Dk Gravitational Instantons as Superpositions of Atiyah–Hitchin and Taub–NUT Geometries

Abstract

We obtain D k ALF gravitational instantons by a gluing construction which captures, in a precise and explicit fashion, their interpretation as nonlinear superpositions of the moduli space of centred SU(2) monopoles, equipped with the Atiyah–Hitchin metric, and k copies of the Taub–NUT manifold. The construction proceeds from a finite set of points in euclidean space, reflection symmetric about the origin, and depends on an adiabatic parameter which is incorporated into the geometry as a fifth dimension. Using a formulation in terms of hyperKähler triples on manifolds with boundaries, we show that the constituent Atiyah–Hitchin and Taub–NUT geometries arise as boundary components of the five-dimensional geometry as the adiabatic parameter is taken to zero.