Campedelli surfaces with fundamental group of order 8 (Q1018061)

Let \(S\) be a Campedelli surface, i.e. a smooth minimal surface of general type with \(p_g=0\) and \(K^2=2\), and denote by \(\pi_1 S\) the topological fundamental group of \(S\). From results of \textit{A. Beauville} [Invent. Math. 55, 121--140 (1979; Zbl 0403.14006)] and \textit{M. Reid} [``Surfaces with \(p_g=0\), \(K_S^2=2\)'', \url{http://www.warwick.ac.uk/staff/Miles.Reid/surf/}; Lect. Notes Math. 732, 534--544 (1979; Zbl 0423.14021)], \(S\) has no irregular covers and an étale cover \(Y\rightarrow S\) has degree \(\leq 9\). The case \(|\pi_1 S|=9\) was considered by \textit{M. Mendes Lopes} and \textit{R. Pardini} [J. Eur. Math. Soc. (JEMS) 10, No. 2, 457--476 (2008; Zbl 1140.14037)]. In this paper the authors treat the case \(|\pi_1 S|=8\), finishing M. Reid's study in the preprint referred above (similar methods were used by \textit{D. Naie} [J. Lond. Math. Soc., II. Ser. 59, No. 3, 813--827 (1999; Zbl 0935.14024)] for \(|\pi_1 S|=6\)). It is proven that, if \(Y\rightarrow S\) is an étale cover of degree \(8\), the canonical model of \(Y\) is a complete intersection of four quadrics in \(\mathbb P^6\). As corollary, \(Y\) is the universal cover of \(S\), the covering group \(G=\text{Gal}(Y/S)\) is the topological fundamental group \(\pi_1 S\) and \(G\) cannot be the dihedral group \(D_4\) of order \(8\).