narasimhan recursion in a non-commutative algebra (the quantum group) is already anticipated in (\[Z\], p. 457), where one of the key insights for resolving the recursion is a noncommutative approach to certain polynomial expressions.
At the moment, the immediate applications of the HN system to quantum group theory are largely conjectural: one can expect explicit descriptions of PBW type bases, and applications to the general structure theory of Hall algebras in the spirit of \[SV\] (see section 7).
The applications of the cohomology formulas are more direct (and numerous), in that they unify, generalize, and make more explicit, several known results on cohomology of moduli of ’linear algebra type’ problems, for example, the formulas for Betti numbers of sequences of subspaces in (\[Kir\], 16), and for families of linear maps in \[Dr\], \[ES\].
In another direction, note the usage of some of the present methods in \[CBV\] for a partial proof of the Kac conjectures (see \[Kac\]). Finally, one can hope for analogs of the present methods to be possible in the setup of Hall algebras for categories of coherent sheaves on curves in the framework of \[Kap\], which would probably bring the subject back to its roots in vector bundle theory.
The paper is organized as follows: in section 2, we recall the notions of (semi-) stability and of the Harder-Narasimhan filtration for categories of quiver representations. These are applied in section 3 to the representation varieties of quivers; we construct the Harder-Narasimhan stratification of these spaces and prove some basic geometric properties. In section 4, we first recall the Hall algebra construction and its relation to quantum groups. Then we use the results of the previous sections to obtain a quantum group version of the Harder-Narasimhan recursion, yielding the above mentioned Harder-Narasimhan system. Section 5 is devoted to the resolution of the recursion. In section 6, we take a closer look at the geometry of quiver moduli over finite fields, in order to apply the Weil conjectures, and to derive the formulas for Betti numbers. Finally, section 7 contains some conjectural applications, and the above mentioned examples of quiver moduli which allow for explicit cohomology formulas.
This work was done while the author participated in the TMR-network ERB RMRX-CT97-0100 ”Algebraic Lie Representations”. I would like to thank K. Bongartz, R. Huber and M. Rapoport for discussions on the methods of section 6, E. Ossa for a simplification in the proof of Lemma 5.4, and B. Medeke for inspiring discussions on the algorithm 6.9. Moreover, I would like to thank L. Hille, S. König, S. Orlik, A. Schofield, M. Van den Bergh and E. Vasserot for interesting remarks on the results of this paper.

## 2 Quiver representations and the HN filtration

Let $`Q`$ be a finite quiver (oriented graph) without oriented cycles. We denote by $`I`$ its set of vertices, and by $`r_{ij}`$ for $`i,jI`$ the number of arrows from $`i`$ to $`j`$. The free abelian group $`𝐙I`$ generated by $`I`$ carries a bilinear form, the Euler form, defined by $`i,j=\delta _{ij}r_{ij}`$.
Let $`𝐤`$ be an arbitrary field. We consider the well-known category $`mod_𝐤Q`$ of finite-dimensional $`𝐤`$-representations of $`Q`$ (see \[ARS\] for general notions and facts on quiver representations). For a representation $`X`$ given by $`𝐤`$-vector spaces $`X_i`$ for $`iI`$, we define its dimension type $`\underset{¯}{dim}X`$ as $`_{iI}dim_𝐤(X_i)i𝐍I`$. We have

$$\underset{¯}{dim}X,\underset{¯}{dim}Y=dim_𝐤\mathrm{Hom}_{𝐤Q}(X,Y)dim_𝐤\mathrm{Ext}_{𝐤Q}^1(X,Y)$$

for all representations $`X,Ymod_𝐤Q`$.
We introduce a (non-canonical) notion of stability in $`mod_𝐤Q`$. Fix once and for all a linear form $`\mathrm{\Theta }=_{iI}\mathrm{\Theta }_ii^{}`$ on $`𝐙I`$, called a weight for $`Q`$. We define a slope function on $`𝐍I\{0\}`$ by $`\mu (d)=\mathrm{\Theta }(d)/dimd`$, where the linear form $`dim`$ on $`𝐙I`$ is defined by $`dimi=1`$ for $`iI`$. Using the slope function, we can define a notion of stability for representations of $`Q`$; for a representation $`0Xmod_𝐤Q`$, we set $`\mu (X)=\mu (\underset{¯}{dim}X)`$.

###### Definition 2.1

A $`𝐤`$-representation $`X`$ of $`Q`$ is called semistable (resp. stable) if $`\mu (U)\mu (X)`$ (resp. $`\mu (U)<\mu (X)`$) for all proper subrepresentations $`0UX`$.

Examples: In each of the following examples, it is easy to work out the corresponding meaning of stability; we just state the results. The examples illustrate that the quiver setup unifies several ’linear algebra type’ problems. They will be used as standard examples throughout the paper.

If $`Q=i_1i_2\mathrm{}i_n`$ and $`\mathrm{\Theta }(i_k)=k`$, then the stable representations are precisely the unique indecomposables $`E_{kl}`$ of dimension type $`i_k+\mathrm{}+i_l`$ for $`kl`$, and the semistables are their powers (see section 7 for a possible generalization).

Let $`Q`$ be given by vertices $`I=\{i_0,i_1,\mathrm{},i_n\}`$ and arrows $`i_ki_0`$ for $`k=1\mathrm{}n`$. Let $`d=mi_0+i_1+\mathrm{}+i_n`$, $`\mathrm{\Theta }=i_0^{}`$. Then a semistable (resp. stable) representation corresponds to a tuple $`(v_1,\mathrm{},v_n)`$ of non-zero vectors in $`𝐤^m`$ such that for any proper non-zero subspace $`U𝐤^m`$, the number of vectors $`v_k`$ in $`U`$ is $``$ (resp. $`<`$) $`\frac{n}{m}dimU`$. Thus, we arrive at one of the principal examples of Mumford’s GIT (\[M\], 3.).

More generally, fix $`r,N𝐍`$. Let $`Q`$ be given by vertices $`I=\{i_0,i_{\nu ,p}:\nu =1\mathrm{}r,p=N\mathrm{}N\}`$, arrows $`i_{\nu ,p}i_{\nu ,p1}`$ for $`\nu =1\mathrm{}r`$, $`p=N\mathrm{}1N`$, and $`i_{\nu ,N}i_0`$ for $`\nu =1\mathrm{}r`$. Let $`d=_{\nu ,p}d_{\nu ,p}i_{\nu ,p}+d_0i_0`$, where $`0=d_{\nu ,N}\mathrm{}d_{\nu ,N}=d_0`$ for $`\nu =1\mathrm{}k`$, and $`\mathrm{\Theta }=i_0^{}`$. Then the semistable (resp. stable) representations correspond to $`d_0`$-dimensional $`𝐤`$-vector spaces $`V`$ together with a family of descending flags $`F_\nu ^p`$ (where $`dimF_\nu ^p=d_{\nu ,p}`$), fulfilling the conditions of \[F\].

If $`Q=i\stackrel{(n)}{}j`$ (with $`n`$ arrows pointing from $`i`$ to $`j`$), $`d=ai+bj`$, $`\mathrm{\Theta }=i^{}`$, then semistable (resp. stable) representations correspond to tuples $`(f_1\mathrm{}f_n)`$ of linear maps $`f_k:𝐤^a𝐤^b`$ such that for each non-zero proper subspace $`U𝐤^a`$, the dimension of $`_kf_k(U)`$ is $``$ (resp. $`>`$) $`\frac{b}{a}dimU`$ (see \[ES\], \[Dr\]).

The following properties of semistable (resp. stable) representations are well-known and easy to prove (see e.g. \[HN\], \[Sh\], \[Ru\], …).

###### Lemma 2.2

Given a short exact sequence $`0MXN0`$ in $`mod_𝐤Q`$, we have

$$\mu (M)\mu (X)\text{ iff }\mu (X)\mu (N)\text{ iff }\mu (M)\mu (N)$$

and

$$\mathrm{min}(\mu (M),\mu (N))\mu (X)\mathrm{max}(\mu (M),\mu (N)).$$

If $`\mu (M)=\mu (X)=\mu (N)`$, then $`X`$ is semistable if and only if $`M`$ and $`N`$ are semistable.

Denote by $`mod_𝐤^\mu Q`$ the full subcategory of $`mod_𝐤Q`$ consisting of semistable representations of $`Q`$ of slope $`\mu 𝐐`$.

###### Lemma 2.3

For all $`\mu 𝐐`$, the category $`mod_𝐤^\mu Q`$ is an abelian subcategory of $`mod_𝐤Q`$ whose simple objects are the stable representations of $`Q`$ of slope $`\mu `$. Moreover, we have $`\mathrm{Hom}_Q(mod_𝐤^\mu Q,mod_𝐤^\nu Q)=0`$ provided $`\mu >\nu `$.

Finally, we introduce the key notion of this section.

###### Definition 2.4

Let $`X`$ be a representation of $`Q`$. A Harder-Narasimhan (HN) filtration of $`X`$ is a filtration $`0=X_0X_1\mathrm{}X_s=X`$ such that the quotients $`X_k/X_{k1}`$ are semistable for $`k=1\mathrm{}s`$, and $`\mu (X_1/X_0)>\mu (X_2/X_1)>\mathrm{}>\mu (X_s/X_{s1})`$.

###### Proposition 2.5

Any $`𝐤`$-representation $`X`$ of $`Q`$ posesses a unique Harder-Narasimhan filtration.

Proof: We proceed by induction on the dimension of $`X`$. Let $`X_1X`$ be a subrepresentation of maximal slope, and of maximal dimension among the subrepresentations with this property. It is easy to see that this determines $`X_1`$ uniquely. By induction, $`X/X_1`$ possesses a unique HN filtration, which we can lift to one of $`X`$ via the projection $`XX_1`$. Uniqueness follows inductively from the fact that the first term of a HN filtration already has to be the $`X_1`$ just constructed.
$`\mathrm{}`$

###### Definition 2.6

An element $`d𝐍I`$ is called semistable if there exists a semistable representation of dimension type $`d`$. A tuple $`d^{}=(d^1,\mathrm{},d^s)`$ is called a HN type if each $`d^k`$ is semistable and $`\mu (d^1)>\mathrm{}>\mu (d^s)`$. The sum $`|d^{}|=_{k=1}^sd^k`$ is called the weight of $`d^{}`$, and $`l(d^{})=s`$ is called the length of $`d^{}`$.

## 3 Representation varieties and the HN stratification

We first recall the varieties of quiver representations of fixed dimension type.

###### Definition 3.1

For $`d=_{iI}d_ii𝐍I`$, define $`R_d=_{\alpha :ij}\mathrm{Hom}_𝐤(𝐤^{d_i},𝐤^{d_j})`$ and $`G_d=_{iI}\mathrm{GL}_{d_i}(𝐤)E_d=_{iI}\mathrm{End}(𝐤^{d_i})`$. The group $`G_d`$ acts on $`R_d`$ via

$$(g_i)_i(X_\alpha )_\alpha =(g_jX_\alpha g_i^1)_{\alpha :ij}.$$

$`R_d`$ is an affine $`𝐤`$-variety parametrizing the $`𝐤`$-representations of $`Q`$ of dimension type $`d`$. The $`G_d`$-orbits $`𝒪_X`$ in $`R_d`$ correspond bijectively to the isomorphism classes $`[X]`$ of representations $`Xmod_𝐤Q`$ of dimension type $`d`$. The unique closed orbit of $`G_d`$ in $`R_d`$ corresponds to the unique semisimple representation of dimension type $`d`$, so the invariant ring $`𝐤[R_d]^{G_d}`$ reduces to the scalars.
The main use of the notion of (semi-)stability lies in the following result.

###### Theorem 3.2

\[Kin\] Let $`𝐤`$ be algebraically closed. For each $`d𝐍I`$, the subset $`R_d^{ss}R_d`$ of semistable representations is an open subvariety. It admits a categorial (GIT) quotient $`_d^{ss}=R_d^{ss}/G_d`$, which is a projective variety. The quotient $`_d^{ss}`$ contains a smooth open subvariety $`_d^s`$, which is a geometric quotient by $`G_d`$ of $`R_d^sR_d^{ss}`$, the subset of stable representations.

Remark: In fact, the notions of (semi-)stability for representations translate into the corresponding notions of \[M\] for points in $`R_d`$, with respect to the trival line bundle on $`R_d`$ with $`G_d`$-action twisted by a suitable character $`\chi `$ of $`G_d`$. The moduli space can be defined as

$$_d^{ss}=\mathrm{𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣}(_{n𝐍}𝐤[R_d]^{G_d,\chi ^n}),$$

where $`𝐤[R_d]^{G_d,\chi ^n}`$ consists of semi-invariant polynomial functions $`f:R_d𝐤`$ of weight $`\chi ^n`$.
Examples:

1. In example B of section 2, we recover the quotient $`(𝐏_{m1})_{\mathrm{stable}}^n/\mathrm{PGL}_m`$ of (\[M\], 3).
2. The situation of example D of section 2 is related to moduli of bundles on $`𝐏^2`$, see \[Dr\].
3. As a particular case of example D, the moduli space $`_{mi+mj}^{ss}`$ compactifies the affine variety given by $`𝐤[M_m(𝐤)^{n1}]^{\mathrm{GL}_m}`$, the ring of invariants of $`n1`$-tuples of $`m\times m`$-matrices under simultaneous conjugation. In fact, if the first map $`f_1`$ is invertible, then its stabilizer $`G\mathrm{GL}_m`$ under the $`\mathrm{GL}_m\times \mathrm{GL}_m`$-action acts by simultaneous conjugation on $`f_2,\mathrm{},f_n`$.

Next, we introduce the Harder-Narasimhan stratification. Note that the term stratification is used in a weak sense, meaning a finite decomposition of a variety into irreducible, locally closed subsets (see \[Kir\], Introduction).

###### Definition 3.3

For a HN type $`d^{}`$, we denote by $`R_d^{}^{HN}R_d`$ the subset of representations whose HN filtration is of type $`d^{}`$. $`R_d^{}^{HN}`$ is called the HN stratum for the HN type $`d^{}`$. More generally, we denote by $`R_d^d^{}`$ the subset of representations possessing some filtration of type $`d^{}`$, i.e. $`\underset{¯}{dim}X_k/X_{k1}=d^k`$ for $`k=1\mathrm{}s`$ in the notation of Definition 2.4.

###### Proposition 3.4

The HN strata for HN types $`d^{}`$ of weight $`d`$ define a stratification of $`R_d`$ into irreducible, locally closed subvarieties. The codimension of $`R_d^{}^{HN}`$ in $`R_d`$ is given by $`_{1k<ls}d^k,d^l`$.

Proof: Let $`F^{}:\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}0}=F^0F^1\mathrm{}F^s`$ be a flag of type $`d^{}`$ in the $`I`$-graded vector space $`𝐤^d=_{iI}𝐤^{d_i}`$, i.e. $`F^k/F^{k1}𝐤^{d^k}`$ for $`k=1\mathrm{}s`$, and denote by $`F_i^k`$ the $`i`$-component of $`F^k`$. Denote by $`Z`$ the closed subvariety of $`R_d`$ of representations $`X`$ which are compatible with $`F^{}`$, i.e. $`X_\alpha (F_i^k)F_j^k`$ for $`k=1\mathrm{}s`$ and for all arrows $`\alpha :ij`$ in $`Q`$. It is easy to see that $`Z`$ is a trivial vector bundle of rank $`_{k<l}_{ij}d_i^ld_j^k`$ over $`R_{d^1}\times \mathrm{}\times R_{d^k}`$, via the projection $`p`$ mapping $`XZ`$ to the sequence of subquotients with respect to $`F^{}`$. Thus, the inverse image of $`R_{d^1}^{ss}\times \mathrm{}\times R_{d^s}^{ss}`$ under $`p`$ is an open subvariety $`Z_0`$ of $`Z`$. The action of $`G_d`$ on $`R_d`$ induces actions of the parabolic subgroup $`P_d^{}`$ of $`G_d`$, consisting of elements fixing the flag $`F^{}`$, on $`Z_0`$ and $`Z`$. The image of the associated fibre bundle $`G_d\times ^{P_d^{}}Z`$ under the action morphism $`m`$ equals $`R_d^d^{}`$, which is thus a closed subvariety of $`R_d`$. The image of $`G_d\times ^{P_d^{}}Z_0`$ under $`m`$ equals $`R_d^{}^{HN}`$, and $`G_d\times ^{P_d^{}}Z_0`$ is the full preimage. By the uniqueness of the HN filtration, the morphism $`m`$ is bijective over $`R_d^{}^{HN}`$, which therefore is an irreducible, open subvariety of $`R_d^d^{}`$. The codimension is now easily computed as $`_{k<l}d^k,d^l`$, using the identity $`d,d=dimG_ddimR_d`$ and the above description of $`Z`$.
$`\mathrm{}`$

From this description, we can derive a recursive criterion for the existence of semistable representations, complementing a criterion for the existence of stable representations in \[Kin\].

###### Corollary 3.5

A dimension type $`d𝐍I`$ is semistable if and only if there exists no HN type $`d^{}`$ of weight $`d`$ such that $`d^k,d^l=0`$ for all $`1k<ls`$.

Proof: A dimension type $`d`$ is semistable if and only if there exists no dense HN stratum, i.e. a stratum $`R_d^{}^{HN}`$ of codimension $`0`$, which by the above codimension formula means $`d^k,d^l=0`$ for all $`1k<ls`$.
$`\mathrm{}`$

We have seen in the proof of Proposition 3.4 that the closure of the HN stratum $`R_d^{}^{HN}`$ equals $`R_d^d^{}`$. In general, this is not anymore a union of HN strata (see the example below). But at least it is contained in such a union, and the strata involved in this union can be controlled using polygonal combinatorics. We proceed as in the vector bundle situation, following \[Sh\].

###### Definition 3.6

Given an arbitrary tuple $`d^{}=(d^1,\mathrm{},d^s)`$ in $`𝐍I`$, we denote by $`P(d^{})`$ the polygon in $`𝐍^2`$ with vertices $`(_{l=1}^kdimd^l,_{l=1}^k\mathrm{\Theta }(d^l))`$ for $`k=0\mathrm{}s`$. For two such tuples $`d^{},e^{}`$, define $`d^{}e^{}`$ (resp. $`d^{}<e^{}`$) if $`P(d^{})`$ lies on or below (resp. strictly below) $`P(e^{})`$ (see \[Sh\]). We call $`d^{}`$ convex if the polygon $`P(d^{})`$ is convex.

Note that, by definition, HN types are always convex.

###### Proposition 3.7

The closure $`R_d^d^{}`$ of the HN stratum for the HN type $`d^{}`$ is contained in the union of the HN strata for HN types $`e^{}d^{}`$.

Proof: Let $`X`$ be a representation in $`R_d^d^{}`$, and let $`e^{}`$ be the HN type of $`X`$. Since the polygon $`P(e^{})`$ is convex by definition, it suffices to prove that the slope $`\mu (\underset{¯}{dim}U)`$ of an arbitrary subrepresentation $`UX`$ lies on or below $`P(e^{})`$. We proceed by induction over the length $`t`$ of $`e^{}`$; in case $`t=1`$ there is nothing to prove, since then $`X`$ is semistable. By induction, the slope of $`(U+X_1)/X_1`$ lies on or below $`P(e^{+1})`$, where $`e^{+1}`$ is the HN type of $`X/X_1`$. It follows that the slope of $`U+X_1`$ lies on or below $`P(e^{})`$. Using the obvious exact sequences relating $`U`$, $`X_1`$ and $`U+X_1`$, we get by the maximality property of $`X_1`$:

$$\mu (U+X_1)\mu (X_1)\mu (X_1/(UX_1))\text{, thus }\mu (U)\mu (U+X_1),$$

which proves the desired property.
$`\mathrm{}`$

Example: Let $`Q`$ be the quiver $`ijk`$, $`d=i+j+k`$, $`\theta =2i^{}+3j^{}`$. Thus $`R_d𝐤^2`$, where a point $`(x,y)`$ corresponds to the representation $`𝐤\stackrel{x}{}𝐤\stackrel{y}{}𝐤`$. The HN stratum for the HN type $`(i,j+k)`$ equals $`𝐤^{}\times 0𝐤^2`$, and the HN stratum for the HN type $`(j,i,k)`$ equals $`0\times 𝐤𝐤^2`$. Thus, the closure of $`R_{(i,j+k)}`$ is contained in $`R_{(i,j+k)}R_{(j,i,k)}`$, but is not a union of HN strata.

## 4 Quantum groups and the HN system

In this and the following sections, $`𝐤`$ denotes a finite field, whose cardinality is denoted by $`v^2`$ for $`v𝐂`$.
To get a relation between the methods of the previous sections and (quantized) Kac-Moody algebras, we first define the Hall algebra (see \[Rin\], \[Gr\]) in the version of Kapranov (see \[Kap\]).

###### Definition 4.1

For $`d𝐍I`$, define $`_d=𝐂^{G_d}[R_d]`$, the $`𝐂`$-vector space of (arbitrary) $`G_d`$-invariant functions from $`R_d`$ to $`𝐂`$. Define a $`𝐍I`$-graded $`𝐂`$-vector space $`=(Q)=_{d𝐍I}_d`$ with the multiplication

$$(fg)(X)=v^{e,d}\underset{UX}{}f(U)g(X/U)$$

on homogeneous elements $`f,g`$ of degree $`|f|=d`$ (i.e. $`f_d`$) and $`e`$, respectively. Define a scalar product on $``$ by

$$(f,g)=(\mathrm{\#}G_d)^1\underset{X}{}f(X)g(X)$$

for $`f,g_d`$, where $`\mathrm{\#}S`$ denotes the cardinality of a finite set $`S`$, and $`(_d,_e)=0`$ for $`de`$.

By \[Rin\], \[Gr\], $``$ is an associative, $`𝐍I`$-graded $`𝐂`$-algebra.
An immediate induction yields:

###### Lemma 4.2

For $`f_k_{d^k}`$, $`k=1\mathrm{}s`$, we have

$$(f_1\mathrm{}f_s)(X)=v^d^{}\underset{0=X_0X_1\mathrm{}X_s=X}{}f_1(X_1/X_0)\mathrm{}f_s(X_s/X_{s1}),$$

where

$$d^{}=\underset{k<l}{}d^l,d^k.$$

Next, we define the so-called composition subalgebra of $``$.

###### Definition 4.3

For $`d𝐍I`$, define $`\chi _d=\chi _{R_d}`$, the characteristic function of the variety $`R_d`$. Define $`𝒞`$ as the $`𝐂`$-subalgebra of $``$ generated by the functions $`\chi _i`$ for $`iI`$.

###### Lemma 4.4

We have $`\chi _d𝒞`$ for all $`d𝐍I`$.

Proof: We order the set of vertices of $`Q`$ as $`I=\{1,\mathrm{},n\}`$ such that $`i>j`$ if there exists an arrow $`ij`$, which is possible since $`Q`$ has no oriented cycles. It is easy to see that any representation $`XR_d`$ has a unique filtration $`0=X_0\mathrm{}X_n=X`$ such that $`\underset{¯}{dim}X_k/X_{k1}=d_kk𝐍I`$, so that the product $`\chi _{d_11}\mathrm{}\chi _{d_nn}`$ equals $`\chi _d`$ up to some power of $`v`$. But since $`R_{ni}`$ for $`n𝐍`$, $`iI`$ consists of a single point, $`\chi _{ni}`$ equals a (non-zero) scalar multiple of $`\chi _i^n`$. This shows that $`\chi _d`$ is generated by the $`\chi _i`$.
$`\mathrm{}`$

The connection to quantum groups is given by the following theorem, due to J. A. Green \[Gr\], which generalizes a theorem of C. M. Ringel \[Rin\] in the finite type case.

###### Theorem 4.5

The composition algebra $`𝒞`$ is isomorphic to $`𝒰_v(𝔫^+)`$, the quantized enveloping algebra of the positive part of the symmetric Kac-Moody algebra corresponding to the quiver $`Q`$, specialized at $`v`$.

Here, the Kac-Moody algebra corresponding to $`Q`$ is defined by the generalized Cartan matrix $`(i,j+j,i)_{i,jI}`$ as in \[Kac\].
The link between the HN filtration and the Hall algebra is provided by the following definition.

###### Definition 4.6

For a HN type $`d^{}=(d^1,\mathrm{},d^s)`$ of weight $`d`$, define

$$\chi _d^{}^{HN}=\chi _{R_d^{}^{HN}}_d,$$

the characteristic function of the HN stratum for $`d^{}`$. In particular, define $`\chi _d^{ss}=\chi _{(d)}^{HN}`$.

We find the following analogue of the description of the HN stratum in Proposition 3.4.

###### Lemma 4.7

For a HN type $`d^{}=(d^1,\mathrm{},d^s)`$, we have in $``$ the following identity:

$$\chi _d^{}^{HN}=v^d^{}\chi _{d^1}^{ss}\mathrm{}\chi _{d^s}^{ss}.$$

Proof: Any filtration $`X_{}`$ of type $`d^{}`$ with semistable subquotients is a HN filtration by definition, which is unique by Proposition 2.5. The statement follows from the description Lemma 4.2 of the convolution product in $`(Q)`$.
$`\mathrm{}`$

We easily derive the Harder-Narasimhan recursion, in analogy to \[AB\] and \[HN\].

###### Proposition 4.8

For all $`d𝐍I`$, we have

$$\chi _d^{ss}=\chi _d\underset{d^{}}{}v^d^{}\chi _{d^1}^{ss}\mathrm{}\chi _{d^s}^{ss},$$

where the sum runs over all HN types $`d^{}(d)`$ of weight $`d`$. We have $`\chi _d^{ss}=\chi _d`$ if and only if $`\mathrm{\Theta }`$ is constant on $`\text{supp }d=\{iI:d_i0\}`$, the support of $`d`$ in $`I`$.

Proof: In case $`\mathrm{\Theta }`$ is constant on $`\text{supp }d`$, any representation $`XR_d`$ is obviously semistable, thus $`\chi _d^{ss}=\chi _d`$. Otherwise, we have a disjoint union $`R_d=_d^{}R_d^{}^{HN}`$ (the union being over all HN types of weight $`d`$), which translates into the identity $`\chi _d=_d^{}\chi _d^{}^{HN}`$. Using Lemma 4.7, the recursion is proved.
$`\mathrm{}`$

As an immediate consequence, we get:

###### Theorem 4.9

For all HN types $`d^{}`$, the element $`\chi _d^{}^{HN}`$ already belongs to the composition algebra $`𝒞`$. The scalar product of two such elements is given by

$$(\chi _d^{}^{HN},\chi _e^{}^{HN})=\delta _{d^{},e^{}}(\mathrm{\#}G_d)^1\mathrm{\#}R_d^{}^{HN}.$$

If $`\mu (d^s)>\mu (e^1)`$, then $`\chi _d^{}^{HN}\chi _e^{}^{HN}=\chi _{(d^1\mathrm{}d^se^1\mathrm{}e^t)}^{HN}`$.

Proof: The first statement follows from Proposition 4.8 by induction on the dimension type, using Lemma 4.4. The second statement just reformulates the disjointness of different HN strata, using the definition of the scalar product on $``$. For the third part, we just have to note that, by assumption, the concatenation $`(d^1,\mathrm{},d^s,e^1,\mathrm{},e^t)`$ is again a HN type.
$`\mathrm{}`$

###### Definition 4.10

The set of elements $`\chi _d^{}^{HN}`$ for various HN types $`d^{}`$ is called the Harder-Narasimhan system in $`𝒞𝒰_v(𝔫^+)`$.

We thus have found a natural orthogonal system of elements in $`𝒰_v(𝔫^+)`$, which is neccessarily linearly independent by orthogonality and the fact that $`\chi _d^{}^{HN}`$ is non-zero by definition of a HN type. This system is recursively computable by combining Lemma 4.7, Proposition 4.8 and Corollary 3.5. Furthermore, it is partially multiplicative. The HN system can be viewed as a replacement for PBW type bases (which have ’good’ properties only for finite type cases) in the Kac-Moody situation.
We end this section with a compact reformulation of the HN recursion 4.8.

###### Definition 4.11

Consider the skew Laurent polynomial ring $`\widehat{}=[[T_i,:iI]]`$, where $`\chi _iT_j=v^{i,j}T_j\chi _i`$ for all $`i,jI`$. Define generating functions

$$X(T)=\underset{d𝐍I}{}\chi _dT^d,X_\mu ^{ss}(T)=\underset{\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{d𝐍I}{\mu (d)=\mu }}{}\chi _d^{ss}T^d,$$

where $`T^d=_{iI}T_i^{d_i}`$ for $`d𝐍I`$.

Using these definitions, the recursion 4.8 allows the following notation:

###### Proposition 4.12

In $`\widehat{}`$, the generation function $`X(T)`$ equals the ’descending product’ $`_{\mu 𝐐}^{}X_\mu ^{ss}(T):=_{\mu _1>\mathrm{}>\mu _s}X_{\mu _1}^{ss}(T)\mathrm{}X_{\mu _s}^{ss}(T)`$.

Proof: First note that for each $`f𝒞_d`$, we have $`fT^e=v^{d,e}T^ef`$ by definition. We calculate using Lemma 4.7:

$`{\displaystyle \underset{\mu 𝐐}{\overset{}{}}}X_\mu ^{ss}(T)`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{\mu _1>\mathrm{}>\mu _s}{}}X_{\mu _1}^{ss}(T)\mathrm{}X_{\mu _s}^{ss}(T)`$
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{d^{}}{}}\chi _{d^1}^{ss}T^{d^1}\mathrm{}\chi _{d^s}^{ss}T^{d^s}`$
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{d^{}}{}}v^{_{k<l}d^l,d^k}\chi _{d^1}^{ss}\mathrm{}\chi _{d^s}^{ss}T^{d^1}\mathrm{}T^{d^s}`$
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{d^{}}{}}\chi _d^{}^{HN}T^{|d^{}|}={\displaystyle \underset{d\mathrm{𝐍𝐈}}{}}\chi _dT^d=X(T),`$
where the sums run over all HN types $`d^{}`$.
$`\mathrm{}`$

## 5 Resolving the recursion

Motivated by similar results in \[Z\],\[LR\] (but with different methods), we will now derive a resolution of the recursion 4.8. This gives an explicit formula for the elements $`\chi _d^{ss}`$:

###### Theorem 5.1

For all $`d𝐍I`$, we have:

$$\chi _d^{ss}=\underset{d^{}}{}(1)^{s1}v^d^{}\chi _{d^1}\mathrm{}\chi _{d^s},$$

where the sum runs over all tuples of non-zero dimension types $`d^{}=(d^1\mathrm{}d^s)`$ of weight $`d`$ such that $`d^{}=(d)`$ or $`d^{}>(d)`$, i.e. $`\mu (_{l=1}^kd^l)>\mu (d)`$ for $`k=1\mathrm{}s1`$.

Proof: The proof proceeds along the following lines:
First, we reduce the statement by an explicit calculation to a purely combinatorial formula. This will be interpreted in terms of the Euler characteristic of a simplicial complex (encoding convex coarsenings of a polygon). By explicit combinatorics, we show that this simplicial complex is in fact always contractible, proving the Theorem.
We start with some definitions.

###### Definition 5.2

Let $`d^{}=(d^1,\mathrm{},d^s)`$ be a tuple of dimension types.

1. For a subset $`I=\{s_1<\mathrm{}<s_k\}\{1,\mathrm{},s1\}`$, define the $`I`$-coarsening of $`d^{}`$ as

$$c_I^{}(d^{})=(d^1+\mathrm{}+d^{s_1},d^{s_1+1}+\mathrm{}+d^{s_2},\mathrm{},d^{s_k+1}+\mathrm{}+d^s).$$
2. The subset $`I`$ is called $`d^{}`$-admissible if the following holds:

1. $`c_I^{}(d^{})`$ is convex,
    2. For all $`i=0\mathrm{}k`$, we have $`(d^{s_i+1},\mathrm{},d^{s_{i+1}})(d^{s_i+1}+\mathrm{}+d^{s_{i+1}})=(c_I^i(d^{}))`$.
3. Define $`𝒜(d^{})`$ as the set of all $`d^{}`$-admissible subsets of $`\{1,\mathrm{},s1\}`$.

In polygonal language, a coarsening is thus admissible if it is convex and lies on or below the polygon $`P(d^{})`$.

###### Lemma 5.3

For all sequences $`d^{}`$, the set $`𝒜(d^{})`$ is a simplicial complex.

Proof: If $`I`$ is $`d^{}`$-admissible, and $`JI`$ is a subset, then $`c_J^{}(d^{})=c_J^{}(c_I^{}(d^{}))`$. Thus, $`c_J^{}(d^{})`$ is a coarsening of the convex tuple $`c_I^{}(d^{})`$. Therefore, it obviously has to be convex again, and it has to lie on or below $`c_I^{}(d^{})`$, which lies on or below $`P(d^{})`$ by assumption. We conclude that $`J`$ is also $`d^{}`$-admissible.
$`\mathrm{}`$

Using these definitions, we can reduce the formula of Theorem 5.1 to a purely combinatorial problem. We adopt Proposition 4.8. If $`\mathrm{\Theta }`$ is constant on $`\text{supp }d`$, then any dimension type $`ed`$ has the same slope as $`d`$, which means that the sum in Theorem 5.1 just runs over the single tuple $`(d)`$, and the formula is trivial.
Otherwise, we consider the HN recursion and replace any term $`\chi _{d^i}^{ss}`$ on its right hand side by the claimed formula:

$`\chi _d`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{d^{}}{}}v^d^{}\chi _{d^1}^{ss}\mathrm{}\chi _{d^s}^{ss}`$
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{d^{}}{}}{\displaystyle \underset{d^{1,},\mathrm{},d^{s,}}{}}v^d^{}(1)^{_{i=1}^s(t_i1)}v^{_{i=1}^sd^{i,}}\times `$
$`\times \chi _{d^{1,1}}\mathrm{}\chi _{d^{1,t_1}}\mathrm{}\chi _{d^{s,1}}\mathrm{}\chi _{d^{s,t_s}}.`$
In this equation, the outer sum runs over all HN types $`d^{}`$ of weight $`d`$, and the inner sums run over all sequences $`(d^{1,},\mathrm{},d^{s,})`$ of tuples $`d^{i,}`$ of weight $`d^i`$ and length $`t_i`$ such that $`d^{i,}=(d^i)`$ or $`d^{i,}>(d^i)`$.
We now want to exchange the order of summation. So denote by $`e^{}`$ the concatenation $`e^{}=(d^{1,1},\mathrm{},d^{s,t_s})`$ of all the tuples $`d^{i,}`$. Obviously, the resulting tuples $`e^{}`$ run over all tuples of weight $`d`$ such that $`e^{}=(d)`$ or $`e^{}>(d)`$. By the above definitions, the HN type $`d^{}`$ of the outer sum is an admissible coarsening of $`e^{}`$. The sign and the $`v`$-exponent in the above sum are easily computed as $`(1)^{l(e^{})l(d^{})}v^e^{}`$. So the above sum can be rewritten as:

$`\chi _d`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{e^{}}{}}(1)^{l(e^{})1}v^e^{}{\displaystyle \underset{d^{}}{}}(1)^{l(d^{})1}\chi _{e^1}\mathrm{}\chi _{e^{l(e)}},`$
where the outer sum runs over all tuples $`e^{}`$ of weight $`d`$ such that $`e^{}=(d)`$ or $`e^{}d`$, and the inner sum runs over all admissible coarsenings of $`e^{}`$. Theorem 5.1 thus reduces to the following statement:

###### Lemma 5.4

For each tuple $`d^{}`$ of weight $`d`$ such that $`d^{}=(d)`$ or $`d^{}>(d)`$, we have

$$\underset{I𝒜(d^{})}{}(1)^{\mathrm{\#}I}=\{\begin{array}{ccc}0& ,& d^{}(d),\\ 1& ,& d^{}=(d)\end{array}$$

Proof: We proceed by induction on $`s=l(d^{})`$. In case $`s=1`$, we have $`d^{}=(d)`$, and there is nothing to prove. Otherwise, consider the slopes of the first two entries $`d^1`$, $`d^2`$.
If $`\mu (d^1)<\mu (d^2)`$, we define $`I_0\{1,\mathrm{},s1\}`$ as the subset of all $`k`$ such that $`\mu (d^1)\mu (d^1+\mathrm{}+d^k)`$. It is then easy to see from the definitions that $`𝒜(d^{})=𝒜(c_{I_0}^{}(d^{}))`$. Since $`2I_0`$, the Lemma holds for the $`I_0`$-coarsening by induction.
If $`\mu (d^1)\mu (d^2)`$, we define $`d^{}=(d^2,\mathrm{},d^s)`$ and $`d^{\prime \prime }=(d^1+d^2,d^3,\mathrm{},d^s)`$. Again, it is then easy to see from the definitions that we have a disjoint union

$$𝒜(d^{})=𝒜(d^{\prime \prime })(\{1\}(𝒜(d^{})+1)),$$

where $`\{1\}(𝒜(d^{})+1)`$ consists of the sets $`\{1,s_1+1,\mathrm{},s_k+1\}`$ for $`\{s_1,\mathrm{},s_k\}𝒜(d^{})`$. This leads to the calculation

$$\underset{I𝒜(d^{})}{}(1)^{\mathrm{\#}I}=\underset{I𝒜(d^{\prime \prime })}{}(1)^{\mathrm{\#}I}+\underset{I𝒜(d^{})}{}(1)^{\mathrm{\#}I+1},$$

which thus equals zero by induction.
$`\mathrm{}`$

Combining the above calculation and the Lemma, we see that Theorem 5.1 is proved.
$`\mathrm{}`$
Remarks:

1. Implicitely in the proof of the above Lemma, we have proved the contractibility of the simplicial complex $`𝒜(d^{})`$.
2. The statement is easily generalized to give an explicit formula for arbitrary elements of the HN system, using Lemma 4.7.
3. The summation can be viewed as running over all lattice paths with arbitrary step length in the lattice of all elements $`e𝐍I`$ such that $`ed`$ and $`\mu (e)>\mu (d)`$.

The last remark gives a key to a compact reformulation of the above formula. We adopt a version of the transfer matrix method (see \[St\]).

###### Corollary 5.5

Let $`𝒯_d`$ be the quadratic matrix with rows and columns indexed by $`(d)=\{e𝐍I:ed,\mu (e)>\mu (d)\}\{0,d\}`$, and with entries in $`𝒞`$ given by $`v^{ef,e}\chi _{fe}`$ if $`ef`$, and zero otherwise. Then the $`(0,d)`$-entry of the inverse matrix $`𝒯_d^1`$ equals $`\chi _d^{ss}`$.

Proof: Since the matrix $`𝒯`$ is upper unitriangular with respect to the ordering $``$ on $`(d)`$, an entry of the inverse matrix can be computed as

$`(𝒯^1)_{0,d}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{0=e^0<e^1<\mathrm{}<e^s=d}{}}(1)^{s1}𝒯_{e^0,e^1}\mathrm{}𝒯_{e^{s1},e^s}`$
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{0=e^0<e^1<\mathrm{}<e^s=d}{}}(1)^{s1}v^{e^0e^1,e^0+\mathrm{}+e^{s1}e^s,e^{s1}}\times `$
$`\times \chi _{e^1e^0}\mathrm{}\chi _{e^se^{s1}}`$
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{d^1,\mathrm{},d^s}{}}(1)^{s1}v^{_{k<l}d^l,d^k}\chi _{d^1}\mathrm{}\chi _{d^s}`$
by substituting $`d^k=e^ke^{k1}`$. Noting that the defining properties of $`(d)`$ translate into $`\mu (d^k)>\mu (d)`$ for all $`k=1\mathrm{}s1`$, we arrive at the formula of Theorem 5.1.
$`\mathrm{}`$

This reformulation of the formula will be used in the next section to derive a fast algorithm for the computation of Betti numbers (see Corollary 6.9).

## 6 Cohomology of quiver moduli

We still keep the assumption that $`𝐤`$ is a finite field with $`v^2`$ elements. As the main application of the HN system and its explicit formula Theorem 5.1, we derive a formula for the Poincare polynomial of ordinary cohomology of the complex moduli spaces $`_d^{ss}(𝐂)`$ ’in the coprime case’ (see below for the definition).
The strategy is similar to the approach of \[HN\]: First, we count numbers of rational points of varieties. Then, we use results of \[M\] to prove compatibilities between these numbers. Finally, we relate these numbers to Betti numbers of complex varieties with the aid of the Weil conjectures.
The link between the HN system and numbers of rational points is provided by a twisted character of the Hall algebra $``$.

###### Lemma 6.1

The map $`ev:𝐂`$, defined by $`ev(f)=(\mathrm{\#}G_d)^1_Xf(X)`$ on $`_d`$, fulfills

$$ev(fg)=v^{e,d}ev(f)ev(g)$$

for $`|f|=d`$, $`|g|=e`$.

Proof: Without loss of generality, we can assume $`f`$ (resp. $`g`$) to be the characteristic function of an orbit $`𝒪_M`$ (resp. $`𝒪_N`$). By the definitions, we have $`ev(\chi _{𝒪_M})=\mathrm{\#}\mathrm{Aut}(M)^1`$, and $`\chi _{𝒪_M}\chi _{𝒪_N}=v^{e,d}_{[X]}F_{N,M}^X\chi _{𝒪_X}`$, where $`F_{N,M}^X`$ denotes the number of subrepresentations of $`X`$ which are isomorphic to $`M`$, with quotient isomorphic to $`N`$. By a formula of C. Riedtmann \[Rie\], we have

$$F_{N,M}^X=v^{2dim\mathrm{Hom}(N,M)}\frac{\mathrm{\#}\mathrm{Aut}(X)}{\mathrm{\#}\mathrm{Aut}(M)\mathrm{\#}\mathrm{Aut}(N)}\mathrm{\#}\mathrm{Ext}^1(N,M)_X,$$

where $`\mathrm{Ext}^1(N,M)_X`$ denotes the set of extension classes with middle term isomorphic to $`X`$. Using this formula, the Lemma follows by an easy calculation.
$`\mathrm{}`$

Applying the evaluation map $`ev`$ to both sides of the formula Theorem 5.1, using its definition and the previous lemma, we get immediately:

###### Corollary 6.2

For all $`d𝐍I`$, we have:

$$\frac{\mathrm{\#}R_d^{ss}}{\mathrm{\#}G_d}=\underset{d^{}}{}(1)^{s1}v^{2d^{}}\underset{k=1}{\overset{s}{}}\frac{\mathrm{\#}R_{d^k}}{\mathrm{\#}G_{d^k}},$$

where the sum runs over all tuples of non-zero dimension types $`d^{}=(d^1\mathrm{}d^s)`$ of weight $`d`$ such that $`\mu (_{l=1}^kd^l)>\mu (d)`$ for $`k=1\mathrm{}s1`$.

We thus have to relate the number of points in $`R_d^{ss}`$ to the number of points in the geometric quotient $`_d^{ss}`$. This is directly possible only in the following case.

###### Definition 6.3

A dimension type $`d𝐍I`$ is called coprime if the numbers $`\mathrm{\Theta }(d),dimd𝐙`$ are coprime.

(This property seems to be very restrictive at first sight; see however section 7 for enough interesting examples.)

###### Lemma 6.4

For coprime $`d`$, we have $`R_d^{ss}=R_d^s`$, and $`\mathrm{End}_{𝐤Q}(X)𝐤`$ for all $`XR_d^{ss}`$.

Proof: If $`XR_d^{ss}`$ is not stable, there exists a proper subrepresentation $`UX`$ such that $`\mathrm{\Theta }(U)/dimU=\mathrm{\Theta }(X)/dimX`$, contradicting coprimality. Consider now the scalar extension $`\overline{X}=\overline{𝐤}_𝐤X`$ to the algebraic closure of $`𝐤`$; we claim that it is still semistable. In fact, its HN filtration is unique, hence stable under Frobenius, and thus it descends to the HN filtration of $`X`$, which is trivial by semistability of $`X`$. We conclude that $`\overline{X}`$ is semistable, having trivial HN filtration. By the first part of the Lemma, $`\overline{X}`$ is already stable, thus its endomorphism ring reduces to scalars by a Schur’s Lemma type argument. Thus the same holds for $`X`$.
$`\mathrm{}`$

###### Lemma 6.5

For coprime $`d`$, the action of $`PG_d=G_d/𝐤^{}`$ on $`R_d^{ss}`$ is free in the sense of Mumford (see (\[M\], 0.8. iv)).

Proof: Since $`PG_d`$ acts set-theoretically free on $`R_d^{ss}`$ by Lemma 6.4, the natural map $`\mathrm{\Psi }:PG_d\times R_d^{ss}R_d^{ss}\times R_d^{ss}`$ is injective; we have to prove that it is a closed immersion. Consider the map $`\mathrm{\Phi }:R_d^{ss}\times R_d^{ss}\mathrm{Hom}_𝐤(E_d,R_d)`$ given by

$$\mathrm{\Phi }(X,Y)(\varphi _i)_{iI}=(\varphi _jX_\alpha Y_\alpha \varphi _i)_{\alpha :ij}.$$

Since the kernel of $`\mathrm{\Phi }(X,Y)`$ can be identified with the space of $`𝐤Q`$-homomorphisms from $`X`$ to $`Y`$, the image $`Z`$ of $`\mathrm{\Psi }`$ is precisely the set of pairs $`(X,Y)`$ such that $`\mathrm{\Phi }(X,Y)`$ has non-trivial kernel (i.e. where $`\mathrm{\Phi }(X,Y)`$ has a fixed rank $`r`$) by Lemma 6.4. On the open subset of $`Z`$ where a fixed $`r\times r`$ minor of $`\mathrm{\Phi }(X,Y)`$ is non-vanishing, we can thus recover from the pair $`(X,Y)`$ a matrix $`0`$ in $`E_d`$ intertwining $`X`$ and $`Y`$, i.e. we can recover algebraically the unique element of $`PG_d`$ mapping $`X`$ to $`Y`$. Thus, we have constructed locally an inverse morphism $`\mathrm{\Psi }^1:ZPG_d\times R_d^{ss}`$.
$`\mathrm{}`$

###### Proposition 6.6

For coprime $`d`$, we have the following formula for the number of $`𝐤`$-rational points:

$$\mathrm{\#}_d^{ss}=\frac{\mathrm{\#}R_d^{ss}}{\mathrm{\#}PG_d}.$$

Proof: From the proof of Lemma 6.4 above we see that semistability is stable under base change. By coprimality, the same holds for stability. Together with Proposition 1.14. of \[M\], this implies that $`R_d^{ss}`$, the variety of semistable representations over $`𝐤`$, coincides with the semistable locus of the $`𝐤`$-variety $`R_d`$. Thus, there exists a uniform geometric quotient $`\pi :R_d^{ss}_d^{ss}`$ (in the sense of (\[M\], 0.7.)) of $`R_d^{ss}`$ by $`PG_d`$. Using Lemma 6.5, we can apply (\[M\], 0.9.) to conclude that $`\pi `$ turns $`R_d^{ss}`$ into a principal $`PG_d`$-bundle over $`_d^{ss}`$, in the sense that $`PG_d\times R_d^{ss}R_d^{ss}\times _{_d^{ss}}R_d^{ss}`$. We conclude that each fibre of $`\pi `$ is isomorphic to $`PG_d`$, and the formula for the number of $`𝐤`$-rational points follows.
$`\mathrm{}`$

Using the Weil conjectures \[De\], we can conclude:

###### Theorem 6.7

Assume that $`d`$ is coprime, and let $`_d^{ss}(𝐂)`$ be the moduli space of semistable representations of $`Q`$ over the field $`𝐤=𝐂`$. Then the Poincare polynomial of the cohomology with complex coefficients of $`_d^{ss}(𝐂)`$ is given by

$$\underset{i𝐙}{}dim_𝐂H^i(_d^{ss}(𝐂))v^i=(v^21)\underset{d^{}}{}(1)^{s1}v^{2d^{}}\underset{k=1}{\overset{s}{}}\frac{\mathrm{\#}R_{d^k}}{\mathrm{\#}G_{d^k}},$$

where the sum runs over all tuples of non-zero dimension types $`d^{}=(d^1\mathrm{}d^s)`$ of weight $`d`$ such that $`\mu (_{l=1}^kd^l)>\mu (d)`$ for $`k=1\mathrm{}s1`$.

Proof: By Corollary 6.2, the right hand side equals $`\mathrm{\#}R_d^{ss}/\mathrm{\#}G_d`$, which by Proposition 6.6 equals $`\frac{1}{v^21}\mathrm{\#}_d^{ss}`$. A standard argument (see (\[Kir\], 15.), (\[Gö\], 1.2.)), together with the generic compatibility of formation of invariants and base change (see (\[CBV\], Lemma B.4.)) shows that the number of rational points (viewed as a function of $`v`$) is precisely the Poincare polynomial of the cohomology of $`_d^{ss}(𝐂)`$.
$`\mathrm{}`$

Using the obvious formulas for $`\mathrm{\#}R_d`$ and $`\mathrm{\#}G_d`$, the above formula can be simplified and made more explicit. For $`N𝐍`$, denote $`[N]=\frac{v^{2N}1}{v^21}`$ and $`[N]!=[1][2]\mathrm{}[N]`$.

###### Corollary 6.8

For coprime $`d=_{iI}d_ii`$, we have

$`{\displaystyle \underset{i𝐙}{}}dim_𝐂H^i(_d^{ss}(𝐂))v^i`$ $`=`$ $`(v^21)^{1_id_i}v^{_id_i(d_i1)}\times `$
$`\times {\displaystyle \underset{d^{}}{}}(1)^{s1}v^{2_{kl}_{ij}d_i^ld_j^k}{\displaystyle \underset{k=1}{\overset{s}{}}}{\displaystyle \underset{i}{}}([d_i^k]!)^1,`$
where the sum runs over all tuples of non-zero dimension types $`d^{}=(d^1\mathrm{}d^s)`$ of weight $`d`$ such that $`\mu (_{l=1}^kd^l)>\mu (d)`$ for $`k=1\mathrm{}s1`$.

We can also apply the evaluation map $`ev`$ to the transfer matrix analogue 5.5 of the resolved recursion. We easily get:

###### Corollary 6.9

Let $`T_d`$ be the quadratic matrix with rows and columns indexed by $`(d)`$, and with entries in $`𝐂(v)`$ given by $`v^{2ef,e}\frac{\mathrm{\#}R_{fe}}{\mathrm{\#}G_{fe}}`$ if $`ef`$, and zero otherwise. Then for coprime $`d`$, the $`(0,d)`$-entry of the inverse matrix $`T_d^1`$ equals $`(1v^2)^1_{i𝐙}dim_𝐂H^i(_d^{ss},𝐂)v^i`$.

This last corollary gives a simple and fast algorithm for computing the Poincare polynomials, since we just have to solve a linear equation defined by the upper unitriangular matrix $`T_d`$. This is clearly a problem of polynomial order. More precisely, it is of quadratic order in the size of the set $`(d)`$, which is approximately quadratic in the product $`_i(d_i+1)`$. In contrast to this, both the HN recursion 4.8 and the explicit formula 5.1 are of exponential order compared to the size of the entries of $`d`$, since the summations run over certain classes of lattice paths.

## 7 Applications and examples

As a first (potential) application of the HN system, we consider the case where $`Q`$ is of Dynkin type, i.e. the underlying unoriented graph is a disjoint union of Dynkin diagrams of type $`A,D,E`$. Generalizing example A of section 2, we have the following:

###### Conjecture 7.1

If $`Q`$ is of Dynkin type, there exists a weight $`\mathrm{\Theta }`$ such that the stable representations are precisely the indecomposables.

By Gabriel’s theorem (see \[ARS\]), the dimension types of the indecomposables are precisely the positive roots for the corresponding root system, and the conjecture can be reduced to a purely combinatorial problem.
Provided the conjecture holds, the HN strata for the corresponding slope function $`\mu `$ are precisely the (finitely many) $`G_d`$-orbits in $`R_d`$. The HN system is thus a basis for $`𝒰_v(𝔫^+)`$. By orthogonality, it has to coincide with a PBW basis (in the sense of \[L\]) up to scalars. The formula 5.1 thus gives an explicit description of a PBW basis, and in particular of root elements in $`𝒰_v(𝔫^+)`$.
Note however that the HN system can never be a basis for infinite types due to the non-trivial root multiplicities of the corresponding Kac-Moody algebra.
Another impact of the developed methods is on the structure of the Hall algebra $`(Q)`$ itself, which is much larger than $`𝒞𝒰_v(𝔫^+)`$ if $`Q`$ is not of Dynkin type. In fact, $``$ is a specialization of the quantized enveloping algebra of a Borcherds algebra by \[SV\]; the structure of this Borcherds algebra remains unknown. Using the concepts of sections 2, 4, we can define $`\mu `$-local Hall algebras by $`_\mu =_{d:\mu (d)=\mu }𝐂^{G_d}[R_d^{ss}]`$. This is a subalgebra of $``$ by Lemma 2.2 and Definition 4.1. Using \[SV\], it should again be possible to relate $`_\mu `$ to a Borcherds algebra, whose structure should be intimately related to the geometry of the moduli spaces $`_d^{ss}`$.
After these conjectural applications, we turn to the examples of section 2 and make the formula 6.8 explicit in some cases.
In the case of example B, assume that $`m`$ and $`n`$ are coprime. Then we can apply formula 6.8 to this particular case. After some elementary reformulations, we get the Poincare polynomial of cohomology of the quotient $`(𝐏^{m1})_{\mathrm{stable}}^n/\mathrm{PGL}_m`$ as (note the multinomial coefficient):

$$(v^21)^{1mn}v^{m(m1)}\underset{m_{},n_{}}{}(1)^{s1}\left(\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{n}{n_1\mathrm{}n_s}\right)v^{2_{kl}m_kn_l}\underset{k}{}([m_k]!)^1,$$

where the sum runs over all tuples $`m_{}=(m_1\mathrm{}m_s)`$, $`n_{}=(n_1\mathrm{}n_s)`$ such that $`_km_k=m`$, $`_kn_k=n`$, $`(m_k,n_k)(0,0)`$ for all $`k`$, and $`(m_1+\mathrm{}+m_k)/m<(n_1+\mathrm{}+n_k)/n`$ for all $`k=1\mathrm{}s1`$. This formula generalizes the formulas of (\[Kir\], 16)
Similarly, we can deal with example D. Considering the dimension vector $`ai+bj`$ for the quiver $`Q=i\stackrel{(n)}{}j`$ such that $`a`$ and $`b`$ are coprime, the Poincare polynomial $`P_{a,b}^n(v)`$ of the quotient $`W_{a,b}^n=\mathrm{Hom}(𝐂^a,𝐂^b)_{\mathrm{stable}}^n/\mathrm{GL}_a\times \mathrm{GL}_b`$ is given by:

$$(v^21)^{1ab}v^{a(a1)b(b1)}\underset{a_{},b_{}}{}(1)^{s1}v^{2n_{kl}a_lb_k}\underset{k}{}([a_k]![b_k]!)^1,$$

where the sum runs over all tuples $`a_{}=(a_1\mathrm{}a_s)`$, $`b_{}=(b_1\mathrm{}b_s)`$ such that $`_ka_k=a`$, $`_kb_k=b`$, $`(a_k,b_k)(0,0)`$ for all $`k`$, and $`(a_1+\mathrm{}+a_k)/a>(b_1+\mathrm{}+b_k)/b`$ for all $`k=1\mathrm{}s1`$.
It is possible to make this formula more tractable; the neccessary calculations are elementary, but quite tedious, so they will be omitted here. The idea is to separate the zero and non-zero entries among the $`a_k`$, and to use some standard identities for the $`v`$-binomial coefficients $`\left[\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{M}{N}\right]=\frac{[M+N]!}{[M]![N]!}`$ (see e.g. \[L\]). The final result is

$$P_{a,b}^n(v)=(v^21)^{1a}v^{a(a1)}\underset{a_{},b_{}}{}(1)^{s1}v^{2_{k<l}(na_lb_l)b_k}\underset{k=1}{\overset{s}{}}([a_k]!)^1\left[\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{na_k}{b_k}\right],$$

where the sum runs over all tuples $`a_{}=(a_1\mathrm{}a_s)`$, $`b_{}=(b_1\mathrm{}b_s)`$ such that $`_ka_k=a`$, $`_kb_k=b`$, $`a_k0`$ for all $`k`$, and $`(a_1+\mathrm{}+a_k)/a>(b_1+\mathrm{}+b_k)/b`$ for all $`k=1\mathrm{}s1`$.
Since the summation runs only over non-zero $`a_k`$, this formula has the advantage of being easily computable for small $`a`$:
For $`a=1`$, we just get $`\left[\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{n}{b}\right]`$, the Poincare polynomial of the cohomology of the Grassmanian $`\mathrm{Gr}_b^nW_{1,b}^n`$. For $`a=2`$, we get

$$P_{2,b}^n(v)=(v^21)^1v^2(\frac{1}{v^2+1}\left[\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{2n}{b}\right]\underset{k=0}{\overset{(b1)/2}{}}v^{2(nb+k)k}\left[\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{n}{k}\right]\left[\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{n}{bk}\right]),$$

generalizing results of \[Dr\]. This leads to a formula for the Euler characteristic (which can not be read off directly from the general formulas):

$$\chi (W_{2,b}^n)=\frac{bn1}{4}\left(\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{2n}{b}\right)n\underset{k=0}{\overset{(b1)/2}{}}k\left(\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{n}{k}\right)\left(\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{n}{bk}\right),$$

generalizing results of \[ES\]. Similar results can be obtained for example B.
Finally, let us remark that the algorithm 6.9 opens the possibility for computer experiments in many non-trivial cases. These experiments suggest several formulas for generating functions and asymptotical behaviours of Poincare polynomials and Euler characteristics. One may hope that such experiments lead to further insights into the geometry of quiver moduli.


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Recently there is some preliminary experimental evidence from type Ia supernovae data , which supports the fact that our Universe accelerates at present: distant supernovae (redshifts $`z1`$) data indicate a slower rate of expansion, as compared with that inferred from data pertaining to nearby supernovae. Distant supernovae look dimer than they should be, if the expansion rate of the Universe would be constant. If the data have been interpreted right this means that $`70\%`$ of the present energy density of the Universe consists of an unknown substance (“dark energy”), which, for the fit of , has been taken to be the standard cosmological constant. This last statement, in turn, would imply that our Universe would be eternally accelerating (de Sitter), according to standard cosmology . Such evidence is still far from being confirmed, but it is reinforced by combining these data with Cosmic Microwave background (CMB) data (first acoustic peak) implying a spatially $`\mathrm{\Omega }_{\mathrm{total}}=1.0\pm 0.1`$ flat Universe .

An important phenomenological parameter, which is of particular interest to astrophysicists is the deceleration parameter q of the Universe , which is defined as:

$$q=\frac{(d^2a_E/dt_E^2)a_E}{(da_E/dt_E)^2}$$
(1)
where $`a_E(t)`$ is the Robertson-Walker scale factor of the Universe, and the subscript $`E`$ denotes quantities computed in the so-called Einstein frame, that is where the gravity action has the canonical Einstein form as far as the scalar curvature term is concerned. This distinction is relevant in string-inspired effective theories with four-dimensional Brans-Dicke type scalars, such as dilatons, which will be dealing with here.

It should be mentioned that in standard Robertson-Walker cosmologies with matter the deceleration parameter can be expressed in terms of the matter and vacuum (cosmological constant) energy densities, $`\mathrm{\Omega }_M`$ and $`\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ respectively, as follows: $`q=\frac{1}{2}\mathrm{\Omega }_M\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ For the best fit Universe  one can then infer a present-era deceleration parameter $`q_0=0.55<0`$, indicating that the Universe accelerates today with an order one deceleration parameter.

If the data have been interpreted right, then there are three possible explanations :

(i) Einstein’s General Relativity is incorrect, and hence Friedman’s cosmological solution as well. This is unlikely, given the success of General Relativity and of the Standard Cosmological Model in explaining a plethora of other issues.

(ii) the ‘observed’ dark energy and the acceleration of the Universe are due to an ‘honest’ cosmological constant $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ in Einstein-Friedman-Robertson-Walker cosmological model. This is the case of the best fit Universe which matches the supernova and CMB data. In that case one is facing the problem of eternal acceleration, for the following reason: let $`\rho _Ma^3`$ the matter density in the Universe, with $`a(t)`$ the Robertson-Walker scale factor, and $`t`$ the cosmological observer (co-moving) frame time. The vacuum energy density, due to $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, is assumed to be constant in time, $`\rho _\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ =const. Hence in conventional Friedmann cosmologies one has:

$$\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{\Lambda }/\mathrm{\Omega }_M=\rho _\mathrm{\Lambda }/\rho _Ma(t)^3,$$
(2)
and hence eventually the vacuum energy density component will dominate over matter. From Friedman’s equations then, one observes that the Universe will eventually enter a de-Sitter phase, in which $`a(t)e^{\sqrt{\frac{8\pi G_N}{3}\mathrm{\Lambda }}t}`$, where $`G_N`$ is the gravitational (Newton’s) constant. This implies eternal expansion and acceleration, and most importantly the presence of a cosmological horizon

$$\delta =a(t)_{t_0}^{\mathrm{}}\frac{cdt}{a(t)}<\mathrm{}$$
(3)
It is this last feature in de Sitter Universes that presents problems in defining proper asymptotic states, and thus a consistent scattering matrix for field theory in such backgrounds . The analogy of such global horizons with microscopic or macroscopic black hole horizons in this respect is evident, the important physical difference, however, being that in the cosmological de Sitter case the observer lives “inside” the horizon, in contrast to the black hole case.

Such eternal-acceleration Universes are bad news for critical string theory , due to the fact that strings are by definition theories of on-shell $`S`$-matrix and hence, as such, can only accommodate backgrounds consistent with the existence of the latter.

(iii) the ‘observed effects’ are due to the existence of a quintessence field $`\phi `$, which has not yet relaxed in its absolute minimum (ground state), given that the relaxation time is longer than the age of the Universe. Thus we are still in a non-equilibrium situation, relaxing to equilibrium gradually. In this drastic explanation, the vacuum energy density, due to the potential of the field $`\phi `$ will be time-dependent. In fact the data point towards a $`1/t^2`$ relaxation, with $`t10^{60}`$ in Planck units, where the latter number represents the age of the observed Universe.

It is this third possibility that we have attempted to adopt in a proper non-critical string theory framework  in ref. . Non-critical strings can be viewed as non-equilibrium systems in string theory . The advantage of this non-equilibrium situation lies on the possibility of an eventual exit from the de Sitter phase, which would allow proper definition of a field-theory scattering matrix, thus avoiding the problem of eternal horizons mentioned previously. Exit from de Sitter inflationary phases cannot be accommodated (at least to date) within the context of critical strings . This is mainly due to the fact that such a possibility requires time-dependent backgrounds in string theory, which are not well understood within the conformal $`\sigma `$-model setting. On the other hand, there is sufficient evidence that such a ‘graceful exit possibility’ from the inflationary phase can be realized in non-critical strings, with a time-like signature of the Liouville field, which thus plays the rôle of a Robertson-Walker comoving-frame time . The evidence came first from toy two-dimensional specific models , and was extended in  to four-dimensional models based on the so-called type-0 non-supersymmetric strings .

The latter string theory has four-dimensional brane worlds, whose fluctuations have been argued in  to lead to super criticality of the underlying string theory, necessitating Liouville dressing with a Liouville mode of time-like signature. In general, Liouville strings become critical strings after such a dressing procedure, but in one target-space dimension higher. However in our approach , instead of increasing the initial number of target space dimensions ($`d=10`$ for type-0 strings), we have identified the world-sheet zero mode of the Liouville field with the (existing) target time. In this way, the time may be thought of as being responsible of re-adjusting itself (in a non-linear way), once the fluctuations in the brane worlds occur, so as to restore the disturbed conformal invariance of the underlying world sheet theory.

One of the most important results of  is the appearance of a time-dependent central charge deficit in the underlying conformal theory, acting as a vacuum energy density in the respective target-space lagrangian. This is crucial for a ‘graceful exit’ from the inflationary de Sitter phase, and the absence of eternal acceleration. In fact the asymptotic (in time) theory is that of a flat (Minkowski) target-space $`\sigma `$-model with a linear dilaton  in the string frame. In the Einstein frame, i.e. in a redefined metric background in which the Einstein curvature term in the target-space effective action has the canonical normalization, the universe is linearly expanding, which is the limiting case in which the horizon (3) diverges logarithmically; hence such a theory can admit properly defined asymptotic states and $`S`$-matrix amplitudes. The linear dilaton background has been shown  to be a consistent background for string theory, despite being time dependent, in the sense of satisfying factorizability (for certain discrete values of the asymptotic central charge though), modular invariance and unitarity.

Another important aspect of our solution is the fact that the extra bulk dimensions are compactified in such a way that one is significantly larger than the others, thereby leading to effective five-dimensional brane world scenaria. This is a consequence of an appropriately chosen five-form flux background. This feature is one of the most important ones of the type-0 stringy cosmologies, which are known to be characterized by the existence of non-trivial flux form fields coming from the Ramond sector of the brane worlds .

The reader might object to our use of type-0 backgrounds due to the existence of tachyonic backgrounds. Although at tree level it has been demonstrated that the above-described flux forms can stabilize such backgrounds by shifting away the tachyonic mass poles, however, recently this feature has been questioned at string loop level. Nevertheless, in the context of our cosmological model, such quantum instabilities are expected probably as a result of the non-equilibrium nature of our relaxing background, in which the time dependent dilaton field plays the rôle of the quintessence field. Indeed, as demonstrated in  the asymptotic in time value of the tachyon background is zero, and hence such a field disappears eventually from the spectrum, which is consistent with the asymptotic equilibrium nature of the ground state.

The effective ten-dimensional target space action of the type-$`0`$ String, upon which we base our low-energy analysis, reads to $`𝒪(\alpha ^{})`$ in the Regge slope $`\alpha ^{}`$ :

$`S`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle }d^{10}x\sqrt{G}[e^{2\mathrm{\Phi }}(R+4(_M\mathrm{\Phi })^2{\displaystyle \frac{1}{4}}(_MT)^2{\displaystyle \frac{1}{4}}m^2T^2`$ (4)
$`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{12}}H_{MNP}^2){\displaystyle \frac{1}{4}}(1+T+{\displaystyle \frac{T^2}{2}})|_{MNP\mathrm{\Sigma }T}|^2]`$
where capital Greek letters denote ten-dimensional indices, $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ is the dilaton, $`H_{MNP}`$ denotes the field strength of the antisymmetric tensor field, which we shall ignore in the present work, and $`T`$ is a tachyon field of mass $`m^2<0`$. In our analysis we have ignored higher than quadratic order terms in the tachyon potential. The quantity $`_{MNP\mathrm{\Sigma }T}`$ denotes the appropriate five-form of type-$`0`$ string theory, with non trivial flux, which couples to the tachyon field in the Ramond-Ramond (RR) sector via the function $`f(T)=1+T+\frac{1}{2}T^2`$.

From (4) one sees easily the important rôle of the five-form $``$ in stabilizing the ground state. Due to its special coupling with the quadratic $`T^2`$ term in the Ramond-Ramond (RR) sector of the theory, it yields an effective mass term for the tachyon which is positive, despite the originally negative $`m^2`$ contribution . As mentioned previously, such a stability has recently been questioned in the context of string loop corrections, but as we have mentioned previously this is rather a desirable feature of the approach, in view of the claimed cosmological instabilities.

As argued in  fluctuations of the brane worlds involved in the construction of type-0 string theory result in supercriticality of the underlying $`\sigma `$-model, with inevitable consequence the addition of the following term to the action (4)

$$d^{10}x\sqrt{G}e^{2\mathrm{\Phi }}Q(t)^2$$
(5)
where $`Q(t)`$ is the central-charge deficit of the non-equilibrium non conformal $`\sigma `$-model theory. The time here is identified with the (world-sheet zero mode of) the Liouville field, and the $`t`$ dependence of the central charge deficit is in accordance with the concept of a Zamolodchikov C-function , a “running central charge” of a non-conformal theory, interpolating between two conformal (fixed point) theories. The sign of $`Q(t)^2`$ is positive if one assumes supercriticality of the string , which is the case of the model of . It is important to remark that in general, $`Q^2(t)`$ depends on the $`\sigma `$-model backgrounds fields, being the analogue of Zamolodchikov’s $`C`$-function . As explained in , the explicit time dependence of $`Q(t)`$ reflects the existence of relevant operators in the problem, other than the background fields considered in (4) which are treated collectively in the present context. Such operators have been argued to represent initial quantum fluctuations of the brane world. A plausible scenario, for instance, would be that the initial disturbance that takes the system out of equilibrium is due to an impulse on the D3 brane worlds coming from either a scattering off it of a macroscopic number of closed string bulk states or another brane in scenaria where the bulk space is uncompactified (e.g. ekpyrotic universes etc. ). For times long after the event, memory of the details of this process is kept in the temporal evolution of $`Q^2(t)`$, which is determined self-consistently by means of the Liouville equations, as we shall see below.

The ten-dimensional metric configuration we considered in  was:

$$G_{MN}=\left(\begin{array}{ccc}g_{\mu \nu }^{(4)}00& & \\ 0e^{2\sigma _1}0& & \\ 00e^{2\sigma _2}I_{5\times 5}& & \end{array}\right)$$
(6)
where lower-case Greek indices are four-dimensional space time indices, and $`I_{5\times 5}`$ denotes the $`5\times 5`$ unit matrix. We have chosen two different scales for internal space. The field $`\sigma _1`$ sets the scale of the fifth dimension, while $`\sigma _2`$ parametrize a flat five dimensional space. In the context of cosmological models, we are dealing with here, the fields $`g_{\mu \nu }^{(4)}`$, $`\sigma _i,i=1,2`$ are assumed to depend on the time $`t`$ only.

As we demonstrated in , a consistent background choice for the flux form field will be that in which the flux is parallel to to the fifth dimension $`\sigma _1`$. This implies actually that the internal space is crystallized (stabilized) in such a way that this dimension is much larger than the remaining five $`\sigma _2`$.

Upon considering the fields to be time dependent only, i.e. considering spherically-symmetric homogeneous backgrounds, restricting ourselves to the compactification (6), and assuming a Robertson-Walker form of the
four-dimensional metric, with scale factor $`a(t)`$, the generalized conformal invariance conditions and the Curci-Pafutti $`\sigma `$-model renormalizability constraint  imply a set of differential equations, which we solved numerically in . The system can also be solved analytically in the phase of large times after the initial fluctuations, where the various fields obey linearized approximations.

The generic form of the Liouville equations, which express restoration of conformal invariance after Liouville dressing, reads :

$$\ddot{g}^i+Q(t)\dot{g}^i=\stackrel{~}{\beta }^i$$
(7)
where $`\stackrel{~}{\beta }^i`$ are the Weyl anomaly coefficient of the stringy $`\sigma `$-model on the background $`\{g^i\}`$. In the model of  the set of $`\{g^i\}`$ contains graviton, dilaton, tachyon, flux and moduli fields $`\sigma _{1,2}`$ whose vacuum expectation values control the size of the extra dimensions. As mentioned above, these equations should be supplemented by the Curci-Paffuti renormalizability condition .

As argued in  such equations correspond to solutions of equations of motion derived from a ten-dimensional effective action. This is an important and non-trivial consequence of the gradient flow property of the $`\sigma `$-model $`\stackrel{~}{\beta }^i`$ functions, according to which: $`\stackrel{~}{\beta }^i=𝒢^{ij}\frac{\delta [g]}{\delta g^j}`$ where the flow functional $`[g]`$ is essentially the target-space effective action, depending on the background configuration under consideration.

An equivalent set of equations (in fact at most linear combinations) come out from the corresponding four-dimensional action after dimensional reduction. Of course this reduction leads to the string or $`\sigma `$-model frame, in which there are dilaton exponential factors in front of the Einstein term in the action. We may turn to the Einstein frame, in which such factors are absent, and the Einstein term is canonically normalized. In this latter frame, the cosmological time is defined by $`dt_E=e^{\mathrm{\Phi }+\frac{\sigma _1+5\sigma _2}{2}}dt`$. The extra dimensions freeze out quickly  and their constant values can be absorbed in a redefinition of the Newton’s constant . This yields the Einstein-frame time in the form:

$$t_E=^te^{\mathrm{\Phi }(z)}𝑑z$$
(8)
In this late-time phase, the Einstein-frame dilaton varies logarithmically with the Einstein time $`t_E`$ (8)

$$\mathrm{\Phi }_E=\mathrm{const}\mathrm{ln}t_E,$$
(9)
while the Einstein-frame “vacuum” energy is related to the central charge deficit as :

$$\mathrm{\Lambda }_E=e^{2\mathrm{\Phi }}Q^2(t)$$
(10)
in Planck $`M_P`$ units. As discussed in , due to the non-equilibrium nature of the non-critical string Universe, which has not yet relaxed to its ground state, $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_E`$ should be considered rather as an effective potential, in much the same way as the potential of a (non-equilibrium) quintessence field, whose rôle is played here the dilaton $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ .

The results of the analysis of  are summarized in figs. 1 and 2. The numerical solution is supported by analytical considerations for the asymptotic field modes (late cosmological-frame times $`t\mathrm{}`$). Our solution demonstrates that the scale factor of the Universe, after the initial singularity, enters a short inflationary phase and then, in a smooth way, goes into a flat Minkowski spacetime with a linear dilaton for asymptotically long times $`t\mathrm{}`$ in the $`\sigma `$-model frame. Note that this is a consistent $`\sigma `$-model background  in the sense of satisfying modular invariance and factorization of $`S`$-matrix elements. This is actually one of the most important points of our work in , namely that there is a smooth exit from the de Sitter phase in such a way that one can appropriately define asymptotic on-shell states, and hence an $`S`$-matrix.

We observe from fig. 2 that, after its graceful exit from the inflationary phase, the type-$`0`$ non-critical string Universe passes first through a decelerating phase, which is then succeeded by an accelerating one, before the Universe relaxes asymptotically to is steady state (equilibrium) value.

From fig. 1 we also observe that, immediately after inflation, the central charge deficit $`Q^2`$ passes through a metastable point where it vanishes. This has to do with the fact that at this point the square root $`Q`$ changes sign. After this point the central charge deficit oscillates (as a function of time) before it relaxes to its constant asymptotic value, $`q_0`$, which should be taken as one of the values for which the conformal theory of  is valid. The oscillatory nature is consistent with the time-like signature of the Liouville mode as explained in .

This behaviour of the central charge deficit is important in determining the evolution of the energy densities of the type-$`0`$ string Universe, which are depicted in fig. 3. We should remark that in the type-$`0`$ string/brane scenario, ordinary matter may be assumed attached to the brane, and hence purely four dimensional. The latter is going to resist the deceleration of the universe, according to standard arguments, but it is not expected to change the order of magnitude of such quantities as the Hubble parameter and the vacuum energy, determined in  in the absence of matter. In this sense one may obtain the observed ‘coincidence situation’ of the present era, where the matter and ‘dark energy’ contributions are roughly of the same order of magnitude . In our scenario it is the time dependence of both ‘dark energy’ and ‘matter contribution’, in conjunction with the value the time $`t_E`$ has at present, roughly $`t_E10^{60}M_P^1`$, that is held responsible for this coincidence situation.

In our model the tracking (coincidence) of the matter energy density by that of the quintessence dilaton field is a feature only of the present era, which is a welcome feature phenomenologically. As the time $`t_E`$ elapses further, the matter contribution will become subdominant, as scaling like $`a_E^3`$. For very large times $`t_E`$ in the far future, as we have seen above, the dominant contributions will be the ones due to the non-constant in time ‘dark energy component’ $`\mathrm{\Lambda }(t_E)a_E^2`$, which asymptotes to zero, as the system reaches its equilibrium value. This makes a quantitative difference in scaling as compared with the standard Robertson-Walker scenario with a constant vacuum energy.

For large times, such as the present era, a straightforward computation yields  the Hubble parameter:

$$H(t_E)\frac{\gamma ^2t_E}{1+\gamma ^2t_E^2}$$
(11)
where the constant $`\gamma V_5/|C_5|`$, with $`C_5`$ the flux of the five form, which is taken along the fifth extra dimension, and $`V_5`$ the volume of the five extra dimensions, transverse to the flux direction.

The deceleration parameter (1), in the same regime of $`t_E`$, is:

$$q(t_E)\frac{1}{\gamma ^2t_E^2}$$
(12)
Finally, the “vacuum energy” can be obtained from (10):

$$\mathrm{\Lambda }(t_E)\frac{q_0^2\gamma ^2}{F_1^2(1+\gamma ^2t_E^2)}$$
(13)
where $`q_0`$ is the constant asymptotic value of the central charge deficit $`Q^2`$. In the model of  conformal invariance requires that $`q_0/F_1𝒪(1)`$.

If, therefore, one defines the present era by the time regime

$$\gamma t_E^1$$
(14)
in the Einstein frame, then from (12) it becomes clear that an order one negative value of $`q`$ is obtained, in agreement with the prelimianry astrophysical observations. The important point is that this is compatible with large enough times $`t_E`$ (in string units) for $`|C_5|/V_51`$. This condition can be guaranteed either for small radii of the five of the extra dimensions or for a large value of the flux $`|C_5|`$ of the five-form of the type-$`0`$ string. Notice that the relatively large extra dimension, in the direction of the flux, decouples from this condition, thus allowing for the possibility of effective five-dimensional models with large uncompactified fifth dimension.