Related papers: On the rationality problem for quadric bundles

A variety is unirational if it is dominated by a rational variety. A variety is rationally connected if two general points can be joined by a rational curve. This paper aims to show that the two notions can cooperate and, building on…

The stable rationality of components of the moduli space of (unparametrized) rational curves in projective $n$-space with fixed normal bundle is proved, provided these components dominate the moduli space of immersed rational curves in the…

Let SU(r,d) be the moduli space of rank r, degree d vector bundles over a smooth projective curve of genus $g\ge 2$. If (r,d)=1 and d divides r+1, then SU is rational. Furthermore, if $0<\delta < r$ and all prime divisors of $\delta$ divide…

This is a survey on (lack of) stable rationality over arbitrary fields (including algebraically closed fields). Topics addressed include: Rationality and unirationality, R-equivalence on rational points, Chow groups of zero-cycles, Galois…

Using Voisin's method we prove that a very general hypersurface of degree at least 4 in complex projective space of dimension 6, 7, 8 or 9 is not stably rational and so, in particular, not rational. We obtain the same conclusion for the…

We construct explicit dominant, rational morphisms from projective bundles over rational varieties to relevant moduli spaces, showing their unirationality. These constructions work for $U_{r,d,g}$; for all ranks, degrees and genus $2\leq g…

For sufficiently ample linear systems on rational surfaces we show that a very general associated Brauer-Severi surface bundle is not stably rational.

We study stable rationality properties of conic bundles over rational surfaces.

We prove that a very general double cover of the projective four-space, ramified in a quartic threefold, is not stably rational.

Yanchevski\u{i} had asked whether conic bundle surfaces over $\mathbf{P}^1_k$ are unirational when $k$ is a finite field. We give a partial answer to his question by showing that for quasi-finite fields $k$ (e.g. finite fields) a regular…

We prove that there exist rational but not uniformly rational smooth algebraic varieties. The proof is based on computing a certain numerical obstruction developed in the case of compactifications of affine spaces. We show that for some…

Let $k$ be a field with char $k \not= 2$, $X$ be an affine surface defined by the equation $z^2=P(x)y^2+Q(x)$ where $P(x), Q(x) \in k[x]$ are separable polynomials. We will investigate the rationality problem of $X$ in terms of the…

Inspir\'es par un argument de C. Voisin, nous montrons l'existence d'hypersurfaces quartiques lisses dans ${\bf P}^4_{\mathbb C}$ qui ne sont pas stablement rationnelles, plus pr\'ecis\'ement dont le groupe de Chow de degr\'e z\'ero n'est…

In this paper, we compare the moduli spaces of rank-3 vector bundles stable with respect to different ample divisors over rational ruled surfaces. We also discuss the irreducibility, unirationality, and rationality of these moduli spaces.

On any smooth $n$-dimensional variety we give a pretty precise picture of rank $r$ Ulrich vector bundles with numerical dimension at most $\frac{n}{2}+r-1$. Also, we classify non-big Ulrich vector bundles on quadrics and on the Del Pezzo…

It is a classical result that there are $12$ (irreducible) rational cubic curves through $8$ generic points in $\mathbb{P}_{\mathbb{C}}^2$, but little is known about the non-generic cases. The space of $8$-point configurations is…

We study the rationality properties of the moduli space $\mathcal{A}_g$ of principally polarised abelian $g$-folds over $\mathbb{Q}$ and apply the results to arithmetic questions. In particular we show that any principally polarised abelian…

In this short note, we show that any rational curve passing through the generic point in a moduli space of stable bundles with rank $r$ and fixed determinant on a smooth projective curve of genus $g\ge 4$ has degree (with respect to the…

Here is a square problem: in a unit square, is there a point with four rational distances to the vertices? A probability argument suggests a negative answer. This paper proves several special cases of the square problem: if the point sits…

Nicaise--Ottem introduced the notion of (stably) rational polytopes and studied this using a combinatorial description of the motivic volume. In this framework, we ask whether being non-stably rational is preserved under inclusions. We…