Related papers: Maximally Algebraic potentially irrational Cubic F…

There are three types of involutions on a cubic fourfold; two of anti-symplectic type, and one symplectic. Here we show that cubics with involutions exhibit the full range of behaviour in relation to rationality conjectures. Namely, we show…

Let $X\subset \P^5$ be a smooth cubic fourfold. A well known conjecture asserts that $X$ is rational if and only if there an Hodge theoretically associated K3 surface $S$. The surface $S$ can be associated to $X$ in two other different…

A well known conjecture asserts that a cubic fourfold X is rational if it has a cohomologically associated K3 surface. G.Ouchi proved that if X admits a finite group G of symplectic automorphisms, whose order is different from 2, then X has…

We extend non-emtpyness and irreducibility of Hassett divisors to the moduli spaces of $M$-polarizable cubic fourfolds for higher rank lattices $M$, which in turn provides a systematic approach for describing the irreducible components of…

Motivated by the question of rationality of cubic fourfolds, we show that a cubic X has an associated K3 surface in the sense of Hassett if and only if the variety F of lines on X is birational to a moduli space of sheaves on a K3 surface,…

We isolate a class of smooth rational cubic fourfolds X containing a plane whose associated quadric surface bundle does not have a rational section. This is equivalent to the nontriviality of the Brauer class of the even Clifford algebra…

Let $X$ be a cubic fourfold in $P^5_{C}$. We prove that, assuming the Hodge conjecture for the product $S \times S$, where $S$ is a complex surface, and the finite dimensionality of the Chow motive $h(S)$, there are at most a countable…

Following the work of Katzarkov--Kontsevich--Pantev--Yu concerning the irrationality of the very general complex cubic fourfold, we prove the following: for every rational smooth complex cubic fourfold, the primitive cohomology is…

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…

Cubic fourfolds of discriminant 24 contain special codimension-two algebraic cycles of degree 6 and self-intersection 20. Such cycles may be represented by singular scrolls or del Pezzo surfaces. A discriminant 24 cubic fourfold gives rise…

We present some families of cubic hypersurfaces in $\mathbb P^5 (\mathbb C)$ containing a plane whose associated quadric bundle does not have a rational section.

An arithmetic method of proving the irrationality of smooth projective 3-folds is described, using reduction modulo $p$. It is illustrated by an application to a cubic threefold, for which the hypothesis that its intermediate Jacobian is…

We show that every smooth cubic hypersurface X in P^{n+1}, n> 1 is algebraically elliptic in Gromov's sense. This gives the first examples of non-rational projective manifolds elliptic in Gromov's sense. We also deduce that the punctured…

Generalizing a recent construction of Yang and Yu, we study to what extent one can intersect Hassett's Noether-Lefschetz divisors $\mathcal{C}_d$ in the moduli space of cubic fourfolds $\mathcal{C}$. In particular, we exhibit arithmetic…

We construct new examples of rational Gushel-Mukai fourfolds, giving more evidence for the analog of the Kuznetsov Conjecture for cubic fourfolds: a Gushel--Mukai fourfold is rational if and only if it admits an associated K3 surface.

It was conjectured by Edoukou in 2008 that a non-degenerate Hermitian threefold in $\mathbb{P}^4 (\mathbb{F}_{q^2})$ has at most $d(q^5+q^2) + q^3 + 1$ points in common with a threefold of degree $d$ defined over $\mathbb{F}_{q^2}$. He…

The Koras-Russell threefold is the hypersurface X of the complex affine four-space defined by the equation x^2y+z^2+t^3+x=0. It is well-known that X is smooth contractible and rational but that it is not algebraically isomorphic to affine…

We provide an upper bound on the efficient irrationality exponents of cubic algebraics $x$ with the minimal polynomial $x^3 - tx^2 - a$. In particular, we show that it becomes non-trivial, i.e. better than the classical bound of Liouville…

We apply the specialization technique based on the decomposition of the diagonal to find an explicit example over $\mathbb{Q}$ of a quadric and cubic hypersurface in $\mathbb{P}^6$ such that their intersection is a smooth stably irrational…

In this note we introduce the transcendental part $t(X)$ of the motive of a cubic fourfold $X$ and prove that it is isomorphic to the (twisted) transcendental part $h_2^{tr}(F(X))$ in a suitable Chow-K\"unneth decomposition for the motive…