Brauer groups of moduli of hyperelliptic curves via cohomological invariants
Andrea Di Lorenzo, Roberto Pirisi
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35 pages, comments are very welcome! New version: we extended our choice of coefficients to general cycle modules, using Gille and Hirsch's results (arXiv:1908.08146). Our methods moreover yield a more precise descriptions of the groups appearing in Gille and Hirsch's splitting formula
We compute the Brauer group of the moduli stack of hyperelliptic curves $\mathcal{H}_g$ over any field of characteristic zero. In positive characteristic, we compute the part of the Brauer group whose order is prime to the characteristic of the base field.
For an affine double plane defined by an equation of the form z^2 = f, we study the divisor class group and the Brauer group. Two cases are considered. In the first case, f is a product of n linear forms in k[x,y] and X is birational to a ruled surface P^1 x C, where C is rational if n is odd and hyperelliptic if n is even. In the second case, f is the equation of an affine hyperelliptic curve. On the open set where the cover is unramified, we compute the groups of divisor classes, the Brauer groups, the relative Brauer group, as well as all of the terms in he exact sequence of Chase, Harrison…
Let $S$ be a scheme and let $π: \mathcal{G} \to S$ be a $\mathbb{G}_{m,S}$-gerbe corresponding to a torsion class $[\mathcal{G}]$ in the cohomological Brauer group $\mathrm{Br}'(S)$ of $S$. We show that the cohomological Brauer group $\mathrm{Br}'(\mathcal{G})$ of $\mathcal{G}$ is isomorphic to the quotient of $\mathrm{Br}'(S)$ by the subgroup generated by the class $[\mathcal{G}]$. This is analogous to a theorem proved by Gabber for Brauer-Severi schemes.
We compute the cohomological invariants with coefficients in $\mathbb{Z}/p\mathbb{Z}$ of the stack $\mathscr{H}_3$ of hyperelliptic curves of genus $3$ over an algebraically closed field.
Let $g$ be an even positive integer, and $p$ be a prime number. We compute the cohomological invariants with coefficients in $\mathbb{Z}/p\mathbb{Z}$ of the stacks of hyperelliptic curves $\mathscr{H}_g$ over an algebraically closed field $k_0$.
When the genus $g$ is even, we extend the computation of mod 2 cohomological invariants of $\mathcal{H}_g$ to non algebraically closed fields, we give an explicit functorial description of the invariants and we completely describe their multiplicative structure. In the Appendix, we show that the cohomological invariants of the compactification $\overline{\mathcal{H}}_g$ are trivial, and use our methods to give a very short proof of a result by Cornalba on the Picard group of the compactification $\overline{\mathcal{H}}_g$ and extend it to positive characteristic
We construct unramified central simple algebras representing 2-torsion classes in the Brauer group of a hyperelliptic curve, and show that every 2-torsion class can be constructed this way when the curve has a rational Weierstrass point or when the base field is C_1. In general, we show that a large (but in general proper) subgroup of the 2-torsion classes are given by the construction. Examples demonstrating applications to the arithmetic of hyperelliptic curves defined over number fields are given.
Let $X$ be a smooth projective surface over an algebraically closed field $k$ such that $char(k) \neq 2$. Let $X^{[d]}$ denote the punctual Hilbert scheme of zero dimensional quotients of degree $d$ and $X^{(d)}$ denote the symmetric product of $X$. For $\ell \neq 2$, we give a formula for the $\ell$-primary part of the Brauer group of $X^{[2]}$. We show that the Hilbert to Chow morphism induces an isomorphism of cohomological Brauer groups for $d=2$ and a similar result for $d \geq 3$. Let $Q(r,d)$ denote the punctual Quot-scheme parametrising zero dimensional quotients of $\mathcal{O}_X^{ \o…
The purpose of this article is to show how one might compute the étale cohomology groups $H^p_{\acute{e}t}(X,G_m)$ in degrees $p=0$, $1$ and $2$ of a toric variety $X$ with coefficients in the sheaf of units. The method is to reduce the computation down to the problem of diagonalizing a matrix with integral coefficients. The procedure outlined in this article has been fully implemented by the author as a program written in the ``C'' programming language.
Toric varieties are a special class of rational varieties defined by equations of the form {\it monomial = monomial}. For a good brief survey of the history and role of toric varieties see [10]. Any toric variety $X$ contains a cover by affine open sets described in terms of arrangements (called fans) of convex bodies in $\Bbb R^r$. The coordinate rings of each of these affine open sets is a graded ring generated over the ground field by monomials. As a consequence, toric varieties provide a good context in which cohomology can be calculated. The purpose of this article is to describe the seco…
We give a formula for the cohomological invariants of a root stack, which we apply to compute the cohomological invariants and the Brauer group of the stack of admissible double coverings.
A natural question is to determine which algebraic stacks are qoutient stacks. In this paper we give some partial answers and relate it to the old question of whether, for a scheme X, the natural map from the Brauer goup (equivalence classes of Azumaya algebras) to the cohomological Brauer group (the torsion subgroup of $H^2(X,{\mathbb G}_m)$ is surjective.
The purpose of this paper is to lay the foundations of a theory of invariants in étale cohomology for smooth Artin stacks. We compute the invariants in the case of the stack of elliptic curves, and we use the theory we developed to get some results regarding Brauer groups of algebraic spaces.
Using methods from algebraic topology and group cohomology, I pursue Grothendieck's question on equality of geometric and cohomological Brauer groups in the context of complex-analytic spaces. The main result is that equality holds under suitable assumptions on the fundamental group and the Pontrjagin dual of the second homotopy group. I apply this to Lie groups, Hopf manifolds, and complex-analytic surfaces.
Past studies of the Brauer group of a scheme tells us the importance of the interrelationship among Brauer groups of its finite étale coverings. In this paper, we consider these groups simultaneously, and construct an integrated object "Brauer-Mackey functor". We realize this as a {\it cohomological Mackey functor} on the Galois category of finite étale coverings. For any finite étale covering of schemes, we can associate two homomorphisms for Brauer groups, namely the pull-back and the norm map. These homomorphisms make Brauer groups into a bivariant functor ($=$ Mackey functor) on the Galois…
In this paper we show that the l^n-torsion part of the cohomological Brauer groups of certain schemes associated to symmetric powers of a projective smooth curve over a separably closed field k are isomorphic, when `l is invertible in k. The schemes considered are the Symmetric powers themselves, then the corresponding Picard schemes and also certain Quot-schemes. We also obtain similar results for Prym varieties associated to certain finite covers of such curves: we prove such results only for curves defined over the field of complex numbers.
Let T be a torus (not assumed to be split) over a field F, and denote by $_n{H^{2}_{et}(X,Gm)}$ the subgroup of elements of exponent dividing n in the cohomological Brauer group of a scheme X over the field F. We provide conditions on X and n for which the pull-back homomorphism $_n{H^2_{et}(T,Gm)}\to_n{H^2_{et}(X\times T,Gm)}$ is an isomorphism. We apply this to compute the Brauer group of some reductive groups and of non singular affine quadrics. Apart from this, we investigate the p-torsion of the Azumaya algebra defined Brauer group of a regular affine scheme over a field F of characterist…
Let U be a connected scheme of finite cohomological dimension in which every finite set of points is contained in an affine open subscheme. Suppose that alpha is a class in H^2(U_et,Gm)_{tors}. For each positive integer m, the K-theory of alpha-twisted sheaves is used to identify obstructions to alpha being representable by an Azumaya algebra of rank m^2. The etale index of alpha, denoted eti(alpha), is the least positive integer such that all the obstructions vanish. Let per(alpha) be the order of alpha in H^2(U_{et},Gm)_{tors}. Methods from stable homotopy theory give an upper bound on the e…
Let SI(S_g) denote the hyperelliptic Torelli group of a closed surface S_g of genus g. This is the subgroup of the mapping class group of S_g consisting of elements that act trivially on H_1(S_g;Z) and that commute with some fixed hyperelliptic involution of S_g. We prove that the cohomological dimension of SI(S_g) is g-1 when g > 0. We also show that H_g-1(SI(S_g);Z) is infinitely generated when g > 1. In particular, SI(S_3) is not finitely presentable. Finally, we apply our main results to show that the kernel of the Burau representation of the braid group B_n at t = -1 has cohomological dim…
We study Kummer varieties attached to 2-coverings of abelian varieties of arbitrary dimension. Over a number field we show that the subgroup of odd order elements of the Brauer group does not obstruct the Hasse principle. Sufficient conditions for the triviality of the Brauer group are given, which allow us to give an example of a Kummer K3 surface of geometric Picard rank 17 over the rationals with trivial Brauer group. We establish the non-emptyness of the Brauer--Manin set of everywhere locally soluble Kummer varieties attached to 2-coverings of products of hyperelliptic Jacobians with larg…
The open subvariety $\overline{M}_g^{\leq k}$ of $\overline{M}_g$ parametrizes stable curves of genus $g$ having at most $k$ rational components. By the work of Looijenga, one expects that the cohomological excess of $\overline{M}_g^{\leq k}$ is at most $g-1+k$. In this paper we show that when $k=0$, the conjectured upper bound is sharp by showing that there is a constructible sheaf on $\overline{H}_g^{\leq k}$ (the hyperelliptic locus) which has non-vanishing cohomology in degree $3g-2$.
We compute the intersection Betti numbers of the GIT model of the moduli space of Brill-Noether-Petri general curves of genus 4. This space was shown to be the final non-trivial log canonical model for the moduli space of stable genus four curves, under the Hassett-Keel program. The strategy of the cohomological computation relies on a general method developed by Kirwan to calculate the cohomology of GIT quotients of projective varieties, based on the equivariantly perfect stratification of the unstable points studied by Hesselink and others and a partial resolution of singularities.
In $2000$, Colliot-Thélène and Poonen showed how to construct algebraic families of genus one curves violating the Hasse principle. Poonen explicitly constructed an algebraic family of genus one cubic curves violating the Hasse principle using the general method developed by Colliot-Thélène and himself. The main result in this paper generalizes the result of Colliot-Thélène and Poonen to arbitrarily high genus hyperelliptic curves. More precisely, for $n > 5$ and $n \not\equiv 0 \pmod{4}$, we show that there is an algebraic family of hyperelliptic curves of genus $n$ that is counterexamples to…
Added lemma provided by Michel Brion. Other (minor) changes. Submitted version. Let k be any field, let X' be a projective and geometrically integral k-scheme and let Y' be a finite closed subscheme of X'. If f: Y'-> Y is a schematically dominant morphism between finite k-schemes and X is obtained by pinching X' along Y' via f, we describe the kernel (and, in certain cases, the cokernel) of the induced pullback map Br_{1}X -> Br_{1}X' between the corresponding algebraic (cohomological) Brauer groups of X and X'_solely_ in terms of the Brauer groups of the residue fields of Y and Y' and the Ami…
We prove new results on splitting Brauer classes by genus 1 curves, settling in particular the case of degree 7 classes over global fields. Though our method is cohomological in nature, and proceeds by considering the more difficult problem of splitting $μ_N$-gerbes, we use crucial input from the arithmetic of modular curves and explicit $N$-descent on elliptic curves.
We show that for complex analytic K3 surfaces any torsion class in H^2(X,O_X^*) comes from an Azumaya algebra. In other words, the Brauer group equals the cohomological Brauer group. For algebraic surfaces, such results go back to Grothendieck. In our situation, we use twistor spaces to deform a given analytic K3 surface to suitable projective K3 surfaces, and then stable bundles and hyperholomorphy conditions to pass back and forth between the members of the twistor family.
We consider the moduli space $\Hh_{g,n}$ of $n$-pointed smooth hyperelliptic curves of genus $g$. In order to get cohomological information we wish to make $\s_n$-equivariant counts of the numbers of points defined over finite fields of this moduli space. We find recurrence relations in the genus that these numbers fulfill. Thus, if we can make $\s_n$-equivariant counts of $\Hh_{g,n}$ for low genus, then we can do this for every genus. Information about curves of genus 0 and 1 is then found to be sufficient to compute the answers for $\Hh_{g,n}$ for all $g$ and for $n \leq 7$. These results ar…
Let ${\mathcal P}{\mathcal M}^α_s$ be a moduli space of stable parabolic vector bundles of rank $n \geq 2$ and fixed determinant of degree $d$ over a compact connected Riemann surface $X$ of genus $g(X) \geq 2$. If $g(X) = 2$, then we assume that $n > 2$. Let $m$ denote the greatest common divisor of $d$, $n$ and the dimensions of all the successive quotients of the quasi-parabolic filtrations. We prove that the cohomological Brauer group ${\rm Br}({\mathcal P}{\mathcal M}^α_s)$ is isomorphic to the cyclic group ${\mathbb Z}/ m{\mathbb Z}$. We also show that ${\rm Br}({\mathcal P}{\mathcal M}^…
We study the question of whether the Brauer group is isomorphic to the cohomological one in spectral algebraic geometry. For this, we prove the compact generation of the derived category of twisted sheaves for quasi-compact spectral algebraic stacks with quasi-affine diagonal, which admit a quasi-finite presentation; in particular, we obtain the compact generation of the unbounded derived category of quasi-coherent sheaves and the existence of compact perfect complexes with prescribed support for such stacks. We also study the relationship between derived and spectral algebraic stacks, so that…
Let X be a homogeneous space, X = G/H, where G is a connected linear algebraic group over a number field k, and H is a k-subgroup of G (not necessarily connected). Let S be a finite set of places of k. We compute the Brauer-Manin obstruction to weak approximation for X in S in terms of Galois cohomology.
Using Maruyama's theory of elementary transformations, I show that the Brauer group surjects onto the cohomological Brauer group for separated geometrically normal algebraic surfaces. As an application, I infer the existence of nonfree vector bundles on proper normal algebraic surfaces.
Let $k$ be a field that is finitely generated over the field of rational numbers and $Br(k)$ the Brauer group of $k$. Let $X$ be an absolutely irreducible smooth projective variety over $k$, let $Br(X)$ be the cohomological Brauer-Grothendieck group of $X$ and $Br_0(X)$ the image of $Br(k)$ in $Br(X)$. We write $Br_1(X)$ for the subgroup of elements in $Br(X)$ that become trivial after replacing $k$ by its algebraic closure. We prove that $Br(X)/Br_0(X)$ is finite if $X$ is a $K3$ surface. When $X$ is (a principal homogeneous space of) an abelian variety over $k$ then we prove that $Br(X)/Br_1…
The cohomological dimension of a field is the largest degree with non-vanishing Galois cohomology. Serre's "Conjecture II" predicts that for every perfect field of cohomological dimension $2$, every torsor over the field for a semisimple, simply connected algebraic group is trivial. A field is perfect and "pseudo algebraically closed" (PAC) if every geometrically irreducible curve over the field has a rational point. These have cohomological dimension $1$. Every transcendence degree $1$ extension of such a field has cohomological degree $2$. We prove Serre's "Conjecture II" for such fields of …
A hyperelliptic curve over $\mathbb Q$ is called "locally soluble" if it has a point over every completion of $\mathbb Q$. In this paper, we prove that a positive proportion of hyperelliptic curves over $\mathbb Q$ of genus $g\geq 1$ are locally soluble but have no points over any odd degree extension of $\mathbb Q$. We also obtain a number of related results. For example, we prove that for any fixed odd integer $k > 0$, the proportion of locally soluble hyperelliptic curves over $\mathbb Q$ of genus $g$ having no points over any odd degree extension of $\mathbb Q$ of degree at most $k$ tends …
We introduce the relative units-Picard complex of an arbitrary morphism of schemes and apply it to the problem of describing the (cohomological) Brauer group of a (fiber) product of schemes in terms of the Brauer groups of the factors. Under certain hypotheses, we obtain a five-term exact sequence involving the preceding groups which enables us to solve the indicated problem in the case of, e.g., (certain types of) ruled varieties over a field of characteristic zero.
In this article we consider the moduli space of smooth $n$-pointed non-hyperelliptic curves of genus 3. In the pursuit of cohomological information about this space, we make $\mathbb{S}_n$-equivariant counts of its numbers of points defined over finite fields for $n \leq 7$. Combining this with results on the moduli spaces of smooth pointed curves of genus 0, 1 and 2, and the moduli space of smooth hyperelliptic curves of genus 3, we can determine the $\mathbb{S}_n$-equivariant Galois and Hodge structure of the ($\ell$-adic respectively Betti) cohomology of the moduli space of stable curves of…
We reinterpret Kim's non-abelian reciprocity maps for algebraic varieties as obstruction towers of mapping spaces of etale homotopy types, removing technical hypotheses such as global basepoints and cohomological constraints. We then extend the theory by considering alternative natural series of extensions, one of which gives an obstruction tower whose first stage is the Brauer--Manin obstruction, allowing us to determine when Kim's maps recover the Brauer-Manin locus. A tower based on relative completions yields non-trivial reciprocity maps even for Shimura varieties; for the stacky modular c…
We study twisted vector bundles of infinite rank on gerbes, giving a new spin on Grothendieck's famous problem on the equality of the Brauer group and cohomological Brauer group. We show that the relaxed version of the question has an affirmative answer in many, but not all, cases, including for any algebraic space with the resolution property and any algebraic space obtained by pinching two closed subschemes of a projective scheme. We also discuss some possible theories of infinite rank Azumaya algebras, consider a new class of "very positive" infinite rank vector bundles on projective variet…
Let X be a real projective algebraic manifold, s numerates connected components of X(R) and _2Br(X) the subgroup of elements of order 2 of the cohomological Brauer group Br(X). We study the natural homomorphism ξ: _2Br(X) \to (Z/2)^s and prove that ξis epimorphic if H^3(X(C)/G;Z/2) \to H^3(X(R);Z/2) is injective. Here G=Gal(C/R). For an algebraic surface X with H^3(X(C)/G;Z/2)=0 and X(R)\not=\emptyset, we give a formula for dim _2Br(X). As a corollary, for a real Enriques surfaces Y, the ξis epimorphic and dim _2Br(Y)=2s-1 if both liftings of the antiholomorphic involution of Y to the universa…
We present a conjectural formula describing the cokernel of the Albanese map of zero-cycles of smooth projective varieties $X$ over $p$-adic fields in terms of the Néron-Severi group and provide a proof under additional assumptions on an integral model of $X$. The proof depends on a non-degeneracy result of Brauer-Manin pairing due to Saito-Sato and on Gabber-de Jong's comparison result of cohomological- and Azumaya-Brauer groups. We will also mention the local-global problem of the Albanese-cokernel; the abelian group on the "local side" turns out to be a finite group.
We use twisted sheaves and their moduli spaces to study the Brauer group of a scheme. In particular, we (1) show how twisted methods can be efficiently used to re-prove the basic facts about the Brauer group and cohomological Brauer group (including Gabber's theorem that they coincide for a separated union of two affine schemes), (2) give a new proof of de Jong's period-index theorem for surfaces over algebraically closed fields, and (3) prove an analogous result for surfaces over finite fields. We also include a reduction of all period-index problems for Brauer groups of function fields over …
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…
Let G be a linear algebraic group over a field F and X be a projective homogeneous G-variety such that G splits over the function field of X. In the present paper we introduce an invariant of G called J-invariant which characterizes the motivic behaviour of X. This generalizes the respective notion invented by A. Vishik in the context of quadratic forms. As a main application we obtain a uniform proof of all known motivic decompositions of generically split projective homogeneous varieties (Severi-Brauer varieties, Pfister quadrics, maximal orthogonal Grassmannians, G2- and F4-varieties) as we…