$(q,t)$-Characters of Kirillov-Reshetikhin Modules of Type $A_r$ as Quantum Cluster Variables

Abstract

Nakajima (2003) introduced a $t$-deformation of $q$-characters, $(q,t)$-characters for short, and their twisted multiplication through the geometry of quiver varieties. The Nakajima $(q,t)$-characters of Kirillov-Reshetikhin modules satisfy a $t$-deformed $T$-system. The $T$-system is a discrete dynamical system that can be interpreted as a mutation relation in a cluster algebra in two different ways, depending on the choice of direction of evolution. In this paper, we show that the Nakajima $t$-deformed $T$-system of type $A_r$ forms a quantum mutation relation in a quantization of exactly one of the cluster algebra structures attached to the $T$-system.