Related papers: Geometry of genus 8 Nikulin surfaces and rationali…

Primitively polarized genus $g$ Nikulin surfaces $(S,M,H)$ are of two types, that we call standard and non-standard depending on whether the lattice embedding $\mathbb{Z}[H] \oplus_{\perp} \mathbf{N} \subset \rm{Pic}(S)$ is primitive. Here…

The aim of the present paper is to prove the rationality of the universal family of polarized $ K3 $ surfaces of degree 14. This is achieved by identifying it with the moduli space of cubic fourfolds plus the data of a quartic scroll. The…

Using the isomorphism between the moduli space of polarized K3 surfaces of genus 14 and the moduli space of special cubic fourfolds of discriminant 26, we establish the rationality of the universal K3 surface of genus 14. Precisely, we show…

We study some natural linear systems carried by polarized Nikulin surfaces of genus g. We determine their positivity and establish their Brill-Noether theory. As an application, we compute the class of some natural effective divisors…

We present a structure theorem for the moduli space R_7 of Prym curves of genus 7 as a projective bundle over the moduli space of 7-nodal rational curves. The existence of this parametrization implies the unirationality of R_7 and that of…

We construct a linearly normal smooth rational surface S of degree 11 and sectional genus 8 in the projective fivespace. Surfaces satisfying these numerical invariants are special, in the sense that $h^1(\mathscr{O}_S(1))>0$. Our…

We study moduli spaces of K3 surfaces endowed with a Nikulin involution and their image in the moduli space R_g of Prym curves of genus g. We observe a striking analogy with Mukai's well-known work on ordinary K3 surfaces. Many of Mukai's…

The moduli spaces of trigonal curves of odd genus $g>4$ are proven to be rational.

Let S be the variety of irreducible sextics with six cusps as singularities. Let W be one of irreducible components of W. Denoting by M_4 the space of moduli of smooth curves of genus 4, the moduli map of W is the rational map from W to M_4…

For a very general polarized $K3$ surface $S\subset \mathbb{P}^g$ of genus $g\ge 5$, we study the linear system on the Hilbert square $S^{[2]}$ parametrizing quadrics in $\mathbb{P}^g$ that contain $S$. We prove its very ampleness for…

Let $\overline{\rho}: G_{\mathbf{Q}} \rightarrow {\rm GSp}_4(\mathbf{F}_3)$ be a continuous Galois representation with cyclotomic similitude character -- or, what turns out to be equivalent, the Galois representation associated to the…

Refereed version to appear in Michigan Mathematical Journal. A mistake in the last section of the previous version has been corrected. The new title exactly describes the main result obtained. Building on the geometry of cubic surfaces and…

We prove that the moduli space ${\Cal M}_{g,n}$ of smooth curves of genus $g$ with $n$ marked points is rational for $g=6$ and $1 \le n \le 8$, and it is unirational for $g=8$ and $1 \le n \le 11$, $g=10$ and $1 \le n \le 3$, $g=12$ and $n…

The Weddle surface is classically known to be a birational (partially desingularized) model of the Kummer surface. In this note we go through its relations with moduli spaces of abelian varieties and of rank two vector bundles on a genus 2…

We prove that the moduli space of tetragonal curves of genus g>6 is rational when g is congruent to 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10 modulo 12 and not equal to 9, 45.

A Nikulin configuration is the data of $16$ disjoint smooth rational curves on a K3 surface. According to results of Nikulin, the existence of a Nikulin configuration means that the K3 surface is a Kummer surface, moreover the abelian…

We describe the moduli space of Higgs pairs on an irreducible nodal curve of arithmetic genus one and its geometric structures in terms of the Hitchin map and a flat degeneration of the moduli space of Higgs bundles on an elliptic curve.

We prove that the moduli spaces of rational curves of degree at most $3$ in linear sections of the Grassmannian $Gr(2,5)$ are all rational varieties. We also study their compactifications and birational geometry.

A Nikulin configuration is the data of $16$ disjoint smooth rational curves on a K3 surface. According to a well known result of Nikulin, if a K3 surface contains a Nikulin configuration $\mathcal{C}$, then $X$ is a Kummer surface $X=Km(B)$…

Let F^N_g be the moduli space of polarized Nikulin surfaces (Y,H) of genus g and let P^N_g be the moduli of triples (Y,H,C), with C in |H| a smooth curve. We study the natural map \chi_g:P^N_g -> R_g, where R_g is the moduli space of Prym…