Flops and the S-duality conjecture

Abstract

We prove the transformation formula of Donaldson–Thomas (DT) invariants counting two-dimensional torsion sheaves on Calabi–Yau 3-folds under flops. The error term is described by the Dedekind eta function and the Jacobi theta function, and our result gives evidence of a 3-fold version of the Vafa–Witten S-duality conjecture. As an application, we prove a blow-up formula of DT-type invariants on the total spaces of canonical line bundles on smooth projective surfaces. It gives an analogue of the similar blow-up formula in the original S-duality conjecture by Yoshioka, Li and Qin, and Göttsche.