Related papers: A simple proof of the non-rationality of a general…
We give a simple direct proof of Fermat's two squares theorem. Our argument uses no intricate notions or ideas; one might say that it is a proof by careful bookkeeping. As such, the proof may be particularly easy to comprehend by students…
We complete the study of rationality problem for hypersurfaces $X_t\subset \mathbb{P}^4$ of degree $4$ invariant under the action of the symmetric group $S_6$.
By the geometry of the 3-fold quadric we show that the coarse moduli space of genus g ineffective spin hyperelliptic curves with two marked points is a rational variety for every $g \geq 2$.
If a smooth, geometrically rational surface over a finite field is not rational over that field, then over some finite extension of that field the Brauer group of the surface is nonzero. In particular such a surface is not stably rational.…
This note shows that a certain toric quotient of the quintic Calabi-Yau threefold in projective four-space provides a counterexample to a recent conjecture of Cox and Katz concerning nef cones of toric hypersurfaces.
Symplectic and complex toric quasifolds are a generalization of toric manifolds and orbifolds to the nonrational case. In this paper, we reframe these notions from the viewpoint of algebraic geometry.
This article has been written for an educational magazine whose target audience consists of students and teachers of mathematics in universities, colleges and schools. It concerns a notion of duality between rectangles. A proof is given…
This paper presents geometric proofs for the irrationality of square roots of select integers, extending classical approaches. Building on known geometric methods for proving the irrationality of sqrt(2), the authors explore whether similar…
We study quartic double solids admitting icosahedral symmetry.
For any field k of characteristic at most 5 we exhibit an explicit smooth quartic surface in projective threespace over k with trivial automorphism group over the algebraic closure of k. We also show how this can be extended to higher…
By the famous ADE classification rational double points are simple. Rational triple points are also simple. We conjecture that the simple normal surface singularities are exactly those rational singularities, whose resolution graph can be…
For any standard quadric surface bundle over $\mathbb P^2$, we show that the locus of rational fibres is dense in the moduli space.
We prove the rationality of the coarse moduli spaces of Coble surfaces and of nodal Enriques surfaces over the field of complex numbers.
This is a survey of the geometry of complex cubic fourfolds with a view toward rationality questions. Topics include classical constructions of rational examples, Hodge structures and special cubic fourfolds, associated K3 surfaces and…
We prove birational rigidity and calculate the group of birational automorphisms of a nodal Q-factorial double cover $X$ of a smooth three-dimensional quadric branched over a quartic section. We also prove that $X$ is Q-factorial provided…
A rational projective plane ($\mathbb{QP}^2$) is a simply connected, smooth, closed manifold $M$ such that $H^*(M;\mathbb{Q}) \cong \mathbb{Q}[\alpha]/\langle \alpha^3 \rangle$. An open problem is to classify the dimensions at which such a…
In this short note we confirm the relation between the generalized $abc$-conjecture and the $p$-rationality of number fields. Namely, we prove that given K$/\mathbb{Q}$ a real quadratic extension or an imaginary $S_3$-extension, if the…
We construct singular quartic double fivefolds whose Kuznetsov component admits a crepant categorical resolution of singularities by a twisted Calabi--Yau threefold. We also construct rational specializations of these fivefolds where such a…
For $X$ a smooth cubic threefold we study the Pl\"ucker embedding of the Fano surface of lines $S$ of $X$. We prove that if $X$ is general then the minimal gonality of a covering family of curves of $S$ is four and that this happens for a…
For any alternating knot, it is known that the double branched cover of the $3$-sphere branched over the knot is an $L$-space. We show that the three-fold cyclic branched cover is also an $L$-space for any genus one alternating knot.