A proof of a conjecture for the number of ramified coverings of the sphere by the torus

Recursions, formulas, and graph-theoretic interpretations of ramified coverings of the sphere by surfaces of genus 0 and 1

We derive a closed-form expression for all genus 1 Hurwitz numbers, and give a simple new graph-theoretic interpretation of Hurwitz numbers in genus 0 and 1. (Hurwitz numbers essentially count irreducible genus g covers of the sphere, with arbitrary specified branching over one point, simple branching over other specified points, and no other branching. The problem is equivalent to counting transitive factorisations of permutations into transpositions.) These results prove a conjecture of Goulden and Jackson, and extend results of Hurwitz and many others.

Global Prym-Torelli for double coverings ramified in at least 6 points

We prove that the ramified Prym map $\mathcal P_{g, r}$ which sends a covering $π:D\longrightarrow C$ ramified in $r$ points to the Prym variety $P(π):=\text{Ker}(\text{Nm}_π)$ is an embedding for all $r\ge 6$ and for all $g(C)>0$. Moreover, by studying the restriction to the locus of coverings of hyperelliptic curves, we show that $\mathcal P_{g, 2}$ and $\mathcal P_{g, 4}$ have positive dimensional fibers.

Computation of highly ramified coverings

An almost Belyi covering is an algebraic covering of the projective line, such that all ramified points except one simple ramified point lie above a set of 3 points of the projective line. In general, there are 1-dimensional families of these coverings with a fixed ramification pattern. (That is, Hurwitz spaces for these coverings are curves.) In this paper, three almost Belyi coverings of degrees 11, 12, and 20 are explicitly constructed. We demonstrate how these coverings can be used for computation of several algebraic solutions of the sixth Painleve equation.

Ramified covering maps and stability of pulled back bundles

Let $f:C\rightarrow D$ be a nonconstant separable morphism between irreducible smooth projective curves defined over an algebraically closed field. We say that $f$ is genuinely ramified if ${\mathcal O}_D$ is the maximal semistable subbundle of $f_*{\mathcal O}_C$ (equivalently, the homomorphism of etale fundamental groups is surjective). We prove that the pullback $f^*E\rightarrow C$ is stable for every stable vector bundle $E$ on $D$ if and only if $f$ is genuinely ramified.

Hitchin fibration under ramified coverings

We are interested in studying the variation of the Hitchin fibration in moduli spaces of parabolic Higgs bundles, under the action of a ramified covering. Given a degree two map $π$ : Y $\rightarrow$ X between compact Riemann surfaces, we may pull back a Higgs bundle from X to Y , the lifted Higgs bundle tends to have many apparent singularities, then we perform a suitable birational transformation in order to eliminate them. This correspondence preserves the Hitchin fibrations and then its restriction to a general fiber gives a map between Abelian varieties. The aim of this paper is to descri…

Enumeration of ramified coverings of the sphere and 2-dimensional gravity

Let A be the algebra generated by the power series \sum n^{n-1} q^n/n! and \sum n^n q^n /n! . We prove that many natural generating functions lie in this algebra: those appearing in graph enumeration problems, in the intersection theory of moduli spaces M_{g,n} and in the enumeration of ramified coverings of the sphere. We argue that ramified coverings of the sphere with a large number of sheets provide a model of 2-dimensional gravity. Our results allow us to compute the asymptotic of the number of coverings as the number of sheets goes to infinity. The leading terms of such asymptotics are t…

$L^2$-cohomology of a variation of Hodge structure for an infinite covering of an open curve ramified at infinity

Let $X$ be a compact Riemann surface, $Σ$ a finite set of points and $M = X\setminus Σ$. We study the $L^2$ cohomology of a polarized complex variation of Hodge structure on a Galois covering of the Riemann surface of finite type $M$. In this article we treat the case when the covering comes from a branched covering of $X$, and where $M$ is endowed with a metric asymptotic to a Poincaré metric. We prove that after tensorisation with the algebra of affiliated operators, the $L^2$ cohomology admits a pure Hodge structure.

Counting ramified coverings and intersection theory on spaces of rational functions I (Cohomology of Hurwitz spaces)

The Hurwitz space is a compactification of the space of rational functions of a given degree. The Lyashko-Looijenga map assigns to a rational function the set of its critical values. It is known that the number of ramified coverings of CP^1 by CP^1 with prescribed ramification points and ramification types is related to the degree of the Lyashko--Looijenga map on various strata of the Hurwitz space. Here we explain how the degree of the Lyashko-Looijenga map is related to the intersection theory on this space. We describe the cohomology algebra of the Hurwitz space and prove several relations …

Generic Torelli theorem for Prym varieties of ramified coverings

In this paper we prove that the Prym map, from the space of double coverings of a curve of genus g with r branch points to the moduli space of abelian varieties, is generically injective if r>6 and g>1, r=6 and g>2, r=4 and g>4, r=2 and g>5. We also show that a very generic Prym variety of dimension at least 4 is not isogenous to a Jacobian.

Shimura subvarieties in the Prym locus of ramified Galois coverings

We study Shimura (special) subvarieties in the moduli space $A_{p,D}$ of complex abelian varieties of dimension $p$ and polarization type $D$. These subvarieties arise from families of covers compatible with a fixed group action on the base curve such that the quotient of the base curve by the group is isomorphic to $\mathbb{P}^1$. We give a criterion for the image of these families under the Prym map to be a special subvariety and, using computer algebra, obtain 210 Shimura subvarieties contained in the Prym locus.

Enumeration of almost polynomial rational functions with given critical values

Enumerating ramified coverings of the sphere with fixed ramification types is a well-known problem first considered by A. Hurwitz. Up to now, explicit solutions have been obtained only for some families of ramified coverings, for instant, those realized by polynomials in one complex variable. In this paper we obtain an explicit answer for a large new family of coverings, namely, the coverings realized by simple almost polynomials, defined below. Unlike most other results in the field, our formula is obtained by elementary methods.

Ramified automorphic induction and zero-dimensional affine Deligne-Lusztig varieties

To any connected reductive group G over a non-archimedean local field F (of characteristic p > 0) and to any maximal torus T of G, we attach a family of extended affine Deligne-Lusztig varieties (and families of torsors over them) over the residue field of F. This construction generalizes affine Deligne-Lusztig varieties of Rapoport, which are attached only to unramified tori of G. Via this construction, we can attach to any maximal torus T of G and any character of T a representation of G. This procedure should conjecturally realize the automorphic induction from T to G. For G = GL_2, we prov…

Generic injectivity of the Prym map for double ramified coverings

In this paper we consider the Prym map for double coverings of curves of genus $g$ ramified at $r>0$ points. That is, the map associating to a double ramified covering its Prym variety. The generic Torelli theorem states that the Prym map is generically injective as soon as the dimension of the space of coverings is less or equal to the dimension of the space of polarized abelian varieties. We prove the generic injectivity of the Prym map in the cases of double coverings of curves with: (a) $g=2$, $r=6$, and (b) $g= 5$, $r=2$. In the first case the proof is constructive and can be extended to …

Lefschetz theorems for tamely ramified coverings

As is well known, the Lefschetz theorems for the étale fundamental group of SGA1 do not hold. We fill a small gap in the literature showing they do for tame coverings. Let $X$ be a regular projective variety over a field $k$, and let $D\hookrightarrow X$ be a strict normal crossings divisor. Then, if $Y$ is an ample regular hyperplane intersecting $D$ transversally, the restriction functor from tame étale coverings of $X\setminus D$ to those of $Y\setminus D\cap Y$ is an equivalence if dimension $X \ge 3$, and fully faithful if dimension $X=2$. The method is dictated by Grothendieck-Murre ("Th…

Relevements des revetements de courbes faiblement ramifies (Lifts of weakly ramified coverings of curves)

Let X be a smooth projective curve over a field of characteristic p>0 and G a finite group of automorphism of X. Let n(X,G) be the characteristic of the versal equivariant deformation ring R(X,G) of (X,G). When the ramification is weak (i.e. all second ramification groups are trivial),we prove that n(X,G) is 0 or p and we compute R(X,G).

On the direct images of parabolic vector bundles and parabolic connections

Let $φ: Y \rightarrow X$ be a finite surjective morphism between smooth complex projective curves, where $X$ is irreducible but $Y$ need not be so. Let $V_*$ be a parabolic vector bundle on $Y$. We construct a parabolic structure on the direct image $φ_* V$ on $X$, where $V$ is the vector bundle underlying $V_*$. The parabolic vector bundle $φ_* V_*$ on $X$ obtained this way has a ramified torus sub-bundle; it is a torus bundle of $\text{Ad}(φ_* V)$ outside the parabolic divisor for $φ_* V_*$ that satisfies certain conditions at the parabolic points. Conversely, given a parabolic vector bundle…

Wild ramification of nilpotent coverings and coverings of bounded degree

A finite étale map between irreducible, normal varieties is called tame, if it is tamely ramified with respect to all partial compactifications whose boundary is the support of a strict normal crossings divisor. We prove that if the Galois group of a Galois covering contains a normal nilpotent subgroup of index bounded by a constant N, then the covering is tame if and only if it is tamely ramified with respect to a single distinguished partial compactification only depending on N. The main tools used in the proof are Temkin's local purely inseparable uniformization and a Lefschetz type theorem…

奇异曲线的分歧覆盖映射与拉回丛的稳定性

Ramified covering maps of singular curves and stability of pulled back bundles

本文研究了代数闭域上不可约射影曲线间的泛平滑态射，证明了平展基本群满射等六个条件等价，并揭示了拉回稳定层的稳定性。

Ample Vector Bundles and Branched Coverings, II

In continuation of our work in Comm. in Algebra, vol. 28 (2000), we study ramified coverings of projective manifolds, in particular over Fano manifolds and investigate positivity properties of the associated vector bundle. Moreover we study the topology of low degree coverings and the structure of the ramification divisor.

Second fundamental form of the Prym map in the ramified case

In this paper we study the second fundamental form of the Prym map $P_{g,r}: R_{g,r} \rightarrow {\mathcal A}^δ_{g-1+r}$ in the ramified case $r>0$. We give an expression of it in terms of the second fundamental form of the Torelli map of the covering curves. We use this expression to give an upper bound for the dimension of a germ of a totally geodesic submanifold, and hence of a Shimura subvariety of ${\mathcal A}^δ_{g-1+r}$, contained in the Prym locus.

Toda equations for Hurwitz numbers

We consider ramified coverings of P^1 with arbitrary ramification type over 0 and infinity and simple ramifications elsewhere and prove that the generating function for the numbers of such coverings is a tau-function for the Toda lattice hierarchy of Ueno and Takasaki.

Asymptotics of numbers of branched coverings of a torus and volumes of moduli spaces of holomorphic differentials

We compute the asymptotics of the number of connected branched coverings of a torus as their degree goes to infinity and the ramification type stays fixed. These numbers are equal to the volumes of the moduli spaces of pairs (curve, holomorphic differential) with fixed multiplicities of zeros of the differential and have several applications in ergodic theory.

On different notions of tameness in arithmetic geometry

The notion of a tamely ramified covering is canonical only for curves. Several notions of tameness for coverings of higher dimensional schemes have been used in the literature. We show that all these definitions are essentially equivalent. Furthermore, we prove finiteness theorems for the tame fundamental groups of arithmetic schemes.

An algebro-geometric proof of Witten's conjecture

We present a new proof of Witten's conjecture. The proof is based on the analysis of the relationship between intersection indices on moduli spaces of complex curves and Hurwitz numbers enumerating ramified coverings of the 2-sphere.

Remarks on numerical semigroups

We extend results on Weierstrass semigroups at ramified points of double covering of curves to any numerical semigroup whose genus is large enough. As an application we strengthen the properties concerning Weierstrass weights in \cited{To}.

A remark on the Chisini conjecture

The Chisini conjecture asserts that a generic ramified covering over the complex projective plane of degree at least 5 is uniquely determined by its branch curve. We prove this for degree at least 12 using the work of Kulikov (math-AG/9803144).

Hurwitz spaces and liftings to the Valentiner group

We study the components of the Hurwitz scheme of ramified coverings of $\mathbb{P}^1$ with monodromy given by the alternating group $A_6$ and elements in the conjugacy class of product of two disjoint cycles. In order to detect the connected components of the Hurwitz scheme, inspired by the case of the spin structures studied by Fried for the $3$-cycles, we use as invariant the lifting to the Valentiner group, triple covering of $A_6$. We prove that the Hurwitz scheme has two irreducible components when the genus of the covering is greater than zero, in accordance with the asymptotic solution …

Calabi-Yau Orbifolds and Torus Coverings

The theory of coverings of the two-dimensional torus is a standard part of algebraic topology and has applications in several topics in string theory, for example, in topological strings. This paper initiates applications of this theory to the counting of orbifolds of toric Calabi-Yau singularities, with particular attention to Abelian orbifolds of C^D. By doing so, the work introduces a novel analytical method for counting Abelian orbifolds, verifying previous algorithm results. One identifies a p-fold cover of the torus T^{D-1} with an Abelian orbifold of the form C^D/Z_p, for any dimension …

Local Fourier transform and blowing up

We consider a resolution of ramified irregular singularities of meromorphic connections on a formal disk via local Fourier transforms. A necessary and sufficient condition for an irreducible connection to have a resolution of the ramified singularity is determined as an analogy of the blowing up of plane curve singularities. We also relate the irregularity of Komatsu and Malgrange of connections to the intersection numbers and the Milnor numbers of plane curve germs. Finally, we shall define an analogue of Puiseux characteristics for connections and find an invariant of the family of connectio…

On Hurwitz numbers and Hodge integrals

In this paper we find an explicit formula for the number of topologically different ramified coverings $C\to\CP^1$ (C is a compact Riemann surface of genus g) with only one complicated branching point in terms of Hodge integrals over the moduli space of genus g curves with marked points.

Families of K3 surfaces and curves of (2,3)-torus type

We study families of $K3$ surfaces obtained by double covering of the projective plane branching along curves of $(2,3)$-torus type. In the first part, we study the Picard lattices of the families, and a lattice duality of them. In the second part, we describe a deformation of singularities of Gorenstein $K3$ surfaces in these families.

Cox rings of rational complexity one T-varieties

Let X be a Mori dream space together with an effective torus action of complexity one. In this note, we construct a polyhedral divisor on a suitable covering of the projective line P^1 which corresponds to the affine spectrum of the Cox ring of X. This description allows for a detailed study of torus orbits and deformations of the latter. Moreover, we present coverings of P^1 together with an action of a finite abelian group A in terms of so-called A-divisors of degree zero on P^1.

Almost-Regular Dessins on a Sphere and Torus

The Hurwitz problem asks which ramification data are realizable, that is appear as the ramification type of a covering. We use dessins d'enfant to show that families of genus 1 regular ramification data with small changes are realizable with the exception of four families which were recently shown to be nonrealizable. A similar description holds in the case of genus 0 ramification data.

The $p$-rank of the reduction $\rm{mod}\, p$ of jacobians and Jacobi sums

Let $Y_K\to X_K$ be a ramified cyclic covering of curves, where $K$ is a cyclotomic field. In this work we study the $p$-rank of the reduction $\rm{mod}\, p$ of a model of the jacobian of $Y_K$. In this way, we obtain counterparts of the Deuring polynomial, defined for elliptic curves, for genus greater than one. Moreover, we show that curves $Y_K$ give Hecke characters for cyclotomic fields. To carry out this study we use Jacobi sums and certain $L$-functions.