For an Abel-Prym curve contained in a Prym variety, we determine the cohomological support loci of its twisted ideal sheaves and the dimension of its theta-dual.
Given the Prym variety of an étale double cover one can define analogues of the classical Brill-Noether loci on Jacobians of curves. Recent work by Lahoz and Naranjo shows that the Brill-Noether locus $V^2$ completely determines the covering. In this paper we describe the singular locus and the irreducible components of $V^2$.
In this paper we give a bound on the dimension of a totally geodesic submanifold of the moduli space of polarised abelian varieties of a given dimension, which is contained in the Prym locus of a (possibly) ramified double cover. This improves the already known bounds. The idea is to adapt the techniques introduced by the authors in collaboration with A. Ghigi and G. P. Pirola for the Torelli map to the case of the Prym maps of (ramified) double covers.
We study Shimura curves of PEL type in the space of polarised abelian varieties $A^δ_p$ generically contained in the ramified Prym locus. We generalise to ramified double covers, the construction done in [10] in the unramified case and in the case of two ramification points. Namely, we construct families of double covers which are compatible with a fixed group action on the base curve. We only consider the case of one-dimensional families and where the quotient of the base curve by the group is ${\mathbb P}^1$. Using computer algebra we obtain 184 Shimura curves contained in the (ramified) Pry…
In this paper we construct Shimura subvarieties of dimension bigger than one of the moduli space of polarised abelian varieties of a given dimension, which are generically contained in the Pym loci of (ramified) double covers. The idea is to adapt the techniques already used to construct Shimura curves in the Prym loci to the higher dimensional case, namely to use families of Galois covers of the projective line. The case of abelian covers is treated in detail, since in this case it is possible to make explicit computations that allow to verify a sufficient condition for such a family to yield…
We use Young tableaux to compute the dimension of $V^r$, the Prym-Brill-Noether locus of a folded chain of loops of any gonality. This tropical result yields a new upper bound on the dimensions of algebraic Prym-Brill-Noether loci. Moreover, we prove that $V^r$ is pure-dimensional and connected in codimension $1$ when $\dim V^r \geq 1$. We then compute the first Betti number of this locus for even gonality when the dimension is exactly $1$, and compute the cardinality when the locus is finite and the edge lengths are generic.
We study the rational Picard group of the projectivized moduli space of holomorphic n-differentials on complex genus g stable curves. We define (n - 1) natural classes in this Picard group that we call Prym-Tyurin classes. We express these classes as linear combinations of boundary divisors and the divisor of n-differentials with a double zero. We give two different proofs of this result, using two alternative approaches: an analytic approach that involves the Bergman tau function and its vanishing divisor and an algebro-geometric approach that involves cohomological computations on the univer…
This paper is devoted to the classification of connected components of Prym eigenform loci in the strata H(2,2)^odd and H(1,1,2) in the Abelian differentials bundle in genus 3. These loci, discovered by McMullen are GL^+(2,R)-invariant submanifolds (of complex dimension 3) that project to the locus of Riemann surfaces whose Jacobian variety has a factor admitting real multiplication by some quadratic order Ord_D. It turns out that these subvarieties can be classified by the discriminant D of the corresponding quadratic orders. However there algebraic varieties are not necessarily irreducible. …
We construct pointed Prym-Brill-Noether varieties parametrizing line bundles assigned to an irreducible étale double covering of a curve with a prescribed minimal vanishing at a fixed point. We realize them as degeneracy loci in type D and deduce their classes in case of expected dimension. Thus, we determine a pointed Prym-Petri map and prove a pointed version of the Prym-Petri theorem implying that the expected dimension holds in the general case. These results build on work of Welters and De Concini-Pragacz on the unpointed case. Finally, we show that Prym varieties are Prym-Tyurin varietie…
Let $C$ be a smooth non rational projective curve over the complex field $\mathbb{C}$. If $A$ is an abelian subvariety of the Jacobian $J(C)$, we consider the Abel-Prym map $φ_A : C \rightarrow A$ defined as the composition of the Abel map of $C$ with the norm map of $A$. The goal of this work is to investigate the degree of the map $φ_A$ in the case where $A$ is one of the components of an isotypical decomposition of $J(C)$. In this case we obtained a lower bound for $\mathrm{deg}(φ_A)$ and, under some hypotheses, also an upper bound. We then apply the results obtained to compute degrees of A…
The Prym variety for a branched double covering of a nonsingular projective curve is defined as a polarized abelian variety. We prove that any double covering of an elliptic curve which has more than $4$ branch points is recovered from its Prym variety.
We study the Prym varieties arising from étale cyclic coverings of degree 7 over a curve of genus 2. These Prym varieties are products of Jacobians JY x JY of genus 3 curves Y with polarization type D=(1,1,1,1,1,7). We describe the fibers of the Prym map between the moduli space of such coverings and the moduli space of abelian sixfolds with polarization type D, admitting an automorphism of order 7.
We prove that a very general hypersurface of bidegree (2, n) in P^2 x P^2 for n bigger than or equal to 2 is not stably rational, using Voisin's method of integral Chow-theoretic decompositions of the diagonal and their preservation under mild degenerations. At the same time, we also analyse possible ways to degenerate Prym curves, and the way how various loci inside the moduli space of stable Prym curves are nested. No deformation theory of stacks or sheaves of Azumaya algebras like in recent work of Hasset-Kresch-Tschinkel is used, rather we employ a more elementary and explicit approach via…
We study Shimura (special) subvarieties in the moduli space $A_{p,D}$ of complex abelian varieties of dimension $p$ and polarization type $D$. These subvarieties arise from families of covers compatible with a fixed group action on the base curve such that the quotient of the base curve by the group is isomorphic to $\mathbb{P}^1$. We give a criterion for the image of these families under the Prym map to be a special subvariety and, using computer algebra, obtain 210 Shimura subvarieties contained in the Prym locus.
Starting from a beautiful idea of Kanev, we construct a uniformization of the moduli space A_6 of principally polarized abelian 6-folds in terms of curves and monodromy data. We show that the general ppav of dimension 6 is a Prym-Tyurin variety corresponding to a degree 27 cover of the projective line having monodromy the Weyl group of the E_6 lattice. Along the way, we establish numerous facts concerning the geometry of the Hurwitz space of such E_6-covers, including: (1) a proof that the canonical class of the Hurwitz space is big, (2) a concrete geometric description of the Hodge-Hurwitz ei…
We construct two pencils of bielliptic curves of genus three and genus five. The first pencil is associated with a general abelian surface with a polarization of type $(1,2)$. The second pencil is related to the first by an unramified double cover, the Prym variety of which is canonically isomorphic to the Jacobian of a very general curve of genus two. Our results are obtained by analyzing suitable elliptic fibrations on the associated Kummer surfaces and rational double covers among them.
In a previous paper, the authors proved that the Prym variety of any non-cyclic etale triple cover of a smooth curve of genus 2 is a Jacobian variety of dimension 2. This gives a map from the moduli space of such covers to the moduli space of Jacobian varieties of dimension 2. We extend this map to a proper map of a certain moduli space of admissible $S_3$-covers of genus 7 to the moduli space of principally polarized abelian surfaces. The main result is that this map is finite surjective of degree 10.
This is the second part of a paper describing a new concept of separation of variables applied to the classical Clebsch integrable case. The quadratures obtained in Part I (also uploaded in arXiv.org) lead to a new type of the Abel map which contains Abelian integrals on two different algebraic curves. Here we interprete it as from the product of the two curves to the Prym variety of one of them, show that the map is well defined although not a bijection. We analyse its properties and formulate a new extention of the Riemann vanishing theorem, which allows to invert the map in terms of theta-f…
In the paper we consider the Jacobian locus $\overline{J_g}$ and the Prym locus $\overline{P_{g+1}}$, in the moduli space $A_g$ of principally polarized abelian varieties of dimension $g$, for $g\geq 7$, and we study the extrinsic geometry of $\overline{J_g}\subset \overline{P_{g+1}}$, under the inclusion provided by the theory of generalized Prym varieties as introduced by Beauville. More precisely, we study certain geodesic curves with respect to the Siegel metric of $A_g$, starting at a Jacobian variety $[JC]\in A_g$ of a curve $[C]\in M_g$ and with direction $ζ\in T_{[JC]}J_g$. We prove th…
We prove an analogue of Kirchhoff's matrix tree theorem for computing the volume of the tropical Prym variety for double covers of metric graphs. We interpret the formula in terms of a semi-canonical decomposition of the tropical Prym variety, via a careful study of the tropical Abel-Prym map. In particular, we show that the map is harmonic, determine its degree at every cell of the decomposition, and prove that its global degree is $2^{g-1}$. Along the way, we use the Ihara zeta function to provide a new proof of the analogous result for finite graphs. As a counterpart, the appendix by Sebast…
We show that the non-Archimedean skeleton of the Prym variety associated to an unramified double cover of an algebraic curve is naturally isomorphic (as a principally polarized tropical abelian variety) to the tropical Prym variety of the associated tropical double cover. This confirms a conjecture by Jensen and the first author. We prove a new upper bound on the dimension of the Prym-Brill-Noether locus for generic unramified double covers of curves with fixed even gonality on the base. Our methods also give a new proof of the classical Prym-Brill-Noether Theorem for generic unramified double…
In this paper we consider the Prym map for double coverings of curves of genus $g$ ramified at $r>0$ points. That is, the map associating to a double ramified covering its Prym variety. The generic Torelli theorem states that the Prym map is generically injective as soon as the dimension of the space of coverings is less or equal to the dimension of the space of polarized abelian varieties. We prove the generic injectivity of the Prym map in the cases of double coverings of curves with: (a) $g=2$, $r=6$, and (b) $g= 5$, $r=2$. In the first case the proof is constructive and can be extended to …
We provide a bound on the $Θ$-regularity of an arbitrary reduced and irreducible curve embedded in a polarized abelian variety in terms of its degree and codimension. This is an "abelian" version of Gruson-Lazarsfeld-Peskine's bound on the Castelnuovo--Mumford regularity of a non-degenerate curve embedded in a projective space. As an application, we provide a Castelnuovo type bound for the genus of a curve in a (non necessarily principally) polarized abelian variety. Finally, we bound the $Θ$-regularity of a class of higher dimensional subvarieties in Jacobian varieties, i.e. the Brill-Noether…
We construct a three-parameter family of non-hyperelliptic and bielliptic plane genus-three curves whose associated Prym variety is two-isogenous to the Jacobian variety of a general hyperelliptic genus-two curve. Our construction is based on the existence of special elliptic fibrations with the section on the associated Kummer surfaces that provide a simple geometric interpretation for the rational double cover induced by the two-isogeny between the abelian surfaces.
In this text we prove that if an abelian variety $A$ admits an embedding into the Jacobian of a smooth projective curve $C$, and if we consider $Θ_A$ to be the divisor $Θ_C\cap A$, where $Θ_C$ denotes the theta divisor of $J(C)$, then the embedding of $Θ_A$ into $A$ induces an injective push-forward homomorphism (under certain conditions) at the level of Chow groups. We show that this is the case for every Prym varietiy arising from an unramified double cover of smooth projective curves. As a consequence we prove that there does not exist a universal codimension two cycle on the product of a v…