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.
It is well known that the Prym variety of an etale cyclic covering of a hyperelliptic curve is isogenous to the product of two Jacobians. Moreover, if the degree of the covering is odd or congruent to 2 mod 4, then the canonical isogeny is an isomorphism. We compute the degree of this isogeny in the remaining cases and show that only in the case of coverings of degree 4 it is an isomorphism.
The Prym map assigns to each covering of curves a polarized abelian variety. In the case of unramified cyclic covers of curves of genus two, we show that the Prym map is ramified precisely on the locus of bielliptic covers. The key observation is that we can naturally associate to such a cover an abelian surface with a cyclic polarization, and then the codifferential of the Prym map can be interpreted in terms of multiplication of sections on the abelian surface. Furthermore, we prove that a genus two cyclic cover of degree at least seven is never hyperelliptic.
We study the virtual geometry of the moduli spaces of curves and sheaves on K3 surfaces in primitive classes. Equivalences relating the reduced Gromov-Witten invariants of K3 surfaces to characteristic numbers of stable pairs moduli spaces are proven. As a consequence, we prove the Katz-Klemm-Vafa conjecture evaluating $lambda_g$ integrals (in all genera) in terms of explicit modular forms. Indeed, all K3 invariants in primitive classes are shown to be governed by modular forms. The method of proof is by degeneration to elliptically fibered rational surfaces. New formulas relating reduced virtual classes on K3 surfaces to standard virtual classes after degeneration are needed for both maps and sheaves. We also prove a Gromov-Witten/Pairs correspondence for toric 3-folds. Our approach uses a result of Kiem and Li to produce reduced classes. In Appendix A, we answer a number of questions about the relationship between the Kiem-Li approach, traditional virtual cycles, and symmetric obstruction theories. The interplay between the boundary geometry of the moduli spaces of curves, K3 surfaces, and modular forms is explored in Appendix B by A. Pixton.
A theta surface in affine 3-space is the zero set of a Riemann theta function in genus 3. This includes surfaces arising from special plane quartics that are singular or reducible. Lie and Poincare showed that theta surfaces are precisely the surfaces of double translation, i.e. obtained as the Minkowski sum of two space curves in two different ways. These curves are parametrized by abelian integrals, so they are usually not algebraic. This paper offers a new view on this classical topic through the lens of computation. We present practical tools for passing between quartic curves and their theta surfaces, and we develop the numerical algebraic geometry of degenerations of theta functions.
This paper studies spaces of generalized theta functions for odd orthogonal bundles with nontrivial Stiefel-Whitney class and the associated space of twisted spin bundles. In particular, we prove a Verlinde type formula and a dimension equality that was conjectured by Oxbury-Wilson. Modifying Hitchins argument, we also show that the bundle of generalized theta functions for twisted spin bundles over the moduli space of curves admits a flat projective connection. We furthermore address the issue of strange duality for odd orthogonal bundles, and we demonstrate that the naive conjecture fails in general. A consequence of this is the reducibility of the projective representations of spin mapping class groups arising from the Hitchin connection for these moduli spaces. Finally, we answer a question of Nakanishi-Tsuchiya about rank-level duality for conformal blocks on the pointed projective line with spin weights.