Computation of some moduli spaces of covers and explicit \({\mathcal S}_n\) and \({\mathcal A}_n\) regular \({\mathbb Q}(T)\)-extensions with totally real fibers. (Q1880072)

The family of branched covers of the Riemann sphere of degree \(n \geq 6\) even, with monodromy group the symmetric group \({\mathcal S}_{n}\) and branching locus of type \(((n-2),3,2^{(n-2)/2},2^{n/2})\) are parameterized by the Hurwitz space \({\mathcal H}'_{4}({\mathcal S}_{n},{\mathbb C})\). Inside Hurwitz space we have Hurwitz curves, which may be thought as fixing the three first branching values and let to move the last one (that is, the one with branching value \(2^{n/2}\)). In this article the authors give a combinatoric study of Hurwitz curves and obtain as a consequence that each Hurwitz curve has genus zero, is irreducible and is \({\mathbb Q}\)-isomorphic to \({\mathbb P}^{1}_{\mathbb Q}\). This gives a positive answer to a question raised by G. Malle. They also prove the existence of elements in the Hurwitz curves which are defined over \({\mathbb Q}\) with totally real fibers. The last is a consequence of the existence of real structures in some of the branched covers as at the beginning. The authors prove also the existence of totally real \({\mathcal S}_{n}\)-extensions and totally real \({\mathcal A}_{n}\)-extensions, both of degree \(n\). Explicit computations are done in the last sections of the paper.