Even sets of nodes are bundle symmetric (Q1383648): Difference between revisions

Let \(k\) be an algebraically closed field of characteristic \(p\neq 2\), and let \(F\subseteq \mathbb{P}_k^3\) be a nodal surface of degree \(d\) (i.e. the singularities of \(F\) are only ordinary quadratic, nodes for short). Let \(\Delta\) be a subset of the set of nodes of \(F\), \(\pi:\widetilde{F}\to F\) the blow up of \(F\) along \(\Delta\), \(\widetilde{\Delta}:= \pi^{-1}(\Delta)\), \(H\) a plane section of \(F\). Definition. In the above setting \(\Delta\) is said to be even (resp. \(1/2\)-even) if there exists a double cover \(\widetilde{p}: \widetilde{S}\to \widetilde{F}\) branched exactly along \(\widetilde{\Delta}\) (resp. \(\widetilde{\Delta}+ \delta\pi^*H\)). In this paper we prove the following characterization of even sets, which has been conjectured by W. Barth and the second author in 1979. Theorem. Let \(F\subseteq \mathbb{P}_k^3\) be a nodal surface of degree \(d\). Then every \(\delta/2\)-even set of nodes \(\Delta\) on \(F\), \(\Delta=0,1\), is bundle-symmetric, i.e. it is the degeneracy locus of a symmetric map of locally free \({\mathcal O}_{\mathbb{P}_k^3}\)-sheaves \(\check{\mathcal E}(-d-\delta) @>\varphi>>{\mathcal E}\) (i.e. \(F\) is the locus where \(\text{rk}(\varphi)\leq \text{rk }{\mathcal E}-1\), \(\Delta\) is the locus where \(\text{rk}(\varphi)= \text{rk }{\mathcal E}-2)\). \textit{W. Barth} proved that bundle-symmetric sets of nodes are even [in: Vector bundles and differential equations, Proc., Nice 1979, Prog. Math. 7, 1-19 (1980; Zbl 0442.14021)] while the converse result was proved by the second author under a cohomological assumption [\textit{F. Catanese}, Invent. Math. 63, 433-465 (1981; Zbl 0472.14024)]. We apply the above theorem to the study of nodal surfaces of low degree \(d\), namely \(d=4,5,6\). In particular we get the following result. Theorem. Let \(F\subseteq \mathbb{P}_k^3\) be a nodal surface of degree 6. Then every even set of nodes \(\Delta\) on \(F\) has cardinality either 24 or 32 or 40. Using the above result, J. Wahl was able to give a simple proof of the result of D. Jaffe and D. Ruberman stating that a nodal surface of degree 6 can have at most 65 nodes.