Homogeneous spaces and degree 4 del Pezzo surfaces (Q2391151)

Let \(C\) be a curve of genus \(2\) defined over a field \(K\) of odd characteristic, with a \(K\)-rational Weierstrass point. This curve can be written in the form \[ C : y^2 = f(x) = x^5 + a_4 x^4 + \cdots + a_0 \] where \(f(x)\) is a separable polynomial with coefficients in \(K\). Let \(J\) be the Jacobian of \(C\). Given an element \(\delta \in H^1(K,J[2])\), denote by \(\mathcal H_\delta\) a homogeneous space corresponding to the image of \(\delta\) under the standard map \[ H^1(K,J[2]) \to H^1(K,\text{Isom}(J)). \] In the introduction, the author reviews a construction of a degree \(4\) del Pezzo surface \(V_\delta\), given such a curve \(C\) and a homogeneous space \(\mathcal H_\delta\), satisfying the property that if \(\mathcal H_\delta(K)\) is nonempty then so is \(V_\delta(K)\), and introduces the theorem that all degree \(4\) del Pezzo surface defined over \(K\) arises in this way. A short proof of this theorem, due to Alexei Skorobogatov, is presented as well as the author's more algorithmic proof. \quad The key connection to such a curve \(C : y^2=f(x)\) is \textit{the characteristic polynomial \(f(x)\) associated with} a del Pezzo surface of degree \(4\). Let \(V\) be any degree \(4\) del Pezzo surface over \(K\), given as the smooth intersection of quadrics in the projective space: \[ \begin{cases} G(u_0,u_1,\dots,u_4)=0, \\ H(u_0,u_1,\dots,u_4)=0. \end{cases} \] Let \(M_G\) and \(M_H\) be the symmetric matrices representing the quadrics \(G\) and \(H\), respectively. \textit{The characteristic polynomial} is defined to be \(\det( x M_G - M_H)\). \quad It is well-known that \(H^1(K,J[2])\) can be identified with \[ \text{ker}\big( N_{A/K} : A^*/(A^*)^2 \to K^*/(K^*)^2 \big) \] where \(A\) is the étale algebra \(K[x]/( f(x) )\). Let \(\theta\) denote the image of \(x\) in \(K[x]/( f(x) )\). Then, \(A=K[\theta]\) is a \(K\)-vector space with a basis \(\{1,\theta,\dots,\theta^4\}\). In the proof of the theorem stated above, \(\delta \in H^1(K,J[2])\) is chosen as an element of \(A\), using the fact that the span of \(\{1,\theta,\theta^2,\theta^3\}\) has codimension \(1\) in \(A\), and is proved to have the desired property using a description of the coboundary map \( J(K)/2J(K) \to H^1(K,J[2])\). The author also explains the algorithm of finding \(\delta\) as an element of \(A\) step by step. \quad Note that if \(V_\delta(K)\) is empty, then so is \(\mathcal H_\delta(K)\), and hence, \(\delta\) corresponds to a nontrivial element of the two part of the Shafarevich-Tate group of \(J/K\). Using the known result that the following degree \(4\) del Pezzo surface defined over \(\mathbb Q\) has no rational points: \[ u_0^2 - 17u_1^2 + 386u_2^2 - 34u_3^2 - 3u_4^2 =0,\quad u_0 u_1 - 17 u_1 u_3=0, \] the author shows that the Jacobian of the following quadratic twist has a nontrivial element of the \(2\)-part of the Shafarevich-Tate group: \[ y^2= 17k (x^2-386)(x^2-2)(x-1/3) \] for any \(k\) of the form \[ \begin{multlined} k = (w^m-w+1)^8 + 105N(w^m-w+1)^6+2064N^2(w^m-w+1)^4\\ +6720N^3(w^m-w+1)^2 + 4096N^4. \end{multlined} \] for any \(w\in\mathbb Q\), where \(N=273477912\) and \(m=52801\).