Conformal covariance of the Liouville quantum gravity metric for $\gamma \in (0,2)$

For $\gamma \in (0,2)$, $U\subset \mathbb{C}$, and an instance $h$ of the Gaussian free field (GFF) on $U$, the $\gamma$-Liouville quantum gravity (LQG) surface associated with $(U,h)$ is formally described by the Riemannian metric tensor $e^{\gamma h}(d{x}^2+d{y}^2)$ on $U$. Previous work by the authors showed that one can define a canonical metric (distance function) $D_h$ on $U$ associated with a $\gamma$-LQG surface. We show that this metric is conformally covariant in the sense that it respects the coordinate change formula for $\gamma$-LQG surfaces. That is, if $U,\tilde{U}$ are domains, $\phi \colon U \to \widetilde{U}$isaconformaltransformation,$Q=2/\gamma+\gamma/2$,and$\widetilde h = h\circ\phi^{-1} + Q\log|(\phi^{-1})'|$,then$D_h(z,w) = D_{\widetilde{h}}(\phi(z),\phi(w))$forall$z,w \in U$\mathrm{.}Thisprovesthat$D_h$isintrinsictothequantumsurfacestructureof$(U,h)$, i.e., it does not depend on the particular choice of parameterization.