This paper deals with rational curves and birational contractions on irreducible holomorphically symplectic manifold. We survey some recent results about minimal rational curves, their deformations, extremal rays associated with these curves, and the geometry of the Kähler cone.
An MBM locus on a hyperkahler manifold is the union of all deformations of a minimal rational curve with negative self-intersection. MBM loci can be equivalently defined as centers of bimeromorphic contractions. It was shown that the MBM loci on deformation equivalent hyperkahler manifolds are diffeomorphic. We determine the MBM loci on a hyperkahler manifold of K3-type of low dimension using a deformation to a Hilbert scheme of a non-algebraic K3 surface.
An MBM class on a hyperkahler manifold M is a second cohomology class such that its orthogonal complement in H^2(M) contains a maximal dimensional face of the boundary of the Kahler cone for some hyperkahler deformation of M. An MBM curve is a rational curve in an MBM class and such that its local deformation space has minimal possible dimension 2n-2, where 2n is the complex dimension of M. We study the MBM loci, defined as the subvarieties covered by deformations of an MBM curve within M. When M is projective, MBM loci are centers of birational contractions. For each MBM class z, we consider …
Let $M$ be an irreducible holomorphically symplectic manifold. We show that all faces of the Kahler cone of $M$ are hyperplanes $H_i$ orthogonal to certain homology classes, called monodromy birationally minimal (MBM) classes. Moreover, the Kahler cone is a connected component of a complement of the positive cone to the union of all $H_i$. We provide several characterizations of the MBM-classes. We show the invariance of MBM property by deformations, as long as the class in question stays of type (1,1). For hyperkahler manifolds with Picard group generated by a negative class $z$, we prove tha…
We study the exceptional loci of birational (bimeromorphic) contractions of a hyperkähler manifold $M$. Such a contraction locus is the union of all minimal rational curves in a collection of cohomology classes which are orthogonal to a wall of the Kähler cone. Homology classes which can possibly be orthogonal to a wall of the Kähler cone of some deformation of $M$ are called MBM classes. We prove that all MBM classes of type (1,1) can be represented by rational curves, called MBM curves. All MBM curves can be contracted on an appropriate birational model of $M$, unless $b_2(M) \leq 5$. When $…
Let S be an infinite-dimensional manifold of all symplectic, or hyperkahler, structures on a compact manifold M, and $Diff_0$ the connected component of its diffeomorphism group. The quotient $S/\Diff_0$ is called the Teichmuller space of symplectic (or hyperkahler) structures on M. MBM classes on a hyperkahler manifold M are cohomology classes which can be represented by a minimal rational curve on a deformation of M. We determine the Teichmuller space of hyperkahler structures on a hyperkahler manifold, identifying any of its connected components with an open subset of the Grassmannian $SO(b…
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.
In this paper we define the notion of a hyperkähler manifold (potentially) of Jacobian type. If we view hyperkähler manifolds as "abelian varieties", then those of Jacobian type should be viewed as "Jacobian varieties". Under a minor assumption on the polarization, we show that a very general polarized hyperkähler fourfold $F$ of $K3^{[2]}$-type is not of Jacobian type. As a potential application, we conjecture that if a cubic fourfold is rational then its variety of lines is of Jacobian type. Under some technical assumption, it is proved that the variety of lines on a rational cubic fourfold …
In this paper we study the gonality of the normalizations of curves in the linear system $|H|$ of a general primitively polarized complex $K3$ surface $(S,H)$ of genus $p$. We prove two main results. First we give a necessary condition on $p, g, r, d$ for the existence of a curve in $ |H|$ with geometric genus $g$ whose normalization has a $g^ r_d$. Secondly we prove that for all numerical cases compatible with the above necessary condition, there is a family of \emph{nodal} curves in $|H|$ of genus $g$ carrying a $g^1_k$ and of dimension equal to the \emph{expected dimension} $\min\{2(k-1),g\…
In this paper we study the gonality of the normalizations of curves in the linear system $|H|$ of a general primitively polarized $K3$ surface $(S,H)$ of genus $p$. We prove two main results. First we give a necessary condition on $p, g, k$ for the existence of a curve in $|H|$ with geometric genus $g$ whose normalization has a $g^ 1_k$. Secondly we prove that for $p$ even and all numerical cases compatible with the above necessary condition, there is a family of \emph{nodal} curves $|H|$ with the given $g,k$ and of dimension equal to the \emph{expected dimension} $\min\{2(k-1),g\}$. For odd $…
In these notes we review some basic facts about the LLV Lie algebra. It is a rational Lie algebra, introduced by Looijenga-Lunts and Verbitsky, acting on the rational cohomology of a compact Kähler manifold. We study its structure and describe one irreducible component of the rational cohomology in the case of a compact hyperkähler manifold.
In this paper we study varieties covered by rational or elliptic curves. First, we show that images of Calabi-Yau or irreducible symplectic varieties under rational maps are almost always rationally connected. Second, we investigate elliptically connected and elliptically chain connected varieties, and varieties swept out by a family of elliptic curves. Among other things, we show that Calabi-Yau or hyperkähler manifolds which are covered by a family of elliptic curves contain uniruled divisors and that elliptically chain connected varieties of dimension at least two contain a rational curve, …
Let $M$ be a compact hyperkahler manifold with maximal holonomy (IHS). The group $H^2(M, R)$ is equipped with a quadratic form of signature $(3, b_2-3)$, called Bogomolov-Beauville-Fujiki (BBF) form. This form restricted to the rational Hodge lattice $H^{1,1}(M,Q)$, has signature $(1,k)$. This gives a hyperbolic Riemannian metric on the projectivisation of the positive cone in $H^{1,1}(M,Q)$, denoted by $H$. Torelli theorem implies that the Hodge monodromy group $Γ$ acts on $H$ with finite covolume, giving a hyperbolic orbifold $X=H/Γ$. We show that there are finitely many geodesic hypersurfac…
Let $M$ be a hyperkahler manifold, $Γ$ its mapping class group, and $Teich$ the Teichmuller space of complex structures of hyperkahler type. After we glue together birationally equivalent points, we obtain the so-called birational Teichmuller space $Teich_b$. Every connected component of $Teich_b$ is identified with its period space $P$ by global Torelli theorem. The mapping class group of $M$ acts on $P$ as a finite index subgroup of the group of isometries of the integer cohomology lattice, that is, satisfies assumptions of Ratner theorem. We prove that there are three classes of orbits, clo…
Let M be a closed symplectic manifold of volume V. We say that M admits an unobstructed symplectic packing by balls if any collection of symplectic balls (of possibly different radii) of total volume less than V admits a symplectic embedding to M. In 1994 McDuff and Polterovich proved that symplectic packings of Kahler manifolds can be characterized in terms of the Kahler cones of their blow-ups. When M is a Kahler manifold which is not a union of its proper subvarieties (such a manifold is called Campana simple) these Kahler cones can be described explicitly using the Demailly and Paun struct…
Let $S$ be a smooth rational curve on a complex manifold $M$. It is called ample if its normal bundle is positive. We assume that $M$ is covered by smooth holomorphic deformations of $S$. The basic example of such a manifold is a twistor space of a hyperkahler or a 4-dimensional anti-selfdual Riemannian manifold $X$ (not necessarily compact). We prove "a holography principle" for such a manifold: any meromorphic function defined in a neighbourhood $U$ of $S$ can be extended to $M$, and any section of a holomorphic line bundle can be extended from $U$ to $M$. This is used to define the notion o…