On metamorphosis of Kummer surfaces (Q1175194)

The title of this paper surprises us. However, this is a paper not of magic but of mathematics. Now, this paper is motivated by \textit{D. Morrison}'s result. I explain his result. Let \(L(E_ 8)\) be the root lattice of type \(E_ 8\) and \(N\) be the Nikulin lattice. \(N\) is given by the canonical \(\mathbb{Q}\)-basis \(\{e_ 1,e_ 2,...,e_ 8\}\) with \((e_ i,e_ j)=-2\delta_{ij}\) and \(e_ 1,e_ 2,...,e_ 8\), and \(\sum ^ 8_{i=1}e_ i/2\) generate \(N\) over \(\mathbb{Z}\). Morrison has showed that an algebraic \(K3\) surface is a Kummer surface if and only if \(L(E_ 8)\oplus N\) can be primitively embedded into its Néron-Severi group. The author's result is the following: Let \(S\) be a generic Kummer quartic, i.e., a quartic surface with sixteen ordinary double points as singularities contained in the three-dimensional projective space \(\mathbb{P}^ 3\). Let \(\tilde S\to S\) be the minimal resolution of singularities of \(S\). The author gives explicitly sixteen smooth rational curves \(\{r_ 1,r_ 2,...,r_ 8,e_ 1,e_ 2,...,e_ 8\}\) on \(\tilde S\) such that \(r_ 1,r_ 2,...,r_ 8\) form a root basis of \(L(E_ 8)\) (a basis corresponding to a Dynkin graph of type \(E_ 8\)) and \(e_ 1,e_ 2,...,e_ 8\) form the canonical \(\mathbb{Q}\)-basis of \(N\) orthogonal to \(r_ 1,r_ 2,...,r_ 8\). Note that \(\tilde S\) contains many smooth rational curves. First it contains sixteen exceptional curves corresponding to the sixteen singularities of \(S\). Secondly it contains sixteen rational curves corresponding to the singular planes. (A plane \(H\) in \(\mathbb{P}^ 3\) is called a singular plane if, for every point \(x\in S\cap H\), \(H\) is tangent to \(S\) at \(x\). Since the dual variety of \(S\) is again a Kummer quartic, \(S\) has sixteen singular planes.) Thirdly we can give rational curves explicitly by the geometry of branched double covering over \(\mathbb{P}^ 2\) branching along the union of six lines. (Let \(q_ 0\in S\) be a singular point. The projection with center \(q_ 0\) defines a branched double covering \(S_ 0\to \mathbb{P}^ 2\). Its branching locus is the union of six lines tangent to a conic. Here \(S_ 0\) is the blowing-up of \(S\) at \(q_ 0\). We have birational morphisms \(\tilde S\to S_ 0\to S\).) The author finds sixteen rational curves \(\{r_ 1,r_ 2,...,r_ 8,e_ 1,e_ 2,...,e_ 8\}\) among these curves.