Purity and 2-Calabi-Yau categories

Abstract

For various 2-Calabi-Yau categories $\mathscr{C}$ for which the stack of objects $\mathfrak{M}$ has a good moduli space $p\colon\mathfrak{M}\rightarrow \mathcal{M}$, we establish purity of the mixed Hodge module complex $p_{!}\underline{\mathbb{Q}}_{\mathfrak{M}}$. We do this by using formality in 2CY categories, along with \'etale neighbourhood theorems for stacks, to prove that the morphism $p$ is modelled \'etale-locally by the semisimplification morphism from the stack of modules of a preprojective algebra. Then via the integrality theorem in cohomological Donaldson-Thomas theory we prove purity of $p_{!}\underline{\mathbb{Q}}_{\mathfrak{M}}$. It follows that the Beilinson-Bernstein-Deligne-Gabber decomposition theorem for the constant sheaf holds for the morphism $p$, despite the possibly very singular and stacky nature of $\mathfrak{M}$. We use this to define cuspidal cohomology for $\mathfrak{M}$, which is conjecturally a complete space of generators for the BPS algebra associated to $\mathscr{C}$. We prove purity of the Borel-Moore homology of the moduli stack $\mathfrak{M}$, provided its good moduli space $\mathcal{M}$ is projective, or admits a suitable contracting $\mathbb{C}^*$-action. In particular, when $\mathfrak{M}$ is the moduli stack of Gieseker-semistable sheaves on a K3 surface, this proves a conjecture of Halpern-Leistner. We use these results to moreover prove purity for several stacks of coherent sheaves that do not admit a good moduli space. Without the usual assumption that $r$ and $d$ are coprime, we prove that the Borel-Moore homology of the stack of semistable degree $d$ rank $r$ Higgs sheaves is pure and carries a perverse filtration with respect to the Hitchin base, generalising the usual perverse filtration for the Hitchin system to the case of singular stacks of Higgs sheaves.