We give a comprehensive treatment of the transformation laws of theta functions from an algebro-geometric perspective, that is, in terms of moduli of abelian schemes. This is accomplished by introducing geometric notions of theta-descent structures, metaplectic stacks, and bundles of half-forms, whose analytic incarnations underlie different aspects of the classical transformation laws. As an application, we lay the foundations for a geometric theory of modular forms of half-integral weight and, more generally, for modular forms taking values in the Weil representation. We discuss further applications to the algebraic theory of Jacobi forms and to the theory of determinant bundles of abelian schemes.
In this paper, we give an overview of our previous paper concerning the investigation of the algebraic and $p$-adic properties of Eisenstein-Kronecker numbers using Mumford's theory of algebraic theta functions.
We give an algebraic analog of the functional equation of Riemann's theta function. More precisely, we define a `theta multiplier' line bundle over the moduli stack of principally polarized abelian schemes with theta characteristic and prove that its dual is isomorphic to the determinant bundle over the moduli stack. We do so by explicitly computing with Picard groups over the moduli stack. This is all done over the ring R=Z[1/2,i]: passing to the complex numbers, we recover the classical functional equation.
We recall that a smooth ample surface $\mathcal{S}$ in a general $(1,2,2)$-polarized abelian threefold, which is the pullback of the Theta divisor of a smooth plane quartic curve $\mathcal{D}$, is a surface isogenous to the product $\mathcal{C} \times \mathcal{C}$, where $\mathcal{C}$ is a genus $9$ curve embedded in $\mathbb{P}^3$ as complete intersection of a smooth quadric and a smooth quartic. We show that the space of global holomorhic sections of the canonical bundle of this surface is generated by certain determinantal bihomogeneous polynomials of bidegree $(2,2)$ on $\mathbb{P}^3$, whi…
We study the properties of Eisenstein-Kronecker numbers, which are related to special values of Hecke $L$-function of imaginary quadratic fields. We prove that the generating function of these numbers is a reduced (normalized or canonical in some literature) theta function associated to the Poincare bundle of an elliptic curve. We introduce general methods to study the algebraic and $p$-adic properties of reduced theta functions for CM abelian varieties. As a corollary, when the prime $p$ is ordinary, we give a new construction of the two-variable $p$-adic measure interpolating special values …
The singularities of theta divisors have played an important role in the study of algebraic varieties. This paper surveys some of the recent progress in this subject, using as motivation some well known results, especially those for Jacobians.
In this paper we classify the singular curves whose theta divisors in their generalized Jacobians are algebraic, meaning that they are cut out by polynomial analogs of theta functions. We also determine the degree of an algebraic theta divisor in terms of the singularities of the curve. Furthermore, we show a precise relation between such algebraic theta functions and the corresponding tau functions for the KP hierarchy.
We give an algebraic method to compute the fourth power of the quotient of any even theta constants associated to a given non-hyperelliptic curve in terms of geometry of the curve. In order to apply the method, we work out non-hyperelliptic curves of genus 4, in particular, such curves lying on a singular quadric, which arise from del Pezzo surfaces of degree 1. Indeed, we obtain a complete 2-level structure of the curves by studying their theta characteristic divisors via exceptional divisors of the del Pezzo surfaces as the structure is required for the method.
These are expanded notes on a lecture of the same title at the 2015 AMS summer institute in algebraic geometry. We give an introduction and overview of the "beyond geometric invariant theory" program for analyzing moduli problems in algebraic geometry. We discuss methods for analyzing stability in general moduli problems, focusing on the moduli of coherent sheaves on a smooth projective scheme as a toy example. We describe several applications: a general structure theorem for the derived category of coherent sheaves on an algebraic stack; some results on the topology of moduli stacks; and a "v…
For any rank 2 Drinfeld module rho defined over an algebraic function field, we consider its period matrix P, which is analogous to the period matrix of an elliptic curve defined over a number field. Suppose that the characteristic of F_q is odd and rho is without complex multiplication. We show that the transcendence degree of the field generated by the entries of P over F_q(theta) is 4. As a consequence, we show also the algebraic independence of Drinfeld logarithms of algebraic functions which are linearly independent over F_q(theta).
In this article we compute new theta relations which define the moduli space of abelian surfaces with real multiplication by square root three. We give the locus of square root three abelian surfaces in terms of the canonical coordinates on Mumford's moduli space of abelian surfaces with theta structure. The method that we use to compute the real multiplication theta relations is of purely algebraic nature. It differs from Runge's method and recent work by Gruenewald. We expect that our method generalizes to higher discriminants.
Algebraic curves in Hilbert modular surfaces that are totally geodesic for the Kobayashi metric have very interesting geometric and arithmetic properties, e.g. they are rigid. There are very few methods known to construct such algebraic geodesics that we call Kobayashi curves. We give an explicit way of constructing Kobayashi curves using determinants of derivatives of theta functions. This construction also allows to calculate the Euler characteristics of the Teichmueller curves constructed by McMullen using Prym covers.
We prove a formula, which, given a principally polarized abelian variety $(A,λ)$ over the field of algebraic numbers, relates the stable Faltings height of $A$ with the Néron--Tate height of a symmetric theta divisor on $A$. Our formula completes earlier results due to Bost, Hindry, Autissier and Wagener. The local non-archimedean terms in our formula can be expressed as the tropical moments of the tropicalizations of $(A,λ)$.
We study base points of the generalized Theta-divisor on the moduli space of vector bundles on a smooth algebraic curve X of genus g defined over an algebraically closed field. To do so, we use the derived categories D(Pic(X)), D(Jac(X)), and the equivalence between them given by the Fourier-Mukai transform coming from the Poincaré bundle. The vector bundles P(m) on the curve X defined by Raynaud play a central role in this description. Indeed, we show that a vector bundle E is a base point of the generalized Theta-divisor, if and only if there exists a nontrivial homomorphism P(rk(E)g+1) --> …
This note extends some recent results on the derived category of a geometric invariant theory quotient to the setting of derived algebraic geometry. Our main result is a structure theorem for the derived category of a derived local quotient stack which admits a stratification of the kind arising in geometric invariant theory. The use of derived algebraic geometry leads to results with pleasingly few hypotheses, even when the stack is not smooth. Using the same methods, we establish a "virtual non-abelian localization theorem" which is a K-theoretic analog of the virtual localization theorem in…
We consider an algebraic surface. For an irreducible curve on this surface and for a point on this curve one can associate an artinian ring, which is a sum of two-dimensional local fields. An example of two-dimensional local field is iterated Laurent series. We consider an integer value symbol on a two-dimensional local field. This symbol appears for the description of non-ramified coverings of two-dimensional local fields and for the description of intersection index of divisors on surfaces by adeles. We interpret this symbol as the commutator of lifting of elements in the central extension o…
It is shown that it is possible to write down tau functions for the $n$-component KP hierarchy in terms of non-abelian theta functions. This is a generalization of the rank 1 situation; that is, the relation of theta functions of Jacobians and tau functions for the KP hierarchy.
A theta surface in affine 3-space is the zero set of a Riemann theta function in genus 3. This includes surfaces arising from special plane quartics that are singular or reducible. Lie and Poincaré showed that theta surfaces are precisely the surfaces of double translation, i.e. obtained as the Minkowski sum of two space curves in two different ways. These curves are parametrized by abelian integrals, so they are usually not algebraic. This paper offers a new view on this classical topic through the lens of computation. We present practical tools for passing between quartic curves and their th…
We prove non-commutative reciprocity laws on an algebraic surface defined over a perfect field. These reciprocity laws claim the splittings of some central extensions of globally constructed groups over some subgroups constructed by points or projective curves on a surface. For a two-dimensional local field with a finite last residue field the constructed local central extension is isomorphic to a central extension which comes from the case of tame ramification of the Abelian two-dimensional local Langlands correspondence suggested by M. Kapranov.
We define and study the 2-category of torsors over a Picard groupoid, a central extension of a group by a Picard groupoid, and commutator maps in this central extension. Using it in the context of two-dimensional local fields and two-dimensional adelic theory we obtain the two-dimensional tame symbol and a new proof of Parshin reciprocity laws on an algebraic surface.
Let $X$ be an abelian variety defined over an algebraically closed field $k$. We consider theta groups associated to \emph{simple semi-homogenous vector bundles of separable type} on $X$. We determine the structure and representation theory of these groups. In doing so we relate work of Mumford, Mukai, and Umemura. We also consider adelic theta groups associated to line bundles on $X$. After reviewing Mumford's construction of these groups we determine functorial properties which they enjoy and then realize the Neron-Severi group of $X$ as a subgroup of the cohomology group $\H^2(\V(X); k^\tim…
Let $\X$ be an irreducible, smooth, projective curve of genus $g \geq 2$ defined over the complex field $\C.$ Then there is a covering $π: \X \longrightarrow ¶^1,$ where $¶^1$ denotes the projective line. The problem of expressing branch points of the covering $π$ in terms of the transcendentals (period matrix, thetanulls, e.g.) is classical. It goes back to Riemann, Jacobi, Picard and Rosenhein. Many mathematicians, including Picard and Thomae, have offered partial treatments for this problem. In this work, we address the problem for cyclic curves of genus 2, 3, and 4 and find relations among…
We study the behavior of theta characteristics on an algebraic curve under the specialization map to a tropical curve. We show that each effective theta characteristic on the tropical curve is the specialization of $2^{g-1}$ even theta characteristics and $2^{g-1}$ odd theta characteristics. We then study the relationship between unramified double covers of a tropical curve and its theta characteristics, and use this to define the tropical Prym variety.
Theta functions of level n on the principally polarised Prym varieties of an algebraic curve are dual to sections of the orthogonal theta line bundle on the moduli space of Spin(n)-bundles over the curve. As a by-product of our computations we also note that when n is odd the pfaffian line bundle on moduli space has a basis of sections labelled by the even theta characteristics of the curve.
Addition formulas for theta functions of arbitrary order are shown and applied to the theoretical understanding of the fractional quantum Hall effect in a multi-layer two-dimensional many-electron system under periodic conditions.
This paper is a survey on relations between secant identities and soliton equations and applications of soliton equations to problems of algebraic geometry, i.e., the Riemann-Schottky problem and its analogues. A short introduction into the analytic theory of theta functions is also given.
In this short survey we give a description of the theta functions of algebraic curves, half-integer theta-nulls, and the fundamental theta functions. We describe how to determine such fundamental theta functions and describe the components of the moduli space in terms of such functions.
This is a slightly expanded version of the talk given by Ch.O. at the conference "Instantons in complex geometry", at the Steklov Institute in Moscow. The purpose of this talk was to explain the algebraic results of our paper "Abelian Yang-Mills theory on Real tori and Theta divisors of Klein surfaces". In this paper we compute determinant index bundles of certain families of Real Dirac type operators on Klein surfaces as elements in the corresponding Grothendieck group of Real line bundles in the sense of Atiyah. On a Klein surface these determinant index bundles have a natural holomorphic de…
A linear algebraic group $G$ is represented by the linear space of its algebraic functions $F(G)$ endowed with multiplication and comultiplication which turn it into a Hopf algebra. Supplying $G$ with a Poisson structure, we get a quantized version $F_q(G)$ which has the same linear structure and comultiplication, but deformed multiplication. This paper develops a similar theory for abelian varieties. A description of abelian varieties $A$ in terms of linear algebra data was given by Mumford: $F(G)$ is replaced by the graded ring of theta functions with symmetric automorphy factors, and comult…
We study a discrete analogue of the classical multivariate Gaussian distribution. It is supported on the integer lattice and is parametrized by the Riemann theta function. Over the reals, the discrete Gaussian is characterized by the property of maximizing entropy, just as its continuous counterpart. We capitalize on the theta function representation to derive statistical properties. Throughout, we exhibit strong connections to the study of abelian varieties in algebraic geometry.
We study the Albanese image of a compact Kähler manifold whose geometric genus is one. We prove that if the Albanese map is not surjective, then the manifold maps surjectively onto an ample divisor in some abelian variety, and in many cases the ample divisor is a theta divisor. With a further natural assumption on the topology of the manifold, we prove that the manifold is an algebraic fiber space over a genus two curve. Finally we apply these results to study the geometry of a compact Kähler manifold which has the same Hodge numbers as those of an abelian variety of the same dimension.
This paper presents a proof of reciprocity laws for the Parshin symbol and for two new local symbols, defined here, which we call 4-function local symbols. The reciprocity laws for the Parshin symbol are proven using a new method - via iterated integrals. The usefulness of this method is shown by two facts - first, by establishing new local symbols - the 4-function local symbols and their reciprocity laws and, second, by providing refinements of the Parshin symbol in terms of bi-local symbols, each of which satisfies a reciprocity law. The K-theoretic variant of the first 4-function local symb…
To any closed subvariety $Y$ of a complex abelian variety one can attach a reductive algebraic group $G$ which is determined by the decomposition of the convolution powers of $Y$ via a certain Tannakian formalism. For a theta divisor $Y$ on a principally polarized abelian variety, this group $G$ provides a new invariant that naturally endows the moduli space $A_g$ of principally polarized abelian varieties of dimension $g$ with a finite constructible stratification. We determine $G$ for a generic principally polarized abelian variety, and for $g=4$ we show that the stratification detects the l…
Theta series for lattices with indefinite signature $(n_+,n_-)$ arise in many areas of mathematics including representation theory and enumerative algebraic geometry. Their modular properties are well understood in the Lorentzian case ($n_+=1$), but have remained obscure when $n_+\geq 2$. Using a higher-dimensional generalization of the usual (complementary) error function, discovered in an independent physics project, we construct the modular completion of a class of `conformal' holomorphic theta series ($n_+=2$). As an application, we determine the modular properties of a generalized Appell-…
The aim of this work is to provide a construction of generalized local symbols on algebraic curves as morphisms of group schemes. From a closed point of a complete, irreducible and non-singular curve $C$ over a perfect field $k$ as the only data, using theta groups over Picard schemes of curves, we offer a geometric construction that allows us to define generalizations of the tame symbol and the Hilbert norm residue symbol.
Using abelian differentials and periods of the universal Mumford curve, we study the universal expression and asymptotic behavior of tau functions defined for stably degenerating families of algebraic curves with additional data. Furthermore, we apply this study to constructing solutions to the KP hierarchy which are expressed by nonarchimedean theta functions and by mixtures of quasi-periodic solutions with solitons containing real solutions defined on families of M-curves.
We construct natural maps (the Klein and Wirtinger maps) from moduli spaces of vector bundles on an algebraic curve $X$ to affine spaces, as quotients of the nonabelian theta linear series. We prove a finiteness result for these maps over generalized Kummer varieties (moduli of torus bundles), leading us to conjecture that the maps are finite in general. The conjecture provides canonical explicit coordinates on the moduli space. The finiteness results give low--dimensional parametrizations of Jacobians (in $\Pp^{3g-3}$ for generic curves), described by $2Θ$ functions or second logarithmic deri…
The level moduli space $A_g^{4,8}$ is mapped to the projective space by means of gradients of odd Theta functions, such a map turning out no to be injective in the genus 2 case. In this work a congruence subgroup $Γ$ is located between $Γ_2(4,8)$ and $Γ_2(2,4)$ in such a way the map factors on the related level moduli space $A_Γ$, the new map being injective on $A_Γ$. Satake's compactification $\text{Proj}A(Γ)$ and the desingularization $\text{Proj}S(Γ)$ are also due to be investigated, since the map does not extend to the boundary of the compactification; to aim at this, an algebraic descript…
We introduce an equivariant algebraic cobordism theory Ω^G for algebraic varieties with G-action, where G is a split diagonalizable group scheme over a field k. It is done by combining the construction of the algebraic cobordism theory Ωby F. Morel and M. Levine, with the notion of (G, F)-formal group law with respect to a complete G-universe and complete G-flag F as introduced by M. Cole, J. P. C. Greenlees and I. Kriz. In particular, we use their corresponding representing ring L_G(F) in place of the Lazard ring L. We show that localization property and homotopy invariance property hold in Ω…
The purpose of this paper is to compute determinant index bundles of certain families of Real Dirac type operators on Klein surfaces as elements in the corresponding Grothendieck group of Real line bundles in the sense of Atiyah. On a Klein surface these determinant index bundles have a natural holomorphic description as theta line bundles. In particular we compute the first Stiefel-Whitney classes of the corresponding fixed point bundles on the real part of the Picard torus. The computation of these classes is important, because they control to a large extent the orientability of certain modu…
We further develop the asymptotic analytic approach to the study of scattering diagrams. We do so by analyzing the asymptotic behavior of Maurer-Cartan elements of a differential graded Lie algebra constructed from a (not-necessarily tropical) monoid-graded Lie algebra. In this framework, we give alternative differential geometric proofs of the consistent completion of scattering diagrams, originally proved by Kontsevich-Soibelman, Gross-Siebert and Bridgeland. We also give a geometric interpretation of theta functions and their wall-crossing. In the tropical setting, we interpret Maurer-Carta…
We consider arbitrary polarized variations of Hodge structure of weight two and $h^{2,0}=1$ over a non--singular complex algebraic curve $S$ and analyze the boundary behaviour of the associated Kudla--Millson theta series using Schmid's theorems on degenerations of Hodge structure. This allows us to prove that this theta series is always integrable over $S$ and to describe explicitly the non-holomorphic part of the Kudla--Millson generating series in terms of the mixed Hodge structures at infinity.
Let X be a smooth projective curve over an algebraically closed field of characteristic >2. Consider the dual pair H=GSO_{2m}, G=GSp_{2n} over X, where H splits over an etale two-sheeted covering of X. Write Bun_G and Bun_H for the stacks of G-torsors and H-torsors on X. We show that for m\le n (respectively, for m>n) the theta-lifting functor from D(Bun_H) to D(Bun_G) (respectively, from D(Bun_G) to D(Bun_H)) commutes with Hecke functors with respect to a morphism of the corresponding L-groups involving the SL_2 of Arthur. So, they realize the geometric Langlands functoriality for the corresp…
Let $W(z)$ be a $n\times n$ matrix polynomial with rational coefficients. Denote $C$ the spectral curve $\det \left( w\cdot{\bf 1}-W(z)\right) =0$. Under some natural assumptions about the structure of $W(z)$ we prove that certain combinations of logarithmic derivatives of the Riemann theta-function of $C$ of an arbitrary order starting from the third one all take rational values at the point of the Jacobi variety $J(C)$ specified by the line bundle of eigenvectors of $W(z)$.
A section K on a genus g canonical curve C is identified as the key tool to prove new results on the geometry of the singular locus Theta_s of the theta divisor. The K divisor is characterized by the condition of linear dependence of a set of quadrics containing C and naturally associated to a degree g effective divisor on C. K counts the number of intersections of special varieties on the Jacobian torus defined in terms of Theta_s. It also identifies sections of line bundles on the moduli space of algebraic curves, closely related to the Mumford isomorphism, whose zero loci characterize speci…
We look into a construction of principal abelian varieties attached to certain spin manifolds, due to Witten and Moore-Witten around 2000 and try to place it in a broader framework. This is related to Weil intermediate Jacobians but it also suggests to associate abelian varieties to polarized even weight Hodge structures. The latter construction can also be explained in terms of algebraic groups which might be useful from the point of view of Tannakian categories. The constructions depend on moduli much as in Teichmüller theory although the period maps in general are only real analytic. One of…
