On a theorem of Castelnuovo and applications to moduli (Q640826)

Let \(X\) be a smooth projective surface and \(D\subset X\) a smooth curve of genus \(g\). Set \(r:= \dim (| D| )\) and let \(\nu _D : | D| \dasharrow \mathcal {M}_g\) be the moduli map. Here the authors study pairs \((X,D)\) with large \(r\), greatly improving classical works by Castelnuovo and Enriques. For instance they define an integer \(\tau (k,g)\), \(k \geq 1\), and for all \(k = 2,3,4\), classify the pairs \((X,D)\) such that \(\tau (k-1,g) > r \geq \tau (k,g)\). As a corollary they prove that if \(g\geq 22\), then \(\dim (\mathrm{Im} (\nu _D)) \leq 2g+1\) and classify the pairs for which equality holds (the image is the trigonal locus). For background and older questions on the topic (see [\textit{C. Ciliberto} and \textit{F. Russo}, Adv. Math. 200, No. 1, 1--50 (2006; Zbl 1086.14043)]).