Abstract:
We verify the (first) gamma conjecture, which relates the gamma class
of a Fano variety to the asymptotics at infinity of the Frobenius solutions
of its associated quantum differential equation, for all 17 of the
deformation classes of Fano 3-folds of rank 1. This involves
computing the corresponding limits (‘Frobenius limits’) for the
Picard–Fuchs differential equations of Apéry type associated by mirror
symmetry with the Fano families, and is achieved using two methods, one
combinatorial and the other using the modular properties of the differential
equations. The gamma conjecture for Fano 3-folds always contains a rational
multiple of the number $\zeta(3)$. We present numerical evidence suggesting
that higher Frobenius limits of Apéry-like differential equations may be
related to multiple zeta values.