We give a geometric proof of a formula, due to Segal and Wilson, which describes the order of vanishing of the Riemann theta function in the direction which corresponds to the direction of the tangent space of a Riemann surface at a marked point. While this formula appears in the work of Segal and Wilson as a by-product of some non-trivial constructions from the theory of integrable systems (loop groups, infinite-dimensional Grassmannians, tau functions, Schur polynomials, ...) our proof only uses the classical theory of linear systems on Riemann surfaces.
The configuration of theta characteristics and vanishing thetanulls on a hyperelliptic curve is completely understood. We observe in this note that analogous results hold for the s-invariant theta characteristics on any curve C with an involution s . As a consequence we get examples of non hyperelliptic curves with a high number of vanishing thetanulls.
In this paper we prove a strengthening of the generic vanishing result in characteristic $p>0$ given in [HP16]. As a consequence of this result, we show that irreducible $Θ$ divisors are strongly F-regular and we prove a related result for pluri-theta divisors.
In this paper we prove a conjecture of Hershel Farkas that if a 4-dimensional principally polarized abelian variety has a vanishing theta-null, and the hessian of the theta function at the corresponding point of order two is degenerate, the abelian variety is a Jacobian. We also discuss possible generalizations to higher genera, and an interpretation of this condition as an infinitesimal version of Andreotti and Mayer's local characterization of Jacobians by the dimension of the singular locus of the theta divisor.
We give a solution to the weak Schottky problem for genus five Jacobians with a vanishing theta null, answering a question of Grushevsky and Salvati Manni. More precisely, we show that if a principally polarized abelian variety of dimension five has a vanishing theta null with a quadric tangent cone of rank at most three, then it is in the Jacobian locus, up to extra irreducible components. We employ a degeneration argument, together with a study of the ramification loci for the Gauss map of a theta divisor.
If the theta-null divisor $Θ_{\rm null}$ is moved to the Prym moduli space through the diagram $\mathcal{S}_{g}^{+}\rightarrow\mathcal{M}_{g}\leftarrow\mathcal{R}_{g}$, it splits into two irreducible components $\mathcal{P}_{\rm\! null}^{+}$ and $\mathcal{P}_{\rm\! null}^{-}$. Using test curve techniques, we compute the class of the closure of each of these components in terms of the generating classes of $\mathrm{Pic}(\overline{\mathcal{R}}_{g})_{\mathbb{Q}}$.
We study ample divisors X with only rational singularities on abelian varieties that decompose into a sum of two lower dimensional subvarieties, X=V+W. For instance, we prove an optimal lower bound on the degree of the corresponding addition map, and show that the minimum can only be achieved if X is a theta divisor. Conjecturally, the latter happens only on Jacobians of curves and intermediate Jacobians of cubic threefolds. As an application, we prove that nondegenerate generic vanishing subschemes of indecomposable principally polarized abelian varieties are automatically reduced and irreduc…
Hochster's theta invariant is defined for a pair of finitely generated modules on a hypersurface ring having only an isolated singularity. Up to a sign, it agrees with the Euler invariant of a pair of matrix factorizations. Working over the complex numbers, Buchweitz and van Straten have established an interesting connection between Hochster's theta invariant and the classical linking form on the link of the singularity. In particular, they establish the vanishing of the theta invariant if the hypersurface is even-dimensional by exploiting the fact that the (reduced) cohomology of the Milnor f…
We study H. Dao's invariant $η_c^R$ of pairs of modules defined over a complete intersection ring $R$ of codimension $c$ having an isolated singularity. Our main result is that $η_c^R$ vanishes for all pairs of modules when $R$ is a {\em graded} complete intersection ring of codimension $c > 1$ having an isolated singularity. A consequence of this result is that all pairs of modules over such a ring are $c$-$\Tor$-rigid.
Mumford's well-known characterization of the hyperelliptic locus of the moduli space of ppavs in terms of vanishing and non-vanishing theta constants is based on Neumann's dynamical system. Poor's approach to the characterization uses the cross ratio. A key tool in both methods is Frobenius' theta formula, which follows from Riemann's theta formula. In a 2004 paper Grushevsky gives a different characterization in terms of cubic equations in second order theta functions. In this note we first show the connection between the methods by proving that Grushevsky's cubic equations are strictly relat…
We show that the vanishing of the $(g+1)$-st power of the theta divisor in the cohomology and Chow rings of the universal abelian variety implies, by pulling back along a collection of Abel-Jacobi maps, the vanishing results in the tautological ring of $\mathcal{M}_{g,n}$ of Looijenga, Ionel, Graber-Vakil, and Faber-Pandharipande. We also show that Pixton's double ramification cycle relations, which generalize the theta vanishing relations and were recently proved by the first and third authors, imply Theorem $\star$ of Graber and Vakil. Moreover, our proof provides an algorithm for expressing…
We prove that the fourth powers of theta functions with even characteristics form a basis of the space of even theta functions of order four on a principally polarized Abelian variety without vanishing theta-null.
We study the birational geometry of irregular varieties and the singularities of Theta divisors of PPAV's in positive characteristic by applying recent generic vanishing results of Hacon and Patakfalvi. In particular, we prove that irreducible Theta divisors of principally polarized abelian varieties are strongly F-regular, which extends an old result of Ein and Lazarsfeld to fields of positive characteristic. In order to prove this, we formulate a positive characteristic analogue of another result of Ein and Lazarsfeld, to the effect that the Albanese image of a smooth projective variety of m…
We associate to a unimodular lattice L, endowed with an automorphism of square -1, a principally polarized abelian variety A:= L_R/L. We show that the configuration of i-invariant theta divisors of A follows a pattern very similar to the classical theory of theta characteristics; as a consequence we find that A has a high number of vanishing thetanulls. When L = E_8 we recover the 10 vanishing thetanulls of the abelian fourfold discovered by R. Varley.
Let $C$ be a smooth projective curve of genus $g\geq 2$. Fix an integer $r\geq 0$, and let $\underline{k}=(k_1,\ldots,k_n)$ be a sequence of positive integers with $k_1+\ldots+k_n=g-1$. We study $n$-pointed curves $(C,p_1,\ldots,p_n)$ such that the line bundle $L:=O_C\left(\sum_{i=1}^n k_i p_i\right)$ is a theta-characteristic such that $h^0\left(C,L\right)$ is at least $r+1$ and it has the same parity as $r+1$. We prove that they describe a sublocus $\mathcal{G}^r_g(\underline{k})$ of $\mathcal{M}_{g,n}$ having codimension at most $g-1+\frac{r(r-1)}{2}$. Moreover, for any $r\geq 0$, $\underli…
This survey is based on my lectures given in last a few years. As a reference, constructions of moduli spaces of parabolic sheaves and generalized parabolic sheaves are provided. By a refinement of the proof of vanishing theorem, we show, without using vanishing theorem, a new observation that ${\rm dim}\,H^0(\sU_C,Θ_{\sU_C})$ is independent of all of the choices for any smooth curves. The estimate of various codimension and computation of canonical line bundle of moduli space of generalized parabolic sheaves on a reducible curve are provided in Section 6, which is completely new.
The theta correspondence has been an important tool in studying cycles in locally symmetric spaces of orthogonal type. In this paper, we establish for O(p,2) an adjointness result between Borcherds' singular theta lift and the Kudla-Millson theta lift. We extend this result to arbitrary signature by introducing a new Borcherds lift for O(p,q). On the geometric side, this lift can be interpreted as a differential character in the sense of Cheeger and Simons.
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 deals with the geometric local theta correspondence at the Iwahori level for dual reductive pairs of type II over a non Archimedean field $F$ of characteristic $p\neq 2$ in the framework of the geometric Langlands program. First we construct and study the geometric version of the invariants of the Weil representation of the Iwahori-Hecke algebras. In the particular case of $(GL_1, GL_m)$ we give a complete geometric description of the corresponding category. The second part of the paper deals with geometric local Langlands functoriality at the Iwahori level in a general setting. Giv…
In this paper we are interested in the geometric local theta correspondence at the Iwahori level for dual reductive pairs $(G,H)$ of type II over a non-Archimedean field of characteristic $p\neq 2$ in the framework of the geometric Langlands program. We consider the geometric version of the $I_{H}\times I_{G}$-invariants of the Weil representation $\mathcal{S}^{I_{H}\times I_{G}}$ as a bimodule under the of action Iwahori-Hecke algebras $\mathcal{H}_{I_{G}}$ and $\mathcal{H}_{I_{H}}$ and we give some partial geometric description of the corresponding category under the action of Hecke functors…
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 appl…
By way of intersection theory on $\bar M_{g,n}$, we show that geometric interpretations for conformal blocks, as sections of ample line bundles over projective varieties, do not have to hold at points on the boundary. We show such a translation would imply certain recursion relations for first Chern classes of these bundles. While recursions can fail, geometric interpretations are shown to hold under certain conditions.
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…
In this papers, we study the geometric and arithmetic properties of the theta divisor associated to the sheaf of locally exact differential forms over a curve in positive characteristic. In this published version, we prove a stronger version of the main result of chapiter 5.
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…
A stream of new theta relations is obtained. They follow from the general Thomae formula, which is a new result giving expressions for theta derivatives (the zero values of the lowest non-vanishing derivatives of theta functions with singular half-period characteristics) in terms of branch points and the period matrix of a hyperelliptic Riemann surface. The new theta relations contain (i) linear relations on the vector space of first order theta derivatives which are arranged in gradients, (ii) relations between second order theta derivatives and symmetric bilinear forms on the vector space of…
For the Jacobian of a curve, the Riemann singularity theorem gives a geometric interpretation of the singularities of the theta divisor in terms of special linear series on the curve. This paper proves an analogous theorem for Prym varieties. Applications of this theorem to cubic threefolds, and Prym varieties of dimension five, are also considered.
Geometric Quantization links holomorphic geometry with real geometry, a relation that is a prototype for the modern development of mirror symmetry. We show how to use this treatment to construct a special basis in every space of conformal blocks. This is a direct generalization of the basis of theta functions with characteristics in every complete linear system on an Abelian variety (see Mumford's "Tata lectures on theta" cite(Mumford)). The same construction generalizes the classical theory of theta functions to vector bundles of higher rank on Abelian varieties and K3 surfaces. We also discu…
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 show that a large class of maximally degenerating families of n-dimensional polarized varieties come with a canonical basis of sections of powers of the ample line bundle. The families considered are obtained by smoothing a reducible union of toric varieties governed by a wall structure on a real n-(pseudo-)manifold. Wall structures have previously been constructed inductively for cases with locally rigid singularities and by Gromov-Witten theory for mirrors of log Calabi-Yau surfaces and K3 surfaces by various combinations of the authors. For trivial wall structures on the n-torus we retri…
The paper develops the result of second Thomae theorem in hyperelliptic case. The main formula, called general Thomae formula, provides expressions for values at zero of the lowest non-vanishing derivatives of theta functions with singular characteristics of arbitrary multiplicity in terms of branch points and period matrix. We call these values derivative theta constants. First and second Thomae formulas follow as particular cases. Some further results are derived. Matrices of second derivative theta constants (Hessian matrices of zero-values of theta functions with characteristics of multipl…
Hecke expected that an explicit set of theta series obtained from maximal orders of the definite quaternion algebra over Q which is ramified at a prime N will be a basis of the space of holomorphic modular forms of weight 2 and level N. However, later Eichler noticed that Hecke's conjecture does not hold in general. It is natural to ask for the dimension of the subspace of the modular forms spanned by the theta series. This question is called Hecke's basis problem. Boecherer and Schulze-Pillot have given an answer using the theory of theta liftings. In this paper we will give another proof of …
We investigate the symplectic geometric and differential geometric aspects of the moduli space of connections on a compact Riemann surface $X$. Fix a theta characteristic $K^{1/2}_X$ on $X$; it defines a theta divisor on the moduli space ${\mathcal M}$ of stable vector bundles on $X$ of rank $r$ degree zero. Given a vector bundle $E \in {\mathcal M}$ lying outside the theta divisor, we construct a natural holomorphic connection on $E$ that depends holomorphically on $E$. Using this holomorphic connection, we construct a canonical holomorphic isomorphism between the following two: \begin{enumer…
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…
Let $X$ be a smooth complete curve, and let $Bun_n$ be the moduli stack of rank $n$ vector bundles on $X$. Let $E$ be a local system on $X$. In a recent paper of E.Frenkel, K.Vilonen and the author, it was shown that the vanishing of a certian functor $Av_E^d$ acting from the category $D(Bun_n)$ to itself, implies the geometric Langlands conjecture. In this paper we establish the required vanishing result. Our proof works for sheaves with char=0 coefficients, or with torsion coefficients when the parameter $d$ is less than the characteristic.
In this paper we show that the two-point function for the three-loop chiral superstring measure ansatz proposed by Cacciatori, Dalla Piazza, and van Geemen vanishes. Our proof uses the reformulation of ansatz in terms of even cosets, theta functions, and specifically the theory of the $Γ_{00}$ linear system on Jacobians introduced by van Geemen and van der Geer. At the two-loop level, where the amplitudes were computed by D'Hoker and Phong, we give a new proof of the vanishing of the two-point function (which was proven by them). We also discuss the possible approaches to proving the vanishing…
We explore Bott Vanishing for elliptic surfaces over $\mathbb{P}^1$. We show that Bott Vanishing is singnificantly affected by the geometric properties that whether there exists certain type of singular fibers on the elliptic fibration such as cuspidal fibers. For ample line bundle on the surface with large self-intersection, these geometric properties give criteria for Bott Vanishing.
In a 1993 article, G. Faltings gave a new construction of the moduli space $U$ of semistable vector bundles on a smooth curve $X$, avoiding geometric invariant theory. Roughly speaking, Faltings showed that the normalisation $B$ of the ring $A$ of theta functions (associated with vector bundles on $X$) suffices to realize $U$ as a projective variety. Describing Faltings' work, C.S. Seshadri asked how close $A$ is to $B$. In this article, we address this question from a geometric point of view. We consider the rational map, $π: U @>>> Proj(A)$, and show that, not only is $π$ defined everywhere,…
We complete the proof of the fact that the moduli space of rank two bundles with trivial determinant embeds into the linear system of divisors on $Pic^{g-1}C$ which are linearly equivalent to $2Θ$. The embedded tangent space at a semi-stable non-stable bundle $ξ\oplusξ^{-1}$, where $ξ$ is a degree zero line bundle, is shown to consist of those divisors in $|2Θ|$ which contain $Sing(Θ_ξ)$ where $Θ_ξ$ is the translate of $Θ$ by $ξ$. We also obtain geometrical results on the structure of this tangent space.
The geometric monodromy of a plane curve singularity is a quasi-finite diffeomorphism. In this paper we locate the reduction curves of the geometric monodromy and the quadratic vanishing cycles of the singularity. An application to the geometric monodromy group is given.
We prove that cuspidal automorphic D-modules have non-vanishing Whittaker coefficients, generalizing known results in the geometric Langlands program from GL_n to general reductive groups. The key tool is a microlocal interpretation of Whittaker coefficients. We establish various exactness properties in the geometric Langlands context that may be of independent interest. Specifically, we show Hecke functors are t-exact on the category of tempered D-modules, strengthening a classical result of Gaitsgory (with different hypotheses) for GL_n. We also show that Whittaker coefficient functors are t…
We consider $L$-functions attached to representations of the Galois group of the function field of a curve over a finite field. Under mild tameness hypotheses, we prove non-vanishing results for twists of these $L$-functions by characters of order prime to the characteristic of the ground field and by certain representations with solvable image. We also allow local restrictions on the twisting representation at finitely many places. Our methods are geometric, and include the Riemann-Roch theorem, the cohomological interpretation of $L$-functions, and some monodromy calculations of Katz. As an …
Working over various graded Lie algebras and in arbitrary dimension, we express scattering diagrams and theta functions in terms of counts of tropical curves/disks, weighted by multiplicities given in terms of iterated Lie brackets. Over the tropical vertex group, our tropical curve counts are known to give certain descendant log Gromov-Witten invariants. Working over the quantum torus algebra yields theta functions for quantum cluster varieties, and our tropical description sets up for geometric interpretations of these. As an immediate application, we prove the quantum Frobenius conjecture o…
