In this paper we characterize smooth complex projective varieties that admit a quadric bundle structure on some dense open subset in terms of the geometry of certain families of rational curves.
We show that over an algebraically closed field of characteristic not equal to 2, homological projective duality for smooth quadric hypersurfaces and for double covers of projective spaces branched over smooth quadric hypersurfaces is a combination of two operations: one interchanges a quadric hypersurface with its classical projective dual and the other interchanges a quadric hypersurface with the double cover branched along it.
We show that if A is a d-dimensional abelian variety in a smooth quadric of dimension 2d then d=1 and A is an elliptic curve of bidegree (2,2) on a quadric. This extends a result of Van de Ven which says that A only can be embedded in P^{2d} when d=1 or 2.
Given a smooth projective variety V of dimension n, one may say that V has motivic dimension less than d+1 if the cohomology of V comes from varieties of dimensions less than d+1 in some geometric way. In this paper, we show that a smooth complete interesection of k quadrics has a motivic dimension less than k.
We study the variety of rank $\leq k$ quadrics containing a general projective curve and show that it has the expected dimension in the range $g-d+r\leq 1$. By considering the loci where this expectation is not true, we construct new divisor classes in $\overline{\mathcal{M}}_{g,n}$. We use one of these classes to show that $\overline{\mathcal{M}}_{15,9}$ is of general type.
Let $C \subset \mathbb {P}^r$ a general embedding of prescribed degree of a general smooth curve with prescribed genus. Here we prove that either $h^0(\mathbb {P}^r,\mathcal {I}_C(2)) =0$ or $h^1(\mathbb {P}^r,\mathcal {I}_C(2)) =0$ (a problem called the Maximal Rank Conjecture in the range of quadrics).
Let $f : X \rightarrow B$ be a proper flat dominant morphism between two smooth quasi-projective complex varieties $X$ and $B$. Assume that there exists an integer $l$ such that all closed fibres $X_b$ of $f$ satisfy $CH_j(X_b) = \Q$ for all $j \leq l$. Then we prove an analogue of the projective bundle formula for $CH_i(X)$ for $i \leq l$. When $B$ is a surface, $X$ is projective and $l = \lfloor \frac{\dim X - 3}{2} \rfloor$, this makes it possible to construct a Chow-Künneth decomposition for $X$ that satisfies Murre's conjectures. For instance we prove Murre's conjectures for complex smoot…
Special birational transformations $Φ:\p^r\da Z$ defined by quadric hypersurfaces are studied by means of the variety of lines $\mathcal L_z\subset\p^{r-1}$ passing through a general point $z\in Z$. Classification results are obtained when $Z$ is either a Grassmannian of lines, or the 10-dimensional spinor variety, or the $E_6$-variety. In the particular case of quadro-quadric transformations, we extend the well-known classification of Ein and Shepherd-Barron coming from Zak's classification of Severi varieties to a wider class of prime Fano manifolds $Z$. Combining both results, we get a clas…
Let ϕ: \mathbb{P}^{r}\dashrightarrow Z be a birational transformation with a smooth connected base locus scheme, where Z\subseteq\mathbb{P}^{r+c} is a nondegenerate prime Fano manifold. We call ϕa quadro-quadric special briational transformation if ϕand ϕ^{-1} are defined by linear subsystems of |\mathcal{O}_{\mathbb{P}^{r}}(2)| and |\mathcal{O}_{Z}(2)| respectively. In this paper we classify quadro-quadric special birational transformations in the cases where either (i) Z is a complete intersection and the base locus scheme of ϕ^{-1} is smooth, or (ii) Z is a hypersurface.
We use a generalization of Horrocks monads for arithmetic Cohen-Macaulay (ACM) varieties to establish a cohomological characterization of linear and Steiner bundles over projective spaces and quadric hypersurfaces. We also study resolutions of bundles on ACM varieties by line bundles, and characterize linear homological dimension in the case of quadric hypersurfaces.
By a commutative action on a smooth quadric $Q_n$ in $P^{n+1}$ we mean an effective action of a commutative connected algebraic group on $Q_n$ with an open orbit. We show that for $n \geq 3$ all commutative actions on $Q_n$ are additive actions described by Sharoiko in 2009. So there is a unique commutative action on $Q_n$ up to equivalence. For $n = 2$ there are three commutative actions on $Q_2$ up to equivalence, for $n = 1$ there are two commutative actions on $Q_1$ up to equivalence.
We consider two varieties associated to a web of quadrics W in the projective space of dimension 7. One is the base locus and the second one is the double cover of the three dimensional projective space branched along the determinant surface of W. We show that small resolutions of these varieties are Calabi-Yau manifolds. We compute their Betti numbers and show that they are not birational in the generic case. The main result states that if the base locus of W contains a plane then in the generic case the two varieties are birational.
We extend the Horrocks correspondence between vector bundles and cohomology modules on the projective plane to the product of two projective lines. We introduce a set of invariants for a vector bundle on the product of two projective lines, which includes the first cohomology module of the bundle, and prove that there is a one to one correspondence between these sets of invariants and isomorphism classes of vector bundles without line bundle summands.
We introduce a compact moduli of noncommutative quadrics, and show that it is the weighted projective space of weight (2,4,4,6). We also introduce a compact moduli of potentials for the conifold quiver, and show that it is the weighted projective space of weight (1,2,3,4). There is a natural morphism from the latter to the former, which is finite of degree 4.
We will consider an explicit birational map between a quadric and the projective variety X(J) of traceless rank one elements in a simple reduced Jordan algebra J. X(J) is a homogeneous G-variety for the automorphism group G=Aut(J). We will show that the birational map is a blow up followed by a blow down. This will allow us to use the blow up formula for motives together with Vishik's work on the motives of quadrics to give a motivic decomposition of X(J).
In this paper we introduce a certain class of families of Hessenberg varieties arising from Springer theory for symmetric spaces. We study the geometry of those Hessenberg varieties and investigate their monodromy representations in detail using the geometry of complete intersections of quadrics. We obtain decompositions of these monodromy representations into irreducibles and compute the Fourier transforms of the IC complexes associated to these irreducible representations. The results of the paper refine (part of) the Springer correspondece for the split symmetric pair (SL(N),SO(N)) in [CVX2…
For any $n\geq 3$, we prove that there exist equivalences between these apparently unrelated objects: irreducible $n$-dimensional non degenerate projective varieties $X\subset \mathbb P^{2n+1}$ different from rational normal scrolls and 3-covered by twisted cubic curves, up to projective equivalence; quadro-quadric Cremona transformations of $ \mathbb P^{n-1}$, up to linear equivalence; $n$-dimensional complex Jordan algebras of rank three, up to isotopy. We also provide some applications to the classification of particular classes of varieties in the class defined above and of quadro-quadric …
We classify three-dimensional nodal Fano varieties that are double covers of smooth quadrics branched over intersections with quartics acted on by finite simple non-abelian groups, and study their rationality.
We prove a general specialization theorem which implies stable irrationality for a wide class of quadric surface bundles over rational surfaces. As an application, we solve with the exception of two cases, the stable rationality problem for any very general complex projective quadric surface bundle over the projective plane, given by a symmetric matrix of homogeneous polynomials. Both exceptions degenerate over a plane sextic curve and the corresponding double cover is a K3 surface.
We study the variety of common tangents for up to four quadric surfaces in projective three-space, with particular regard to configurations of four quadrics admitting a continuum of common tangents. We formulate geometrical conditions in the projective space defined by all complex quadric surfaces which express the fact that several quadrics are tangent along a curve to one and the same quadric of rank at least three, and called, for intuitive reasons: a basket. Lines in any ruling of the latter will be common tangents. These considerations are then restricted to spheres in Euclidean three-spa…
We construct wonderful compactifications of the spaces of linear maps, and symmetric linear maps of a given rank as blow-ups of secant varieties of Segre and Veronese varieties. Furthermore, we investigate their birational geometry and their relations with some spaces of degree two stable maps.
We give a characterization of smooth quadrics in terms of the existence of full exceptional collections of certain type, which generalizes a result of C.Vial for projective spaces.
We study double line structures in projective spaces and quadric hypersurfaces, and investigate the geometry of irreducible components of Hilbert scheme of curves and moduli of stable sheaves of pure dimension 1 on a smooth quadric threefold.
This article is a continuation of a previous article which concerned the splitting problem for subspaces of superspaces. We begin with a general account of projective superspaces. Subsequently, we specialise to subvarieties of `positive' projective superspaces. Our main result is: positive, projective superspaces are `normal', in a sense we define. Then, among others, our main application is: smooth, non-reduced, superspace quadric hypersurfaces are non-split.
In this paper, we show that if the tangent bundle of a smooth projective variety is strictly nef, then it is isomorphic to a projective space; if a projective variety $X^n$ $(n>4)$ has strictly nef $Λ^2 TX$, then it is isomorphic to $\mathbb{P}^n$ or quadric $\mathbb{Q}^n$. We also prove that on elliptic curves, strictly nef vector bundles are ample, whereas there exist Hermitian flat and strictly nef vector bundles on any smooth curve with genus $g\geq 2$.
We discuss a conjecture saying that derived equivalence of simply connected smooth projective varieties implies that the difference of their classes in the Grothendieck ring of varieties is annihilated by a power of the affine line class. We support the conjecture with a number of known examples, and one new example. We consider a smooth complete intersection $X$ of three quadrics in ${\mathbf P}^5$ and the corresponding double cover $Y \to {\mathbf P}^2$ branched over a sextic curve. We show that as soon as the natural Brauer class on $Y$ vanishes, so that $X$ and $Y$ are derived equivalent, …
In this article, by combining the recent theory of noncommutative motives with the classical theory of motives, we prove that if two quadrics (or, more generally, two involution varieties) have the same Grothendieck class, then they have the same even Clifford algebra and the same signature. As an application, we show in numerous cases (e.g., when the base field is a local or global field) that two quadrics (or, more generally, two involution varieties) have the same Grothendieck class if and only if they are isomorphic.
We give the parameters of any evaluation code on a smooth quadric surface. For hyperbolic quadrics the approach uses elementary results on product codes and the parameters of codes on elliptic quadrics are obtained by detecting a BCH structure of these codes and using the BCH bound. The elliptic quadric is a twist of the surface P^1 x P^1 and we detect a similar BCH structure on twists of the Segre embedding of a product of any d copies of the projective line.
We give a complete description of the bigraded Bredon cohomology ring of smooth projective real quadrics, with coefficients in the constant Mackey functor $ \mathbf{Z} $. These invariants are closely related to the integral motivic cohomology ring, which is not known for these varieties. Some of the results and techniques introduced can be applied to other geometrically cellular real varieties.
We study rationality properties of quadric surface bundles over the projective plane. We exhibit families of smooth projective complex fourfolds of this type over connected bases, containing both rational and non-rational fibers.
Fix a finite group $G$. We seek to classify varieties with $G$-action equivariantly birational to a representation of $G$ on affine or projective space. Our focus is odd-dimensional smooth complete intersections of two quadrics, relating the equivariant rationality problem with analogous Diophantine questions over nonclosed fields. We explore how invariants -- both classical cohomological invariants and recent symbol constructions -- control rationality in some cases.
We make explicit the equations of any projective $PGL_2(\C)$-variety defined by quadrics. We study their zero-locus and their relationship with the geometry of the Veronese curve.
We show that the moduli space of semi-stable sheaves on a smooth quadric surface, having dimension 1, multiplicity 4, Euler characteristic 2, and first Chern class (2, 2), is the blow-up at two points of a certain hypersurface in a weighted projective space.
A smooth intersection $Y$ of two quadrics in $\mathbb{P}^{2g+1}$ has Hodge level 1. We show that such varieties $Y$ have a multiplicative Chow-Künneth decomposition, in the sense of Shen-Vial. As a consequence, a certain tautological subring of the Chow ring of powers of $Y$ injects into cohomology.
Let E be a stable rank 2 vector bundle on a smooth quadric threefold Q in the projective 4-space P. We show that the hyperplanes H in P for which the restriction of E to the hyperplane section of Q by H is not stable form, in general, a closed subset of codimension at least 2 of the dual projective 4-space, and we explicitly describe the bundles E which do not enjoy this property. This refines a restriction theorem of Ein and Sols [Nagoya Math. J. 96, 11-22 (1984)] in the same way the main result of Coanda [J. reine angew. Math. 428, 97-110 (1992)] refines the restriction theorem of Barth [Mat…
It was shown by Kuznetsov that complete intersections of $n$ generic quadrics in ${\mathbb P}^{2n-1}$ are related by Homological Projective Duality to certain non-commutative (Clifford) varieties which are in some sense birational to double covers of ${\mathbb P}^{n-1}$ ramified over symmetric determinantal hypersurfaces. Mirror symmetry predicts that the Hodge numbers of the complete intersections of quadrics must coincide with the appropriately defined Hodge numbers of these double covers. We observe that these numbers must be different from the well-known Batyrev's stringy Hodge numbers, el…
Let X be a very general complete intersection in complex projective space and we denote by $F_r(X)$ the variety of r-planes in X, for $r\geq 1$. We show that the Picard number of $F_r(X)$ is 1, as soon as $\dim F_r(X)\geq 2$, except when X is a quadric of dimension 2r or 2r+2, or X is a complete intersection of two quadrics of dimension 2r+2. We also apply this result to determine the cohomology class of the variety of planes of a cubic fivefold contained (by the Abel-Jacobi map) in the intermediate Jacobian.
We give necessary and sufficient criteria for a smooth Enriques surface S in P^r to be scheme-theoretically an intersection of quadrics. Moreover we prove in many cases that, when S contains plane cubic curves, the intersection of the quadrics containing S is the union of S and the 2-planes spanned by the plane cubic curves. We also give a new (very quick) proof of the projective normality of S if the degree of S is at least 12.
Let X be a projective hypersurface in P_k^n of degree d <= n. In this paper we study the relation between the class [X] in K_0(Var_k) and the existence of k-rational points. Using elementary geometric methods we show, for some particular X, that X(k) is nonempty if and only if [X] is equivalent to 1 modulo the class of the affine line in K_0(Var_k). More precisely we consider the following cases: a union of hyperplanes, a quadric, a cubic hypersurface with a singular k-rational point, and a quartic which is a union of two quadrics one of which being smooth.
It is proved that the degree of a morphism from a smooth projective n-fold with Picard number one to a smooth n-quadric is bounded (provided, of course, that n is at least three). Actually it has been proved some years ago, but I have never written down the proof, until J.-M. Hwang suggested, recently, that I do.
We tropicalize the rational map that takes triples of points in the projective plane to the plane of quadrics passing through these points. The image of its tropicalization is contained in the tropicalization of its image. We identify these objects inside the tropical Grassmannian of planes in projective 5-space, and we explore a small tropical Hilbert scheme.
We study the functional codes of second order defined by G. Lachaud on $\mathcal{X} \subset {\mathbb{P}}^4(\mathbb{F}_q)$ a quadric of rank($\mathcal{X}$)=3,4,5 or a non-degenerate hermitian variety. We give some bounds for %$# \mathcal{X}_{Z(\mathcal{Q})}(\mathbb{F}_{q})$, the number of points of quadratic sections of $\mathcal{X}$, which are the best possible and show that codes defined on non-degenerate quadrics are better than those defined on degenerate quadrics. We also show the geometric structure of the minimum weight codewords and estimate the second weight of these codes. For $\mathc…
Three-dimensional del Pezzo varieties of degree 2 are double covers of projective space $\mathbb{P}^{3}$ branced in a quadric. In this paper we prove that if a del Pezzo variety of degree 2 has exactly 15 nodes then the corresponding quadric is a hyperplane section of the Igusa quartic or, equivalently, all such del Pezzo varieties are members of one particular linear system on the Coble fourfold. Their automorphism groups are induced from the automorphism group of Coble fourfold. Also we classify all $G$-birationally rigid varieties of such type.
Recall that a smooth complex projective curve has a very ample canonical bundle when it is non-hyperelliptic, and according to a theorem of M. Noether the resulting embedding is projectively normal. A theorem of Petri further asserts that the homogeneous ideal is generated by quadrics if the curve is neither trigonal nor a smooth plane quintic. In this note, we prove an analogue of Noether's theorem for the symmetric square of the curve - namely, the canonical bundle of the symmetric square determines a projectively normal embedding exactly when the curve itself is neither hyperelliptic, trigo…
A cubic surface in $P^3$ is known to contain 27 lines, out of which one can form 36 Schlafli double - sixes i.e., collections $l_1,...,l_6, l'_1,..., l'_6\}$ of 12 lines such that each $l_i$ meets only $l'_j, j\neq i$ and does not meet $l_j, j\neq i$. In 1881 F. Schur proved that any double - six gives rise to a certain quadric $Q$ , called Schur quadric which is characterized as follows: for any $i$ the lines $l_i$ and $l'_i$ are orthogonal with respect to (the quadratic form defining) $Q$. The aim of the paper is to relate Schur's construction to the theory of vector bundles on $P^2$ and to …
We determine the automorphism group for a large class of affine quadric hypersurfaces over a field, viewed as affine algebraic varieties. In particular, we find that the group of real polynomial automorphisms of the n-sphere is just the orthogonal group O(n+1) whenever n is a power of 2. It is not known whether the same is true for arbitrary n. The proof uses Karpenko's theorem that certain projective quadrics over a field are not ruled. That is, they are not birational over the given field to the product of any variety with the projective line. We also formulate a general result on automorphi…
Using the Gille-Merkurjev norm principle we compute in a uniform way the image of the degree map for quadrics (Springer's theorem), for twisted forms of maximal orthogonal Grassmannians (theorem of Bayer-Fluckiger and Lenstra), for E6- (Rost's theorem), and E7-varieties.
Let X -> Y be a fibration whose fibers are complete intersections of two quadrics. We develop new categorical and algebraic tools---a theory of relative homological projective duality and the Morita invariance of the even Clifford algebra under quadric reduction by hyperbolic splitting---to study semiorthogonal decompositions of the bounded derived category of X. Together with new results in the theory of quadratic forms, we apply these tools in the case where X -> Y has relative dimension 1, 2, or 3, in which case the fibers are curves of genus 1, Del Pezzo surfaces of degree 4, or Fano three…
The Hilbert scheme of projective 3-folds of codimension 3 or more that are linear scrolls over the projective plane or over a smooth quadric surface or that are quadric or cubic fibrations over the projective line is studied. All known such threefolds of degree from 7 to 11 are shown to correspond to smooth points of an irreducible component of their Hilbert scheme, whose dimension is computed. A relationship with the locus of good determinantal subschemes is investigated
Beauville and Donagi proved in 1985 that the primitive middle cohomology of a smooth complex cubic fourfold and the primitive second cohomology of its variety of lines, a smooth hyperkähler fourfold, are isomorphic as polarized integral Hodge structures. We prove analogous statements for smooth complex Gushel-Mukai varieties of dimension 4 (resp. 6), i.e., smooth dimensionally transverse intersections of the cone over the Grassmannian Gr(2,5), a quadric, and two hyperplanes (resp. of the cone over Gr(2,5) and a quadric). The associated hyperkähler fourfold is in both cases a smooth double cove…