We introduce and study mutation of torsion pairs, as a generalization of mutation of cluster tilting objects, rigid objects and maximal rigid objects. It is proved that any mutation of a torsion pair is again a torsion pair. A geometric realization of mutation of torsion pairs in the cluster category of type A_n or A_\infty is given via rotation of Ptolemy diagrams.

In this paper, we give a complete classification of cotorsion pairs in a cluster category C of type A^\infty_\infty via certain configurations of arcs, called τ-compact Ptolemy diagrams, in an infinite strip with marked points. As applications, we classify t-structures and functorially finite rigid subcategories in C, respectively. We also deduce Liu-Paquette's classification of cluster tilting subcategories of C and Ng's classification of torsion pairs in the cluster category of type A^\infty_\infty.

We give a finite presentation for the braid twist group of a decorated surface. If the decorated surface arises from a triangulated marked surface without punctures, we obtain a finite presentation for the spherical twist group of the associated 3-Calabi–Yau triangulated category. The motivation/application is that the result will be used to show that the (principal component of) space of stability conditions on the 3-Calabi–Yau category is simply connected in the sequel [King and Qiu, Invent. Math., to appear].

We study the Ginzburg dg algebra Γ_T associated with the quiver with potential arising from a triangulation T of a decorated marked surface S_△⁠, in the sense of [22]. We show that there is a canonical way to identify all finite-dimensional derived categories D_{fd}(Γ_T)⁠, denoted by D_{fd}(S_△)⁠. As an application, we show that the spherical twist group ST(S_△) associated with D_{fd}(S_△) acts faithfully on its space of stability conditions.

We discuss the connections between the complex SYK model at the conformal limit and warped conformal field theories. Both theories have an SL(2 ,R)×U(1) global symmetry. We present comparisons on symmetries, correlation functions, the effective action and the entropy formula. We also use modular covariance to reinterpret results in the complex SYK model.