The unirational components of the strata of genus \(11\) curves with several pencils of degree \(6\) in \(\mathcal{M}_{11}\) (Q2020164)

The gonality of a smooth curve \(C\) is defined as the smallest degree of a nonconstant morphism from \(C\) to \(\mathbb{P}^1\). In standard notations, a pencil of degree \(d\) on \(C\) is denoted as \(g_d^1\). Let \(\mathcal{M}_{11,6}(k) \subset\mathcal{M}_{11}\) be the moduli space of smooth \(6\)-gonal curves of genus 11, equipped with exactly \(k\) mutually independent \(g_6^1\)'s of type \(I\) (that is, base point free and such that \(\dim |2g_6^1| = 2\)). When \(k=1\), \(\mathcal{M}_{11,6}(1)\) is the famous Brill-Noether divisor \(\mathcal{M}_{11,6}\) of \(6\)-gonal curves which is known to be irreducible and unirational [\textit{F. Geiß}, Doc. Math. 17, 627--640 (2012; Zbl 1266.14019)]. The stratum \(\mathcal{M}_{11,6}(2)\) is also irreducible and unirational [\textit{I. Tyomkin}, Int. Math. Res. Not. 2007, No. 23, Article ID rnm109, 31 p. (2007; Zbl 1135.14026)]. When \(k=3\), it was proved that \(\mathcal{M}_{11,6}(3)\) has a unirational irreducible component of expected dimension (the result is contained in the first author's PhD thesis). The paper under review was motivated by a question of Michael Kemeny of whether there exist \(6\)-gonal curves of genus 11 with exactly \(6\leq k \leq 9\) pencils \(g_6^1\)'s (6-gonal smooth curves of genus 11 carrying 10 pencils naturally come from degree 8 plane curves with 10 ordinary double points). The authors push further not only showing that the moduli space \(\mathcal{M}_{11,6}(k)\) is not empty for \(k=1,2,\dots,10,12,20\), but also investigating its geometry. The main result of this manuscript is to prove that \(\mathcal{M}_{11,6}(k)\) have a unirational irreducible component of expected dimension \(30-k\), for \(5\leq k\leq 9\). The authors also show that \(\mathcal{M}_{11,6}(10)\) has a unirational irreducible component of excess dimension \(26\) and that, for \(5\leq k \leq 8\), the stratum \(\mathcal{M}_{11,6}(k)\) has at least two irreducible components both of expected dimension.