We introduce a new obstruction to the existence of a universal $0$-cycle on a smooth projective complex variety. As an application, we construct a smooth projective complex surface whose Chow group of $0$-cycles is representable but which does not admit a universal $0$-cycle. This provides a two-dimensional analogue of Voisin's recent threefold counterexample to a question of Colliot-Thélène. As a further consequence, we exhibit the first example of a smooth projective threefold of Kodaira dimension zero carrying a non-torsion Hodge class of degree $4$ that is not algebraic. The construction relies on the geometry of bielliptic surfaces of type 2.
Consider a formal (mixed-characteristic) deformation functor D of a representation of a finite group G as automorphisms of a power series ring k[[t]] over a perfect field k of positive characteristic. Assume that the action of G is weakly ramified, i.e., the second ramification group is trivial. Examples of such representations are provided by a group action on an ordinary curve: the action of a ramification group on the completed local ring of any point on such a curve is weakly ramified. We prove that the only such D that are not pro-representable occur if k has characteristic two and G is o…
We study links between algebraic cycles on threefolds and finite-dimensionality of their motives with coefficients in Q. We decompose the motive of a non-singular projective threefold X with representable algebraic part of CH_0(X) into Lefschetz motives and the Picard motive of a certain abelian variety, isogenous to the corresponding intermediate Jacobian J^2(X) when the ground field is C. In particular, it implies motivic finite-dimensionality of Fano threefolds over a field. We also prove representability of zero-cycles on several classes of threefolds fibered by surfaces with algebraic H^2…
We study the effective cones of cycles on universal hypersurfaces on a projective variety $X$, particularly focusing on the case of universal hypersurfaces in $\mathbb{P}^n$. We determine the effective cones of cycles on the universal conic over $\mathbb{P}^2$. We also determine every effective cone of cycles of dimension at most 6 or equal to 10 on any universal plane curve.
We present a collection of algebraic equivalences between tautological cycles on the Jacobian $J$ of a curve, i.e., cycles in the subring of the Chow ring of $J$ generated by the classes of certain standard subvarieties of $J$. These equivalences are universal in the sense that they hold for all curves of given genus. We show also that they are compatible with the action of the Fourier transform on tautological cycles and compute this action explicitly.
We prove that the general quartic double solid with $k\leq 7$ nodes does not admit a Chow theoretic decomposition of the diagonal, or equivalently has a nontrivial universal ${\rm CH}_0$ group. The same holds if we replace in this statement "Chow theoretic" by "cohomological". In particular, it is not stably rational. We also prove that the general quartic double solid with seven nodes does not admit a universal codimension 2 cycle parameterized by its intermediate Jacobian, and even does not admit a parametrization with rationally connected fibres of its Jacobian by a family of 1-cycles. This…
We prove that a smooth proper universally CH_0-trivial variety X over a field k has universally trivial Brauer group. This fills a gap in the literature concerning the p-torsion of the Brauer group when k has characteristic p.
Auel-Bigazzi-Böhning-Graf von Bothmer proved that if a proper smooth variety $X$ over a field $k$ of characteristic $p>0$ has universally trivial Chow group of $0$-cycles, the cohomological Brauer group of $X$ is universally trivial as well. In this paper, we generalize their argument to arbitrary unramified mod $p$ étale motivic cohomology groups. We also see that the properness assumption on the variety $X$ can be dropped off by using the Suslin homology together with a certain tame subgroup of the unramified cohomology group.
Let $X$ be a non-singular projective threefold over an algebraically closed field of any characteristic, and let $A^2(X)$ be the group of algebraically trivial codimension 2 algebraic cycles on $X$ modulo rational equivalence with coefficients in $\mathbb Q$. Assume $X$ is birationally equivalent to another threefold $X'$ admitting a fibration over an integral curve $C$ whose generic fiber $X'_{\bar η}$, where $\bar η=Spec(\bar {k(C)})$, satisfies the following three conditions: (i) the motive $M(X'_{\bar η})$ is finite-dimensional, (ii) $H^1_{et}(X_{\bar η},\mathbb Q_l)=0$ and (iii) $H^2_{et}…
Using the compactified universal jacobian over the moduli space of stable marked curves, we give an expression in terms of natural classes of the zero section of the compactified universal jacobian the (rational) Chow ring. After extending variants of the Abel-Jacobi map to a locus containing curves of treelike type we give a formula for the pullback of the said zero section along these extensions. The same approach is also applied to recover known formulas for the pullback of theta divisors to the moduli space of marked stable curves.
We show the existence of a regular universal quotient as a smooth commutative algebraic group of the Chow group of 0-cycles on a projective reduced variety, and give over the field of complex numbers an analytic description of it. This generalizes the classical theory of the Albanese. The Chow group of 0-cycles is then isomorphic to this smooth algebraic group if and only if it is finite dimensional in the sense of Mumford. This generalizes the classical theorem of Roitman.
We study the Chow ring of the boundary of the partial compactification of the universal family of principally polarized abelian varieties (ppav). We describe the subring generated by divisor classes, and compute the class of the partial compactification of the universal zero section, which turns out to lie in this subring. Our formula extends the results for the zero section of the universal uncompactified family. The partial compactification of the universal family of ppav can be thought of as the first two boundary strata in any toroidal compactification of the moduli space of ppav. Our form…
The class in the Brauer group of a quaternion algebra over a field is 2-torsion. We study the following question: Which 2-torsion elements of the Brauer group of a complex function field are representable by quaternion algebras? Using intersection theory to show that a certain cohomology class (on a smooth projective model) is the class of an algebraic cycle, we arrive at an obstruction, defined on a subgroup of the 2-torsion of the Brauer group, to representability by quaternion algebras. For the function fields of some complex threefolds, the obstruction map is computed and found to be nontr…
We use the universal generation of algebraic cycles to relate (stable) rationality to the integral Hodge conjecture. We show that the Chow group of 1-cycles on a cubic hypersurface is universally generated by lines. Applications are mainly in cubic hypersurfaces of low dimensions. For example, we show that if a generic cubic fourfold is stably rational then the Beauville--Bogomolov form on its variety of lines, viewed as an integral Hodge class on the self product of its variety of lines, is algebraic. In dimension $3$ and $5$, we relate stable rationality with the geometry of the associated i…
We prove a global Torelli theorem for pairs (Y,D), where Y is a smooth projective rational surface and D is an effective anti-canonical divisor which is a cycle of rational curves. This Torelli theorem was conjectured by Friedman in 1984. In addition, we construct natural universal families for such pairs.
We study universal families of stable genus two curves with level structure. Among other things, it is shown that the (1,1) part is spanned by divisor classes, and that there are no cycles of type (2,2) in the third cohomology of the first direct image. Using this, we deduce the Hodge and Tate conjectures hold for these varieties.
We show that for the reductive Tannaka groups of semisimple holonomic $\mathscr{D}$-modules on abelian varieties, every Weyl group orbit of weights of their universal cover is realized by a conic Lagrangian cycle on the cotangent bundle. Applications include a weak solution to the Schottky problem in genus five, an obstruction for the existence of summands of subvarieties on abelian varieties and a criterion for the simplicity of the arising Lie algebras.
