It is well known that, fixed an even, unimodular, positive definite quadratic form, one can construct a modular form in each genus; this form is called the theta series associated to the quadratic form. Varying the quadratic form, one obtains the ring of stable modular forms. We show that the differences of theta series associated to specific pairs of quadratic forms vanish on the locus of hyperelliptic Jacobians in each genus. In our examples, the quadratic forms have rank 24, 32 and 48. The proof relies on a geometric result about the boundary of the Satake compactification of the hyperelliptic locus. We also study the monoid formed by the moduli space of all principally polarised abelian varieties, the operation being the product of abelian varieties. We use this construction to show that the ideal of stable modular forms vanishing on the hyperelliptic locus in each genus is generated by differences of theta series.
This article shows explicit relation between fractional expressions of Schottky-Klein type for hyperelliptic $σ$-functions and a product of differences of the algebraic coordinates on each stratum of natural stratification in a hyperelliptic Jacobian.
In this article, we prove that there do not exist stable Schottky-Jacobi forms for the universal Jacobian locus and also prove that there exist non-trivial stable Schottky-Jacobi forms for the universal hyperelliptic locus.
We prove a lower bound for the codimension of the Andreotti-Mayer locus N_{g,1} and show that the lower bound is reached only for the hyperelliptic locus in genus 4 and the Jacobian locus in genus 5. In relation with the boundary of the Andreotti-Mayer loci we study subvarieties of principally polarized abelian varieties (B,Theta) parametrizing points b such that Theta and the translate Theta_b are tangentially degenerate along a variety of a given dimension.
We propose a solution to the hyperelliptic Schottky problem, based on the use of Jacobian Nullwerte and symmetric models for hyperelliptic curves. Both ingredients are interesting on its own, since the first provide period matrices which can be geometrically described, and the second have remarkable arithmetic properties.
The modular invariants of a family of semistable curves are the degrees of the corresponding divisors on the image of the moduli map. The singularity indices were introduced by G. Xiao to classify singular fibers of hyperelliptic fibrations and to compute global invariants locally. In the semistable case, we show that the modular invariants corresponding with the boundary classes are just the singularity indices. As an application, we show that the formula of Xiao for relative Chern numbers is the same as that of Cornalba-Harris in the semistable case.
We prove that there are only finitely many modular curves of $D$-elliptic sheaves over $\mathbb{F}_q(T)$ which are hyperelliptic. In odd characteristic we give a complete classification of such curves.
We determine all modular curves X(N) (with $N\geq 7$) which are hyperelliptic or bielliptic. We make available a proof that the automorphism group of X(N) coincides with the normalizer of $Γ(N)$ in $\operatorname{PSL}_2(\mathbb{R})$.
In this paper we produce a generating function for the number of hyperelliptic curves (up to translation) on a polarized Abelian surfaces using the crepant resolution conjecture and the Yau-Zaslow formula. We present a formula to compute these in terms of MacMahon's generalized sum-of-divisors functions, and prove that they are quasi-modular forms.
We determine the class of the (closure of the) Schottky locus in genus 4 in the Igusa- and the Voronoi compactification of A_4 and comment on the weight 8 modular form which vanishes on it.
We prove that the moduli space of Calabi-Yau 3-folds coming from eight planes of $P^3$ in general positions is not modular. In fact we show the stronger statement that the Zariski closure of the monodromy group is actually the whole $Sp(20,R)$. We construct an interesting submoduli, which we call \emph{hyperelliptic locus}, over which the weight 3 $Q$-Hodge structure is the third wedge product of the weight 1 $Q$-Hodge structure on the corresponding hyperelliptic curve. The non-extendibility of the hyperelliptic locus inside the moduli space of a genuine Shimura subvariety is proved.
We prove that the generic point of a Hilbert modular four-fold is not a Jacobian. The proof uses degeneration techniques and is independent of properties of the mapping class group used in preceding papers on locally symmetric subvarieties of the moduli space of abelian varieties contained in the Schottky locus.
We present a new perspective on the Schottky problem that links numerical computing with tropical geometry. The task is to decide whether a symmetric matrix defines a Jacobian, and, if so, to compute the curve and its canonical embedding. We offer solutions and their implementations in genus four, both classically and tropically. The locus of cographic matroids arises from tropicalizing the Schottky-Igusa modular form.
Vector-valued Siegel modular forms are the natural generalization of the classical elliptic modular forms as seen by studying the cohomology of the universal abelian variety. We show that for g>=4, a new class of vector-valued modular forms, defined on the Teichmuller space, naturally appears from the Mumford forms, a question directly related to the Schottky problem. In this framework we show that the discriminant of the quadric associated to the complex curves of genus 4 is proportional to the square root of the products of Thetanullwerte χ_{68}, which is a proof of the recently rediscovered…
We complete the computation of all $\mathbb{Q}$-rational points on all the $64$ maximal Atkin-Lehner quotients $X_0(N)^*$ such that the quotient is hyperelliptic. To achieve this, we use a combination of various methods, namely the classical Chabauty--Coleman, elliptic curve Chabauty, quadratic Chabauty, and the bielliptic quadratic Chabauty method combined with the Mordell-Weil sieve. Additionally, for square-free levels $N$, we classify all $\mathbb{Q}$-rational points as cusps, CM points (including their CM field and $j$-invariants) and exceptional ones. We further indicate how to use this …
To every hyperelliptic curve one can assign the periods of the integrals over the holomorphic and the meromorphic differentials. By comparing two representations of the so-called projective connection it is possible to reexpress the latter periods by the first. This leads to expressions including only the curve's parameters $λ_j$ and modular forms. By a change of basis of the meromorphic differentials one can further simplify this expression. We discuss the advantages of these explicitly given bases, which we call Baker and Klein basis, respectively.
A pre-modular form $Z_n(σ; τ)$ of weight $\tfrac{1}{2} n(n + 1)$ is introduced for each $n \in \Bbb N$, where $(σ, τ) \in \Bbb C \times \Bbb H$, such that for $E_τ= \Bbb C/(\Bbb Z + \Bbb Z τ)$, every non-trivial zero of $Z_n(σ; τ)$, namely $σ\not\in E_τ[2]$, corresponds to a (scaling family of) solution to the mean field equation \begin{equation} \tag{MFE} \triangle u + e^u = ρ\, δ_0 \end{equation} on the flat torus $E_τ$ with singular strength $ρ= 8πn$. In Part I (Cambridge J. Math. 3, 2015), a hyperelliptic curve $\bar X_n(τ) \subset {\rm Sym}^n E_τ$, the Lamé curve, associated to the MFE wa…
Let ${\cal M}_{g,n}$ and ${\cal H}_{g,n}$, for $2g-2+n>0$, be, respectively, the moduli stack of $n$-pointed, genus $g$ smooth curves and its closed substack consisting of hyperelliptic curves. Their topological fundamental groups can be identified, respectively, with $Γ_{g,n}$ and $H_{g,n}$, the so called Teichm{ü}ller modular group and hyperelliptic modular group. A choice of base point on ${\cal H}_{g,n}$ defines a monomorphism $H_{g,n}\hookrightarrowΓ_{g,n}$. Let $S_{g,n}$ be a compact Riemann surface of genus $g$ with $n$ points removed. The Teichmüller group $Γ_{g,n}$ is the group of iso…
In his previous paper (Math. Res. Letters 7(2000), 123--132) the author proved that in characteristic zero the jacobian $J(C)$ of a hyperelliptic curve $C: y^2=f(x)$ has only trivial endomorphisms over an algebraic closure of the ground field $K$ if the Galois group $Gal(f)$ of the irreducible polynomial $f(x) \in K[x]$ is either the symmetric group $S_n$ or the alternating group $A_n$. Here $n>4$ is the degree of $f$. In the present paper we extend this result to the case of certain ``smaller'' Galois groups. In particular, we treat the case when $n=11$ or 12 and $Gal(f)$ is the Mathieu group…
Let $n$ be an integer such that the modular curve $X_0(n)$ is hyperelliptic of genus $\ge2$ and such that the Jacobian of $X_0(n)$ has rank $0$ over $\mathbb Q$. We determine all points of $X_0(n)$ defined over quadratic fields, and we give a moduli interpretation of these points. As a consequence, we show that up to $\overline{\mathbb Q}$-isomorphism, all but finitely many elliptic curves with $n$-isogenies over quadratic fields are in fact $\mathbb Q$-curves, and we list all exceptions. We also show that, again with finitely many exceptions up to $\overline{\mathbb Q}$-isomorphism, every $\m…
The modular variety of non singular and complete hyperelliptic curves with level-two structure of genus 3 is a 5-dimensional quasi projective variety which admits several standard compactifications. The first one, X, comes from the realization of this variety as a sub-variety of the Siegel modular variety of level two and genus three .We will be to describe the equations of X in a suitable projective embedding and its Hilbert function. It will turn out that X is normal. A further model comes from geometric invariant theory using so-called semistable degenerated point configurations in (P^1)^8 …
Combining certain identities for modular forms due to Igusa with Schottky-Jung relations, we study the cosmological constant for the recently proposed ansatz for the chiral superstring measure in genus 5. The vanishing of this cosmological constant turns out to be equivalent to the long-conjectured vanishing of a certain explicit modular form of genus 5 on the moduli of curves M_5, and we disprove this conjecture, thus showing that the cosmological constant for the proposed ansatz does not vanish identically. We exhibit an easy modification of the genus 5 ansatz satisfying factorization constr…
Classical modular curves are of deep interest in arithmetic geometry. In this survey we show how the work of Fumiyuki Momose is involved in order to list the classical modular curves which satisfy that the set of quadratic points over $\mathbb{Q}$ is infinite. In particular we recall results of Momose on hyperelliptic modular curves and on automorphisms groups of modular curves. Moreover, we fix some inaccuracies of the existing literature in few statements concerning automorphism groups of modular curves and we make available different results that are difficult to find a precise reference, f…
We develop a theory connecting the following three areas: (a) the mean field equation (MFE) $\triangle u + e^u = ρ\, δ_0$, $ρ\in \mathbb R_{>0}$ on flat tori $E_τ= \mathbb C/(\mathbb Z + \mathbb Zτ)$, (b) the classical Lamé equations and (c) modular forms. A major theme in part I is a classification of developing maps $f$ attached to solutions $u$ of the mean field equation according to the type of transformation laws (or monodromy) with respect to $Λ$ satisfied by $f$. We are especially interested in the case when the parameter $ρ$ in the mean field equation is an integer multiple of $4π$. In…
We show that a given rational Shimura curve Y with strictly maximal Higgs field in the moduli space of g-dimensional abelian varieties does not generically intersect the Schottky locus for large g. We achieve this by using a result of Viehweg and Zuo which says that if Y parameterizes a family of curves of genus g, then the corresponding family of Jacobians is isogenous over Y to the g-fold product of a modular family of elliptic curves. After reducing the situation from the field of complex numbers to a finite field, we will see, combining the Weil and Sato-Tate conjectures, that this is impo…
Let $A_g^S$ be the Satake compactification of the moduli space $A_g$ of principally polarized abelian $g$-folds and $M_g^S$ the closure of the image of the moduli space $M_g$ of genus $g$ curves in $A_g$ under the Jacobian morphism. Then $A_g^S$ lies in the boundary of $A_{g+m}^S$ for any $m$. We prove that $M_{g+m}^S$ and $A_g^S$ do not meet transversely in $A_{g+m}^S$, but rather that their intersection contains the $m$th order infinitesimal neighbourhood of $M_g^S$ in $A_g^S$. We deduce that there is no non-trivial stable Siegel modular form that vanishes on $M_g$ for every $g$. In particul…
By constructing suitable Borcherds forms on Shimura curves and using Schofer's formula for norms of values of Borcherds forms at CM-points, we determine all the equations of hyperelliptic Shimura curves $X_0^D(N)$. As a byproduct, we also address the problem of whether a modular form on Shimura curves $X_0^D(N)/W_{D,N}$ with a divisor supported on CM-divisors can be realized as a Borcherds form, where $X_0^D(N)/W_{D,N}$ denotes the quotient of $X_0^D(N)$ by all the Atkin-Lehner involutions. The construction of Borcherds forms is done by solving certain integer programming problems.
A curve X over the field Q of rational numbers is modular if it is dominated by X_1(N) for some N; if in addition the image of its jacobian in J_1(N) is contained in the new subvariety of J_1(N), then X is called a new modular curve. We prove that for each integer g at least 2, the set of new modular curves over Q of genus g is finite and computable. For the computability result, we prove an algorithmic version of the de Franchis-Severi Theorem. Similar finiteness results are proved for new modular curves of bounded gonality, for new modular curves whose jacobian is a quotient of the new part …
We study closures of GL_2(R)-orbits on the total space of the Hodge bundle over the moduli space of curves under the assumption that they are algebraic manifolds. We show that, in the generic stratum, such manifolds are the whole stratum, the hyperelliptic locus or parameterize curves whose Jacobian has additional endomorphisms. This follows from a cohomological description of the tangent bundle to strata. For non-generic strata similar results can be shown by a case-by-case inspection. We also propose to study a notion of 'linear manifold' that comprises Teichmueller curves, Hilbert modular s…
We construct several modular compactifications of the Hurwitz space $H^d_{g/h}$ of genus $g$ curves expressed as $d$-sheeted, simply branched covers of genus $h$ curves. These compactifications are obtained by allowing the branch points of the covers to collide to a variable extent. They are very well-behaved if $d = 2, 3$, or if relatively few collisions are allowed. We recover as special cases the spaces of twisted admissible covers of Abramovich, Corti and Vistoli and the spaces of hyperelliptic curves of Fedorchuk.
We present a computational approach to the classical Schottky problem based on Fay's trisecant identity for genus $g\geq 4$. For a given Riemann matrix $\mathbb{B}\in\mathbb{H}^{g}$, the Fay identity establishes linear dependence of secants in the Kummer variety if and only if the Riemann matrix corresponds to a Jacobian variety as shown by Krichever. The theta functions in terms of which these secants are expressed depend on the Abel maps of four arbitrary points on a Riemann surface. However, there is no concept of an Abel map for general $\mathbb{B} \in \mathbb{H}^{g}$. To establish linear …
We show how one can use the representation theory of ternary quartics to construct all vector-valued Siegel modular forms and Teichmüller modular forms of degree 3. The relation between the order of vanishing of a concomitant on the locus of double conics and the order of vanishing of the corresponding modular form on the hyperelliptic locus plays an important role. We also determine the connection between Teichmüller cusp forms on \overline{M}_g and the middle cohomology of symplectic local systems on M_g. In genus 3, we make this explicit in a large number of cases.
The link between modular functions and algebraic functions was a driving force behind the 19th century study of both. Examples include the solutions by Hermite and Klein of the quintic via elliptic modular functions and the general sextic via level $2$ hyperelliptic functions. This paper aims to apply modern arithmetic techniques to the circle of ``resolvent problems'' formulated and pursued by Klein, Hilbert and others. As one example, we prove that the essential dimension at $p=2$ for the symmetric groups $S_n$ is equal to the essential dimension at $2$ of certain $S_n$-coverings defined usi…
We compute the rational Chow class of the locus of genus 2 curves admitting a d-to-1 map to a genus 1 curve, recovering a result of Faber-Pagani when d=2. The answer exhibits quasi-modularity properties similar to those in the Gromov-Witten theory of a fixed genus 1 curve. Along the way, we give a classification of Harris-Mumford admissible covers of a genus 1 curve by a genus 2 curve, which may be of independent interest. As an application of the main calculation, we compute the number of d-elliptic curves in a very general family of genus 2 curves obtained by fixing five branch points of the…
Using the discriminant modular form and the Noether formula it is possible to write the admissible self-intersection of the relative dualising sheaf of a semistable hyperelliptic curve over a number field or function field as a sum, over all places, of a certain adelic invariant. We provide a simple geometric interpretation for this invariant, based on the arithmetic of symmetric roots. We propose the conjecture that the invariant introduced in this paper coincides with an invariant introduced in a recent paper by S.-W. Zhang.
The Kawazumi-Zhang invariant $φ$ for compact genus-two Riemann surfaces was recently shown to be a eigenmode of the Laplacian on the Siegel upper half-plane, away from the separating degeneration divisor. Using this fact and the known behavior of $φ$ in the non-separating degeneration limit, it is shown that $φ$ is equal to the Theta lift of the unique (up to normalization) weak Jacobi form of weight $-2$. This identification provides the complete Fourier-Jacobi expansion of $φ$ near the non-separating node, gives full control on the asymptotics of $φ$ in the various degeneration limits, and p…
