Explicit formulas for infinitely many Shimura curves in genus \(4\) (Q1642927)

The paper under review concerns special subvarieties of moduli spaces. Let \(\mathcal A_g\) denote the moduli space of principally polarized abelian varieties of dimension \(g\). A classical problem asks whether \(\mathcal A_g\) contains any Shimura curves which are generically contained in the Torelli locus \(\mathcal J_g\), i.e.\ the locus of Jacobians of smooth curves of genus \(g\). Previously a series of examples have been constructed by de Jong, Moonen, Mumford, Noot, Oort and others, mostly arising as Galois covers of \(\mathbb P^1\) with varying branch points. Recently there have been several new developments, starting from the non-abelian Galois covers studied in [\textit{P. Frediani} et al., Int. Math. Res. Not. 2015, No. 20, 10595--10623 (2015; Zbl 1333.14023)] and the purely analytic constructions in genus 3 by the authors in [\textit{S. Grushevsky} and \textit{M. Möller}, Int. Math. Res. Not. 2016, No. 6, 1603--1639 (2016; Zbl 1338.14046)] (which produce, in fact, infinitely many Shimura curves contained in the locus of hyperelliptic Jacobians). The present paper introduces a geometric construction for infinitely many Shimura curves generically contained in \(\mathcal J_4\), using \(\mathbb Z/3\mathbb Z\) Galois covers of elliptic curves following \textit{G. P. Pirola} [J. Reine Angew. Math. 431, 75--89 (1992; Zbl 0753.14040)]. The proof builds on a method going back to \textit{G. Shimura} [Ann. Math. (2) 78, 149--192 (1963; Zbl 0142.05402)] to work out moduli spaces of abelian varieties of given endomorphism ring and polarization (the so-called PEL-Shimura varieties). In particular, the authors compute explicitly the period matrices involved. Independently, the same curves (and other covers of elliptic curves) were discovered by \textit{P. Frediani} et al. [Geom. Dedicata 181, 177--192 (2016; Zbl 1349.14104)]. Note that for sufficiently large \(g\), it has recently been proved that the Torelli locus does not contain special subvarieties of certain types, for instance Shimura curves of Mumford type, of maximal variation or of hyperelliptic Jacobians [\textit{X. Lu} and \textit{K. Zuo}, J. Math. Pures Appl. (9) 108, No. 4, 532--552 (2017; Zbl 1429.14016)], [\textit{P. Frediani} et al., Geom. Dedicata 181, 177--192 (2016; Zbl 1349.14104)]. Meanwhile the Shimura curves constructed presently contain some curves which are of neither type.