In this thesis we give a complete description of the syzygies of irreducible, nonsingular, canoncial curves $C$ of genus 9. This includes a collection of all possible Betti tables for $C$. Moreover a direct correspondence between these Betti tables and the number and types of special linear series on $C$ is given. Especially for $\operatorname{Cliff}(C)=3$ the curve $C$ is contained in determinantal surface $Y$ on a 4-dimensional rational normal scroll $X\subset \mathbb{P}^8$ constructed from a base point free pencil of divisors of degree 5.
We show that for $5$-gonal curves of odd genus $g\geq 13$ and even genus $g\geq 28$ the $\lceil \frac{g-1}{2}\rceil$-th syzygy module of the curve is not determined by the syzygies of the scroll swept out by the special pencil of degree $5$.
We characterize property $(N_p)$ on a polarized surface $(X,L)$ with trivial canonical bundle in terms of the (non)existence of certain forbidden subvarieties of $X$.
We describe the spaces of minimal rank last syzygies for the Mukai Varieties of sectional genus 6,7 and 8. Based on this we show: 1. The first geometric syzygies of a general canonical curve of genus 6 form a non degenerate configuration of 5 lines in P^4. 2. The first geometric syzygies of a general canonical curve of genus 7 form a non degenerate, linearly normal, ruled surface of degree 84 on a spinor variety S in P^15. 3. The second geometric syzygies of a general canonical curve of genus 8 form a non degenerate configuration of 14 conics on a 2-uple embedded P^5 in P^20. This proves a nat…
Based on a recent result of Voisin [2001] we describe the last nonzero syzygy space in the linear strand of a canonical curve C of even genus g=2k lying on a K3 surface, as the ambient space of a k-2-uple embedded P^{k+1}. Furthermore the geometric syzygies constructed by Green and Lazarsfeld [1984] from g^1_{k+1}'s form a non degenerate configuration of finitely many rational normal curves on this P^{k+1}. This proves a natural generalization of Green's conjecture [1984], namely that the geometric syzygies should span the space of all syzygies, in this case.
A key result for syzygies of curves is Voisin's proof of Green's conjecture for the canonical embedding of a general curve of any genus. Her primary tools were the Lazarsfeld Mukai bundle on a K3 surface and a representation of Koszul cohomology on the Hilbert scheme of points on the surface. In this note we construct representations of the Koszul complex on Grassmann varieties; Voisin's setup arises as the inverse image of one of the maps. Using a different map, we give a substantially shorter proof of Voisin's result for K3 surfaces of even sectional genus.
We introduce the problem of GIT stability for syzygy points of canonical curves with a view toward a GIT construction of the canonical model of the moduli space of stable curves. As the first step in this direction, we prove semi-stability of the first syzygy point for a general canonical curve of odd genus.
We define syzygy points of projective schemes, and introduce a program of studying their GIT stability. Then we describe two cases where we have managed to make some progress in this program, that of polarized K3 surfaces of odd genus, and of genus six canonical curves. Applications of our results include effectivity statements for divisor classes on the moduli space of odd genus K3 surfaces, and a new construction in the Hassett-Keel program for the moduli space of genus six curves.
Let $C$ be a trigonal curve of genus $g\ge 5$ and let $T$ be the unique trigonal line bundle inducing a map $π: C \stackrel{3:1}{\longrightarrow} \mathbb{P}^1$. This note provides a short and easy proof of the normal generation for the residual line bundle $K_C\otimes T^{-1}$ for curves of genus $g\ge 7$. Moreover, we compute the minimal free resolution of the embedded curve $C\subset \mathbb{P}(H^0(C,K_C\otimes T^{-n})^*)$ for the residual line bundle $K_C\otimes T^{-n}$ for $n\ge 1$ and $g \ge 3n+4$.
A theorem of Green says that a line bundle of degree at least $2g+1+p$ on a smooth curve $X$ of genus $g$ has property $N_p$. We prove a similar conclusion for certain singular, reducible curves $X$ under suitable degree bounds over all irreducible components of $X$.
In recent years, the equations defining secant varieties and their syzygies have attracted considerable attention. The purpose of the present paper is to conduct a thorough study on secant varieties of curves by settling several conjectures and revealing interaction between singularities and syzygies. The main results assert that if the degree of the embedding line bundle of a nonsingular curve of genus $g$ is greater than $2g+2k+p$ for nonnegative integers $k$ and $p$, then the $k$-th secant variety of the curve has normal Du Bois singularities, is arithmetically Cohen--Macaulay, and satisfie…
In 1967, Shioda \cite{Shi1} determined the ring of invariants of binary octavics and their syzygies using the symbolic method. We discover that the syzygies determined in \cite{Shi1} are incorrect. In this paper, we compute the correct equations among the invariants of the binary octavics and give necessary and sufficient conditions for two genus 3 hyperelliptic curves to be isomorphic over an algebraically closed field $k$, $\ch k \neq 2, 3, 5, 7$. For the first time, an explicit equation of the hyperelliptic moduli for genus 3 is computed in terms of absolute invariants.
We give simple geometric proofs of Aprodu-Farkas-Papadima-Raicu-Weyman's theorem on syzygies of tangent developable surfaces of rational normal curves and Raicu-Sam's result on syzygies of K3 carpets. As a consequence, we obtain a quick proof of Green's conjecture for general curves of genus $g$ over an algebraically closed field $\mathbf{k}$ with $\operatorname{char}(\mathbf{k}) = 0$ or $\operatorname{char}(\mathbf{k}) \geq \lfloor (g-1)/2 \rfloor$. We also show the arithmetic normality of tangent developable surfaces of arbitrary smooth projective curves of large degree.
We show that the linear syzygy spaces of elliptic normal curves, their secant varieties and of bielliptic canonical curves are spanned by geometric syzygies.
We apply a degenerate version of a result due to Hirschowitz, Ramanan and Voisin to verify Green and Green-Lazarsfeld conjectures over explicit open sets inside each $d$-gonal stratum of curves $X$ with $d<[g_X/2]+2$. By the same method, we verify the Green-Lazarsfeld conjecture for any curve of odd genus and maximal gonality. The proof invokes Voisin's solution to the generic Green conjecture as a key argument.
We introduce a relativization of the secant sheaves used by Ein, Green and Lazarsfeld and apply this construction to the study of syzygies of canonical curves. As a first application, we give a simpler proof of Voisin's Theorem for general canonical curves. This completely determines the terms of the minimal free resolution of the coordinate ring of such curves. Secondly, in the case of curves of even genus, we enhance Voisin's Theorem by providing a structure theorem for the last syzygy space, resolving the Geometric Syzygy Conjecture in even genus.
In a first part of this paper, we prove constancy of the canonical graded Betti table among the smooth curves in linear systems on Gorenstein weak Fano toric surfaces. In a second part, we show that Green's canonical syzygy conjecture holds for all smooth curves of genus at most 32 or Clifford index at most 6 on arbitrary toric surfaces. Conversely we use known results on Green's conjecture (due to Lelli-Chiesa) to obtain new facts about graded Betti tables of projectively embedded toric surfaces.
We formulate, and in some cases prove, three statements concerning the purity or, more generally the naturality of the resolution of various rings one can attach to a generic curve of genus g and a torsion point of order l in its Jacobian. These statements can be viewed an analogues of Green's Conjecture and we verify them computationally for bounded genus. We then compute the cohomology class of the corresponding non-vanishing locus in the moduli space R_{g,l} of twisted level l curves of genus g and use this to derive results about the birational geometry of R_{g, l}. For instance, we prove …
We obtain a complete description of the effective cone of $C_{g-2}$ when $C$ is a general curve of genus $g \geq 6,$ as well as a new bound in the case where $C$ is a smooth plane quintic. In addition, we obtain a new virtual bound for the effective cone of $C_{g-2m}$ which is a genuine bound when $m=2,$ and we also characterize certain natural divisors on $C_{g-2}$ as subordinate loci associated to adjunctions of kernel bundles.
We explore the concept of projections of syzygies and prove two new technical results; we firstly give a precise characterization of syzygy schemes in terms of their projections, secondly, we prove a converse to Aprodu's Projection Theorem. Applying these results, we prove that extremal syzygies of general curves of non-maximal gonality embedded by a linear system of sufficiently high degree arise from scrolls. Lastly, we prove Green's Conjecture for general covers of elliptic curves (of arbitrary degree) as well as proving a new result for curves of even genus and maximal gonality.
We apply the theory of Groebner bases to the computation of free resolutions over a polynomial ring, the defining equations of a canonically embedded curve, and the unirationality of the moduli space of curves of a fixed genus.
We describe a systematic way of constructing effective divisors on the moduli space of stable curves of genus g having exceptionally small slope. We prove that any divisor on \bar{M}_g consisting of curves failing a certain Green-Lazarsfeld syzygy type condition, provides a counterexample to the Harris-Morrison Slope Conjecture. These divisors generalize our original isolated counterexample to the Slope Conjecture which was the divisor on M_{10} of curves lying on K3 surfaces. We also introduce a new stratification of M_g, somewhat similar to the classical stratification given by gonality, but…
In this article we we continue the study of property $N_p$ of irrational ruled surfaces begun in \cite{ES}. Let $X$ be a ruled surface over a curve of genus $g \geq 1$ with a minimal section $C_0$ and the numerical invariant $e$. When $X$ is an elliptic ruled surface with $e = -1$, there is an elliptic curve $E \subset X$ such that $E \equiv 2C_0 -f$. And we prove that if $L \in {Pic}X$ is in the numerical class of $aC_0 +bf$ and satisfies property $N_p$, then $(C,L|_{C_0})$ and $(E,L|_E)$ satisfy property $N_p$ and hence $a+b \geq 3+p$ and $a+2b \geq 3+p$. This gives a proof of the relevant p…
Green's Conjecture states the following : syzygies of the canonical model of a curve are simple up to the p^th stage if and only if the Clifford index of C is greater than p. We prove that the generic curve of genus g satisfies Green's conjecture.
We prove two statements concerning the linear strand of the minimal free resolution of a curve of fixed gonality. Firstly, we show that a general curve C of genus g of non-maximal gonality k\leq (g+1)/2 satisfies Schreyer's Conjecture, that is, b_{g-k,1}(C,K_C)=g-k, and all its highest order linear syzygies are of Eagon-Northcott type. This is a statement going beyond Green's Conjecture and predicts that all highest order linear syzygies in the canonical embedding of C are determined by the syzygies of the (k-1)-dimensional scroll containing C. Secondly, we formulate an optimal effective versi…
For a vector bundle $\mathcal{E}$ of rank $n+1$ over a smooth projective curve $C$ of genus $g$, let $X=¶_C (\mathcal{E})$ with projection map $π:X\to C$. In this paper we investigate the minimal free resolution of homogeneous coordinate rings of $X$. We first clarify the relations between higher syzygies of very ample line bundles on $X$ and higher syzygies of Veronese embedding of fibres of $π$ by the same line bundle. More precisely, letting $H = \mathcal{O}_{¶_C (\mathcal{E})} (1)$ be the tautological line bundle, we prove that if $(¶^n,\mathcal{O}_{¶^n} (a))$ satisfies Property $N_p$, the…
We show that a small variant of the methods used by Voisin in her study of canonical curves leads to a surprisingly quick proof of the gonality conjecture of Green and the second author, asserting that one can read off the gonality of a curve C from its resolution in the embedding defined by any one line bundle of sufficiently large degree. More generally, we establish a necessary and sufficient condition for the asymptotic vanishing of the weight one syzygies of the module associated to an arbitrary line bundle on C.
We prove that the moduli space X(1,7) of (1,7)-polarized abelian surfaces with canonical level structure is birational to the Fano 3-fold V22 of polar hexagons of the Klein quartic X(7). In particular X(1,7) is rational and the birational map to P^3 is defined over Q. As a byproduct we obtain explicitely the equations of the (1,7)-very-ample polarized abelian surfaces in P^6.
We discuss GIT for canonically embedded genus four curves and the connection to the Hassett-Keel program. A canonical genus four curve is a complete intersection of a quadric and a cubic, and, in contrast to the genus three case, there is a family of GIT quotients that depend on a choice of linearization. We discuss the corresponding VGIT problem and show that the resulting spaces give the final steps in the Hassett-Keel program for genus four curves.
The present paper is related to a conjecture made by Green and Lazarsfeld concerning 1-linear syzygies of curves embedded by complete linear systems of sufficiently large degrees. Given a smooth, irreducible, complex, projective curve $X$, we prove that the least integer $q$ for which the property $(M_q)$ fails for a line bundle $L$ on $X$ does not depend on $L$ as soon as its degree becomes sufficiently large. Consequently, this number is an invariant of the curve, and the statement of Green-Lazarsfeld's conjecture is equivalent to saying that this invariant equals the gonality of the curve. …
We compute equations for a Hurwitz curve of genus 17 and we conclude that the canonical ideal of any Hurwitz curve of genus 14 or 17 is generated by quadrics.
Some divisor class relations are proved and used to compute the Cartier divisor class of the virtual canonical bundle for genus 0 maps to a smooth target.
We give a simple proof of Voisin's Theorem for general canonical curves of even genus. This completely determines the terms of the minimal free resolution of the coordinate ring of such curves.
This paper is a sequel to arXiv:1109.4986, where we proved that a general smooth curve of odd genus, canonically or bicanonically embedded, has semistable finite Hilbert points. Here, we prove that a generic canonically embedded curve of even genus has semistable finite Hilbert points. More precisely, we prove that a generic canonically embedded trigonal curve of even genus has semistable finite Hilbert points. Furthermore, we show that the analogous result fails for bielliptic curves. Namely, the Hilbert points of bielliptic curves are asymptotically semistable but become non-semistable below…
Green's Conjecture predicts than one can read off special linear series on an algebraic curve, by looking at the syzygies of its canonical embedding. We extend Voisin's results on syzygies of K3 sections, to the case of K3 surfaces with arbitrary Picard lattice. This, coupled with results of Voisin and Hirschowitz-Ramanan, provides a complete solution to Green's Conjecture for smooth curves on arbitrary K3 surfaces.
We show that the moduli spaces of non-triple cyclic coverings of genus 2 curves and that of even spin curves of genus 2 are birationally isomorphic via the Prym map. We describe the log canonical models of the moduli space of even spin curves of genus 2 and use this to extend the above birational map.
Given a sheaf on a projective space P^n we define a sequence of canonical and easily computable Chow complexes on the Grassmannians of planes in P^n, generalizing the Beilinson monad on P^n. If the sheaf has dimension k, then the Chow form of the associated k-cycle is the determinant of the Chow complex on the Grassmannian of planes of codimension k+1. Using the theory of vector bundles and the canonical nature of the complexes we are able to give explicit determinantal and Pfaffian formulas for resultants in some cases where no polynomial formulas were known. For example, the Horrocks-Mumford…
We study the stability of the normal bundle of canonical genus $8$ curves and prove that on a general curve the bundle is stable. The proof rests on Mukai's description of these curves as linear sections of a Grassmannian $\mathrm{G}(2,6)$. This is the next case of a conjecture by M. Aprodu, G. Farkas, and A. Ortega: the general canonical curve of every genus $g \geq 7$ should have stable normal bundle. We also give some more evidence for this conjecture in higher genus.
We analyze GIT stability of nets of quadrics in $\mathbb{P}^4$ up to projective equivalence. Since a general net of quadrics defines a canonically embedded smooth curve of genus five, the resulting GIT quotient gives a birational model of the moduli space of genus 5 curves. We study the geometry of the associated contraction and prove that the constructed GIT quotient is the final step of the log minimal model program for the moduli space of genus 5 curves.
We describe the final log canonical model of the moduli space of stable curves of genus four. We prove that the rational map from $\bar{M}_4$ to this model contracts the Petri and the boundary divisors and flips the hyperelliptic locus. As an application, we find an exact bound on slopes of moving divisors on $\bar{M}_4$.
We prove the Green conjecture for generic curves of odd genus. That is we prove the vanishing $K_{k,1}(X,K_X)=0$ for $X$ generic of genus $2k+1$. The curves we consider are smooth curves $X$ on a K3 surface whose Picard group has rank 2. This completes our previous work, where the Green conjecture for generic curves of genus $g$ with fixed gonality $d$ was proved in the range $d\geq g/3$, with the possible exception of the generic curves of odd genus.
We consider the generic Green conjecture on syzygies of a canonical curve, and particularly the following reformulation thereof: {\it For a smooth projective curve $C$ of genus $g$ in characteristic 0, the condition ${\rm Cliff} C>l$ is equivalent to the fact that $K_{g-l'-2,1}(C,K_C)=0, \forall l'\leq l$.} We propose a new approach, which allows up to prove this result for generic curves $C$ of genus $g(C)$ and gonality ${\rm gon(C)}$ in the range $$\frac{g(C)}{3}+1\leq {\rm gon(C)}\leq\frac{g(C)}{2}+1.$$
A canonically fibered surface is a surface whose canonical series maps it to a curve. Using Miyaoka-Yau inequality, A. Beauville proved that a canonically fibered surface has relative genus at most 5 when its geometric genus is sufficiently large. G. Xiao further conjectured that the relative genus cannot exceed 4. We give a proof of this conjecture.
In this paper we study Koszul cohomology and the Green and Prym-Green conjectures for canonical and Prym-canonical binary curves. We prove that if property $N_p$ holds for a canonical or a Prym-canonical binary curve of genus $g$ then it holds for a generic canonical or Prym-canonical binary curve of genus $g+1$. We also verify the Green and Prym-Green conjectures for generic canonical and Prym-canonical binary curves of low genus ($6\leq g\leq 15$, $g\neq 8$ for Prym-canonical and $3\leq g\leq 12$ for canonical).
We consider relatively minimal fibrations of curves of genus two on rational surfaces whose Picard numbers are not maximal. By birational morphisms, such fibred surfaces are interpreted as pencils of plane curves. We show that only four are canonical, among a variety of possible models. For each canonical pencil, we give an example with trivial Mordell-Weil group.
We explicitly describe the KSBA/Hacking compactification of a moduli space of log surfaces of Picard rank 2. The space parametrizes log pairs $(S, D)$ where $S$ is a degeneration of $\mathbb{P}^1 \times \mathbb{P}^1$ and $D \subset S$ is a degeneration of a curve of class $(3,3)$. We prove that the compactified moduli space is a smooth Deligne--Mumford stack with 4 boundary components. We relate it to the moduli space of genus 4 curves; we show that it compactifies the blow-up of the hyperelliptic locus. We also relate it to a compactification of the Hurwitz space of triple coverings of $\math…
We study the Hodge structure of elliptic surfaces which are canonically defined from bielliptic curves of genus three. We prove that the period map for the second cohomology has one dimensional fibers, and the period map for the total cohomology is of degree twelve, and moreover, by adding the information of the Hodge structure of the canonical divisor, we prove a generic Torelli theorem for these elliptic surfaces. Finally, we give explicit examples of the pair of non-isomorphic elliptic surfaces which have the same Hodge structure on themselves and the same Hodge structure on their canonical…
