A survey of special curves, special subvarieties of $\mathcal{M}_g$, and related topics. A large portion of the text discusses various possible interpretation of the word 'special' in this context by giving also concrete examples. One highlight is the bi-algebraic viewpoint for atypical intersections appearing in Hodge theory as well as, more recently, in Teichmüller theory.
We devise a new criterion for linear independence over function fields. Using this tool in the setting of dual t-motives, we find that all algebraic relations among special values of the geometric function field Gamma-function are explained by the standard functional equations.
The p-cohomology of an algebraic variety in characteristic p lies naturally in the category $D_{c}^{b}(R)$ of coherent complexes of graded modules over the Raynaud ring (Ekedahl-Illusie-Raynaud). We study homological algebra in this category. When the base field is finite, our results provide relations between the the absolute cohomology groups of algebraic varieties, log varieties, algebraic stacks, etc. and the special values of their zeta functions. These results provide compelling evidence that $D_{c}^{b}(R)$ is the correct target for p-cohomology in characteristic p.
This paper is a survey of computational issues in algebraic geometry, with particular attention to the theory of Grobner bases and the regularity of an algebraic variety. 1. A geometric introduction to Grobner bases. 2. An algebraic introduction to Grobner bases. 3. Bounds in algebraic geometry, and regularity and complexity questions. 4. Applications.
We study the existence of non-special divisors of degree $g$ and $g-1$ for algebraic function fields of genus $g\geq 1$ defined over a finite field $\F_q$. In particular, we prove that there always exists an effective non-special divisor of degree $g\geq 2$ if $q\geq 3$ and that there always exists a non-special divisor of degree $g-1\geq 1$ if $q\geq 4$. We use our results to improve upper and upper asymptotic bounds on the bilinear complexity of the multiplication in any extension $\F_{q^n}$ of $\F_q$, when $q=2^r\geq 16$.
Given a real curve, we study special linear systems called "very special" for which the dimension does not satisfy a Clifford type inequality. We classify all these very special linear systems when the gonality of the curve is small.
We study special linear systems called "very special" whose dimension does not satisfy a Clifford type inequality given by Huisman. We classify all these very special linear systems when they are compounded of an involution. Examples of very special linear systems that are simple are also given.
Smooth surfaces have finitely generated canonical rings and projective canonical models. For normal surfaces, however, the graded ring of multicanonical sections is possibly nonnoetherian, such that the corresponding homogeneous spectrum is noncompact. I construct a canonical compactification by adding finitely many non-Q-Gorenstein points at infinity, provided that each Weil divisor is numerically equivalent to a Q-Cartier divisor. Similar results hold for arbitrary Weil divisors instead of the canonical class.
We say that a smooth algebraic group $G$ over a field $k$ is very special if for any field extension $K/k$, every $G_K$-homogeneous $K$-variety has a $K$-rational point. It is known that every split solvable linear algebraic group is very special. In this note, we show that the converse holds, and discuss its relationship with the birational classification of algebraic group actions.
In this article we study interpolation estimates on a special class of compactifications of commutative algebraic groups constructed by Serre. We obtain a large quantitative improvement over previous results due to Masser and the first author and our main result has the same level of accuracy as the best known multiplicity estimates. The improvements come both from using special properties of the compactifications which we consider and from a different approach based upon Seshadri constants and vanishing theorems.
This note is about a $16$-dimensional family of surfaces of general type with $p_g=2$ and $q=0$ and $K^2=1$, called "special Horikawa surfaces". These surfaces, studied by Pearlstein-Zhang and by Garbagnati, are related to K3 surfaces. We show that special Horikawa surfaces have a multiplicative Chow-Künneth decomposition, in the sense of Shen-Vial. As a consequence, the Chow ring of special Horikawa surfaces displays K3-like behaviour.
Let S be a smooth algebraic surface satisfying the following property: H^i(\oc_S(C))=0 (i=1,2) for any irreducible and reduced curve C of S. The aim of this paper is to provide a characterization of special linear systems on S which are singular along a set of double points in general position. As an application, the dimension of such systems is evaluated in case S is an Abelian, an Enriques, a K3 or an anticanonical rational surface.
We present a new notion of speciality which is valid for Bohr - Sommerfeld lagrangian submanifolds. For algebraic varieties it leads to the construction of finite dimensional moduli spaces which are algebraic starting with any ample line bundle. The construction can be exploited both in Geometric Quantization and Mirror Symmetry.
Motivated by the Beauville-Voisin conjecture about Chow rings of powers of $K3$ surfaces, we consider a similar conjecture for Chow rings of powers of EPW sextics. We prove part of this conjecture for the very special EPW sextic studied by Donten-Bury et alii. We also prove some other results concerning the Chow groups of this very special EPW sextic, and of certain related hyperkähler fourfolds.
Let N be a prime and let A be a quotient of J_0(N) over Q associated to a newform such that the special L-value of A (at s=1) is non-zero. Suppose that the algebraic part of the special L-value of A is divisible by an odd prime q such that q does not divide the numerator of (N-1)/12. Then the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture predicts that the q-adic valuations of the algebraic part of the special L-value of A and of the order of the Shafarevich-Tate group are both positive even numbers. Under a certain mod q non-vanishing hypothesis on special L-values of twists of A, we show that the q-ad…
Informed by the Bloch-Beilinson conjectures, Voisin has made a conjecture about $0$-cycles on self-products of Calabi-Yau varieties. In this note, we consider variant versions of Voisin's conjecture for cubic fourfolds, and for hyperkähler varieties. We present examples for which these conjectures are verified, by considering certain very special cubic fourfolds and their Fano varieties of lines.
The special geometry of calibrated cycles, closely related to mirror symmetry among Calabi--Yau 3-folds, is itself a real form of a new subject, which we call slightly deformed algebraic geometry. On the other hand, both of these geometries are parallel to classical gauge theories and their complexifications. This article explains this parallelism, so that the appearance of invariants of new type in complexified gauge theory (see Donaldson--Thomas [D-T] and Thomas [T]) can be accompanied by analogous invariants in the theory of special Lagrangian cycles, for which the development is at present…
This paper contains a survey of recent developments in investigation of word equations in simple matrix groups and polynomial equations in simple (associative and Lie) matrix algebras along with some new results on the image of word maps on algebraic groups defined over special fields: complex, real, p-adic (or close to such), or finite.
This paper is devoted to the investigation of selected situations when the computation of projective (and other) equivalences of algebraic varieties can be efficiently solved with the help of finding projective equivalences of finite sets on the projective line. In particular, we design a unifying approach that finds for two algebraic varieties $X,Y$ from special classes an associated set of automorphisms of the projective line (the so called good candidate set) consisting of candidates for the construction of possible mappings $X\rightarrow Y$. The functionality of the designed method is pres…
We study the degrees of generators of the ideal of a projected Veronese variety $v_2(\mathbb{P}^3)\subset \mathbb{P}^9$ to $\mathbb{P}^6$ depending on the center of projection. This is related to the geometry of zero dimensional schemes of length $8$ in $\mathbb{A}^4$, Cremona transforms of $\mathbb{P}^6$, and the geometry of Tonoli Calabi-Yau threefolds of degree $17$ in $\mathbb{P}^6$.
We reconstruct derived Witt groups via special linear algebraic cobordism. There is a morphism of ring cohomology theories which sends the canonical Thom class in special linear cobordism to the Thom class in the derived Witt groups. We show that for every smooth variety X this morphism induces an isomorphism between MSL^{*,*}(X)[h^{-1}] with the "extended" coefficient ring MSL^{4*,2*}(pt) -> W^{2*}(pt) and Laurent polynomial ring over the derived Witt groups W^*(X), where h is the stable Hopf map. This result is an analogue of the result by Panin and Walter reconstructing hermitian K-theory u…
This note contains some examples of hyperkähler varieties $X$ having a group $G$ of non-symplectic automorphisms, and such that the action of $G$ on certain Chow groups of $X$ is as predicted by Bloch's conjecture. The examples range in dimension from $6$ to $132$. For each example, the quotient $Y=X/G$ is a Calabi-Yau variety which has interesting Chow-theoretic properties; in particular, the variety $Y$ satisfies (part of) a strong version of the Beauville-Voisin conjecture.
We prove some general density statements about the subgroup of invertible points on intermediate jacobians; namely those points in the Abel-Jacobi image of nullhomologous algebraic cycles on projective algebraic manifolds.
In this paper we demonstrate that the notion of inflection points and extactic points on plane algebraic curves can be suitably transferred to curves in $\mathbb{P}^1\times \mathbb{P}^1$. More precisely, we describe osculating curves and study Weierstrass points of algebraic curves in the surface $\mathbb{P}^1\times \mathbb{P}^1$ with respect to certain linear systems. In particular, we study points where a fiber of $\mathbb{P}^1\times \mathbb{P}^1$ is tangent, and points with a hyperosculating $(1,1)$-curve. In the first case we find Hessian-like curves that intersect the curve in these point…
In this review we discuss what is known about semiorthogonal decompositions of derived categories of algebraic varieties. We review existing constructions, especially the homological projective duality approach, and discuss some related issues such as categorical resolutions of singularities.
Let Z be an affine algebraic variety and ED(Z)= max(2 dim Z+1, dim TZ). Let X be a smooth algebraic variety isomorphic to a semi-simple linear algebraic group whose Lie algebra is a sum of special linear Lie algebras. We show that if dim X > ED(Z) -1, then Z admits a closed embedding into X. We also show that for every smooth affine flexible variety Y there is a closed embedding of $Z$ into the the product of Y and an affine n-space provided that n > dim Z- 2 and dim Y +n > ED (Z) -1.
This survey paper is devoted to Riemannian manifolds with special holonomy. To any Riemannian manifold of dimension n is associated a closed subgroup of SO(n), the holonomy group; this is one of the most basic invariants of the metric. A famous theorem of Berger gives a complete (and rather small) list of the groups which can appear. Surprisingly, the compact manifolds with holonomy smaller than SO(n) are all related in some way to Algebraic Geometry. This leads to the study of special algebraic varieties (Calabi-Yau, complex symplectic or complex contact manifolds) for which Riemannian geomet…
Enumerative Geometry is concerned with the number of solutions to a structured system of polynomial equations, when the structure comes from geometry. Enumerative real algebraic geometry studies real solutions to such systems, particularly a priori information on their number. Recent results in this area have, often as not, uncovered new and unexpected phenomena, and it is far from clear what to expect in general. Nevertheless, some themes are emerging. This comprehensive article describe the current state of knowledge, indicating these themes, and suggests lines of future research. In particu…
In the previous paper by Asakura-Otsubo-Terasoma, we prove that the special values of the hypergeometric function 3F2 at 1 are linear combinations of logarithms of algebraic numbers and 1 over algebraic numbers, if exponents are rational numbers satisfying a certain arithmetic condition. Aoki and Shioda completely classified these sets of rational numbers satisfying this condition in connection with Hodge cycles on Fermat surfaces. In this paper, we give an explicit expression of special values of hypergoemetricy 3F2 which does not belong to exceptional characters.
We study conchoids to algebraic curve from the perspective of algebraic geometry, analyzing their main algebraic properties. We introduce the formal definition of conchoid of an algebraic curve by means of incidence diagrams. We prove that, with the exception of a circle centered at the focus and taking $d$ as its radius, the conchoid is an algebraic curve having at most two irreducible components. In addition, we introduce the notions of special and simple components of a conchoid. Moreover we state that, with the exception of lines passing through the focus, the conchoid always has at least …
Horn's problem was the following: given two Hermitian matrices with known spectra, what might be the eigenvalue spectrum of the sum? This linear algebra problem is exactly of the sort to be approached with the methods of modern Hamiltonian geometry (which were unavailable to Horn). The theorem linking symplectic quotients and geometric invariant theory lets one also bring algebraic geometry and representation theory into play. This expository note is intended to elucidate these connections for linear algebraists, in the hope of making it possible to recognize what sort of problems are likely t…
Let G be an algebraic group defined over an algebraically closed field k of characteristic zero. We give a simple proof of the following result: if H^1(L, G) = {1} for some finitely generated field extension L/k of transcendence degree \ge 3 then H^1(K, G) = {1} for every field extension K/k.
In the first part of this paper we consider compact algebraic manifolds M^2n with an algebraic (n-1)-Torus action. We show that there is a T-invariant meromorphic section $σ$ of the canonical bundle of M. Any such $σ$ defines a divisor D. On the complement M'=M-D we have a trivialization of the canonical bundle and a T-action. If the first cohomology of M' vanishes, then results of [2] imply that there is a Special Lagrangian (SLag) fibration on M'. We study how the fibers compactify in M and give examples of SLag fibrations on M', including some cases there the first cohomology of M' doesn't …
Sequences of Nilsson type appear in abundance in Algebraic Geometry, Enumerative Combinatorics, Mathematical Physics and Quantum Topology. We give an elementary introduction on this subject, including the definition of sequences of Nilsson type and the uniqueness, existence, and effective computation of their asymptotic expansion.
Special Bohr - Sommerfeld geometry, first formulated for simply connected symplectic manifolds (or for simple connected algebraic varieties), gives rise to some natural problems for the simplest example in non simply connected case. Namely for any algebraic curve one can define a correspondence between holomorphic differentials and certain finite graphs. Here we ask some natural questions appear with this correspondence. It is a partial answer to the question of A. Varchenko about possibility of applications of Special Bohr -Sommerfeld geometry in non simply connected case. The russian version…
In this survey article we discuss the question: to what extent is an algebraic variety determined by its ring of differential operators? In the case of affine curves, this question leads to a variety of mathematical notions such as the Weyl algebra, Calogero-Moser spaces and the adelic Grassmannian. We give a fairly detailed overview of this material.
For each prime $p$, we define a $t$-structure on the category $\widehat{S^{0,0}}/τ\text{-}\mathbf{Mod}_{harm}^b$ of harmonic $\mathbb{C}$-motivic left module spectra over $\widehat{S^{0,0}}/τ$, whose MGL-homology has bounded Chow-Novikov degree, such that its heart is equivalent to the abelian category of $p$-completed $BP_*BP$-comodules that are concentrated in even degrees. We prove that $\widehat{S^{0,0}}/τ\text{-}\mathbf{Mod}_{harm}^b$ is equivalent to $\mathcal{D}^b({{BP}_*{BP}\text{-}\mathbf{Comod}}^{ev})$ as stable $\infty$-categories equipped with $t$-structures. As an application, for…
