According to a conjecture of H. Clemens, the dimension of the space of rational curves on a general projective hypersurface should equal the number predicted by a naïve dimension count. In the case of a general hypersurface of degree 7 in $\mathbb{P}^5$, the conjecture predicts that the only rational curves should be lines. This has been verified by Hana and Johnsen for rational curves of degree at most 15. Here we extend their results to show that no rational curves of degree 16 lie on a general heptic fourfold.
We prove that every Hassett's Noether-Lefschetz divisor of special cubic fourfolds contains a union of three codimension-two subvarieties, parametrizing rational cubic fourfolds, in the moduli space of smooth cubic fourfolds.
We construct new examples of rational Gushel-Mukai fourfolds, giving more evidence for the analog of the Kuznetsov Conjecture for cubic fourfolds: a Gushel--Mukai fourfold is rational if and only if it admits an associated K3 surface.
We prove the potential density of rational points on the variety of lines of a sufficiently general cubic fourfold defined over a number field, where ``sufficiently general'' means that a condition of Terasoma type is satisfied. These varieties have trivial canonical bundle and have geometric Picard group equal to $\mathbb{Z}$.
We construct new families of smooth Fano fourfolds with Picard rank $1$ which contain open $\Bbb A^1$-cylinders, that is, Zariski open subsets of the form $Z \times \Bbb A^1$, where $Z$ is a quasiprojective variety. In particular, we show that every Mukai fourfold of genus $8$ is cylindrical and there exists a family of cylindrical Gushel-Mukai fourfolds.
Generalizing a recent construction of Yang and Yu, we study to what extent one can intersect Hassett's Noether-Lefschetz divisors $\mathcal{C}_d$ in the moduli space of cubic fourfolds $\mathcal{C}$. In particular, we exhibit arithmetic conditions on 20 indexes $d_1,\dots, d_{20}$ that assure that the divisors $\mathcal{C}_{d_1},\dots,\mathcal{C}_{d_{20}}$ all intersect one another. This allows us to produce examples of rational cubic fourfolds with an associated K3 surface with rank 20 Néron-Severi group, i.e. a singular K3 surface.
We show that if $X$ is a projective hyperkähler fourfold and there exists a nonzero effective divisor $D$ which is not of bi-elliptic type and contained in the boundary of the nef cone of $X$, then $X$ contains a rational curve. This is a very special case of Oguiso's conjecture for projective hyperkähler fourfolds.
Motivated by the question of rationality of cubic fourfolds, we show that a cubic X has an associated K3 surface in the sense of Hassett if and only if the variety F of lines on X is birational to a moduli space of sheaves on a K3 surface, but that having F birational to Hilb^2(K3) is more restrictive. We compare the loci in the moduli space of cubics where each condition is satisfied.
We exhibit new examples of rational cubic fourfolds, parametrized by a countably infinite union of codimension-two subvarieties in the moduli space. Our examples are fibered in sextic del Pezzo surfaces over the projective plane; they are rational whenever the fibration has a rational section.
Let F be a polarized irreducible holomorphic symplectic fourfold, deformation equivalent to the Hilbert scheme parametrizing length-two zero-dimensional subschemes of a K3 surface. The homology group H^2(F,Z) is equipped with an integral symmetric nondegenerate form, the Beauville form. We give precise conjectures for the structure of the cone of effective curves - and by duality - the cone of ample divisors. Formally they are completely analogous to the results known for K3 surfaces, and they are expressed entirely in terms of the integers represented by the Beauville form restricted to Pic(F…
In this paper we investigate the divisor $\mathcal C_{14}$ inside the moduli space of smooth cubic hypersurfaces in $\mathbb P^5$, whose generic element is a smooth cubic containing a smooth quartic scroll. Using the fact that all degenerations of quartic scrolls in $\mathbb P^5$ contained in a smooth cubic hypersurface are surfaces with one apparent double point, we conclude that every cubic hypersurface belonging to $\mathcal C_{14}$ is rational. As an application of our results and of the construction of some explicit examples contained in the Appendix, we also prove that the Pfaffian locus…
We isolate a class of smooth rational cubic fourfolds X containing a plane whose associated quadric surface bundle does not have a rational section. This is equivalent to the nontriviality of the Brauer class of the even Clifford algebra over the K3 surface S of degree 2 arising from X. Specifically, we show that in the moduli space of cubic fourfolds, the intersection of divisors C_8 and C_14 has five irreducible components. In the component corresponding to the existence of a tangent conic to the sextic degeneration curve of the quadric bundle, we prove that the general member is both pfaffi…
We present some families of cubic hypersurfaces in $\mathbb P^5 (\mathbb C)$ containing a plane whose associated quadric bundle does not have a rational section.
Let $X$ be a cubic fourfold in $P^5_{C}$. We prove that, assuming the Hodge conjecture for the product $S \times S$, where $S$ is a complex surface, and the finite dimensionality of the Chow motive $h(S)$, there are at most a countable number of decomposable integral polarized Hodge structures, arising from the fibers of a family of smooth projective surfaces. According to the results in [ABB] this is related to a conjecture proving the irrationality of a very general $X$. If $X$ is special, in the sense of B.Hasset, and $F(X) \simeq S^{[2]}$, with $S$ a K3 surface associated to $X$, then we s…
We find a relation between a cubic hypersurface $Y$ and its Fano variety of lines $F(Y)$ in the Grothendieck ring of varieties. We prove that if the class of an affine line is not a zero-divisor in the Grothendieck ring of varieties, then Fano variety of lines on a smooth rational cubic fourfold is birational to a Hilbert scheme of two points on a K3 surface; in particular, general cubic fourfold is irrational.
We prove that the moduli space of cubic fourfolds $\mathcal{C}$ contains a divisor $\mathcal{C}_{42}$ whose general member has a unirational parametrization of degree 13. This result follows from a thorough study of the Hilbert scheme of rational scrolls and an explicit construction of examples. We also show that $\mathcal{C}_{42}$ is uniruled.
We introduce a notion of balanced configurations of vectors. This is motivated by the study of rational A-hypergeometric functions in the sense of Gelfand, Kapranov and Zelevinsky. We classify balanced configurations of seven plane vectors up to GL(2,R) equivalence and deduce that the only gkz-rational toric four-folds in complex projective space P^6 are those varieties associated with an essential Cayley configuration. In this case, we study a suitable hyperplane arrangement and show that all rational A-hypergeometric functions may be described in terms of toric residues.
In this short note we try to generalize the Clemens-Griffiths criterion of non-rationality for smooth cubic threefolds to the case of smooth cubic fourfolds.
Let X be a complex Fano manifold of dimension n. Let s(X) be the sum of l(R)-1 for all the extremal rays of X, the edges of the cone NE(X) of curves of X, where l(R) denotes the minimum of (-K_X \cdot C) for all rational curves C whose class [C] belongs to R. We show that s(X)\leq n if n\leq 4. And for n\leq 4, we completely classify the case the equality holds. This is a refinement of the Mukai conjecture on Fano fourfolds.
Mukai proved that most prime Fano fourfolds of degree 10 and index 2 are contained in a Grassmannian G(2,5). They are all unirational and some are rational, as remarked by Roth in 1949. We show that their middle cohomology is of K3 type and that their period map is dominant, with smooth 4-dimensional fibers, onto a 20-dimensional bounded symmetric period domain of type IV. Following Hassett, we say that such a fourfold is special if it contains a surface whose cohomology class does not come from the Grassmannian G(2,5). Special fourfolds correspond to a countable union of hypersurfaces in the …
We explore the connection between $K3$ categories and 0-cycles on holomorphic symplectic varieties. In this paper, we focus on Kuznetsov's noncommutative $K3$ category associated to a nonsingular cubic 4-fold. By introducing a filtration on the $\mathrm{CH}_1$-group of a cubic 4-fold $Y$, we conjecture a sheaf/cycle correspondence for the associated $K3$ category $\mathcal{A}_Y$. This is a noncommutative analog of O'Grady's conjecture concerning derived categories of $K3$ surfaces. We study instances of our conjecture involving rational curves in cubic 4-folds, and verify the conjecture for sh…
We discuss the space of sections and certain bisections on a quadric surfaces bundle $X$ over a smooth curve. The Abel-Jacobi from these spaces to the intermediate Jacobian will be shown to be dominant with rationally connected fibers. As an application, we prove that the integral Hodge conjecture holds for degree four integral Hodge classes of fourfolds fibered by quadric bundles over a smooth curve. This gives an alternative proof of a result of Colliot-Th{é}l{è}ne and Voisin.
In this paper we consider cubic 4-folds containing a plane whose discriminant curve is a reduced nodal plane sextic. In particular, we describe the singular points of such cubic 4-folds and we give an estimate of the rank of the free abelian group generated by the equivalence classes of the algebraic cycles of codimension 2. Moreover, we describe some conditions on the geometry of the plane sextics so that all the associated cubic 4-folds are singular and we construct a family of smooth rational cubic 4-folds whose discriminant curve is reduced but reducible.
We prove that Generalized Mukai Conjecture holds for Fano manifolds $X$ of pseudoindex $i_X \ge (\dim X +3)/3$. We also give different proofs of the conjecture for Fano fourfolds and fivefolds.
We prove some results on the fibers and images of rational maps from a hyper-Kähler manifold. We study in particular the minimal genus of fibers of a fibration into curves. The last section of this paper is devoted to the study of the rational map defined by a linear system on a hyper-Kähler fourfold satisfying numerical conditions similar to those considered by O'Grady in his study of fourfolds numerically equivalent to $K3^{[2]}$. We extend his results to this more general context.
It is well known that the Hodge conjecture with rational coefficients holds for degree 2n-2 classes on complex projective n-folds. In this paper we study the more precise question if on a rationally connected complex projective n-fold the integral Hodge classes of degree 2n-2 are generated over $\mathbb Z$ by classes of curves. We combine techniques from the theory of singularities of pairs on the one hand and infinitesimal variation of Hodge structures on the other hand to give an affirmative answer to this question for a large class of manifolds including Fano fourfolds. In the last case, on…
Let $k$ be an uncountable algebraically closed field of characteristic $0$, and let $X$ be a smooth projective connected variety of dimension $2p$, appropriately embedded into $\mathbb P^m$ over $k$. Let $Y$ be a hyperplane section of $X$, and let $A^p(Y)$ and $A^{p+1}(X)$ be the groups of algebraically trivial algebraic cycles of codimension $p$ and $p+1$ modulo rational equivalence on $Y$ and $X$ respectively. Assume that, whenever $Y$ is smooth, the group $A^p(Y)$ is regularly parametrized by an abelian variety $A$ and coincides with the subgroup of degree $0$ classes in the Chow group $CH^…
Limiting Hodge Structures for Cubic Hypersurfaces of Secant Type
Mathematical School of Science, Xiamen University(厦门大学数学科学学院);School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences(中国科学院大学数学科学学院)
The purpose of this paper is to compute the degree of irrationality of hypersurfaces of sufficiently high degree in various Fano varieties: quadrics, Grassmannians, products of projective space, cubic threefolds, cubic fourfolds, and complete intersection threefolds of type (2,2). This extends the techniques of Bastianelli, De Poi, Ein, Lazarsfeld, and the second author who computed the degree of irrationality of hypersurfaces of sufficiently high degree in projective space. A theme in the paper is that the fibers of low degree rational maps from the hypersurfaces to projective space tend to l…
We investigate the Lefschetz standard conjecture for degree $2$ cohomology of hyper-Kähler manifolds admitting a covering by Lagrangian subvarieties. In the case of a Lagrangian fibration, we show that the Lefschetz standard conjecture is implied by the SYZ conjecture characterizing classes of divisors associated with Lagrangian fibration. In dimension $4$, we consider the more general case of a Lagrangian covered fourfold $X$, and prove the Lefschetz standard conjecture in degree $2$, assuming $ρ(X)=1$ and $X$ is general in moduli. Finally we discuss various links between Lefschetz cycles and…