Brauer class over the Picard scheme of totally degenerate stable curves (Q2043091)

Let \(\Gamma\) be a graph with minimal degree at least \(4\). Let \(\mathcal{D}_{\Gamma}\) be the moduli stack of totally degenerate curves over \(\mathbb{C}\) with dual graph \(\Gamma\). Let \(k\) be the function field of \(\mathcal{D}_{\Gamma}\), and let \(X\) be the universal curve over \(k\). Let \(k'\) be the \(G\)-Galois extension that splits \(X\), where \(G = \operatorname{Aut}(\Gamma)\). The Leray spectral sequence of étale sheaves associated with the projection \(X \times \operatorname{Pic}^0_{X/k} \rightarrow \operatorname{Pic}^0_{X/k}\) gives rise to a cohomological Brauer class \(\alpha \in \operatorname{H}^2(\operatorname{Pic}^0_{X/k}, \mathbb{G}_m) = \operatorname{Br}(\operatorname{Pic}^0_{X/k})\), which is the obstruction to the existence of a tautological line bundle on \(X \times \operatorname{Pic}^0_{X/k}\). Several bounds are provided for the index and period of \(\alpha\). Namely, the index of \(\alpha\) divides \(g - 1\) where \(g\) is the genus of \(\Gamma\). Moreover, the index of \(\alpha\) divides the number of edges and twice the number of vertices of any \(G\)-invariant subgraph of \(\Gamma\). The period of \(\alpha\) divides \(|G|\). On the other hand, the period of \(\alpha\) is divisible by the order of any element of \(G\) fixing a loop \(L\) in \(\Gamma\) which generates a direct summand in \(\operatorname{H}^1(\Gamma,\mathbb{Z})\). These results allow the author to construct various interesting examples for \(\alpha\). In all cases where both the period and the index can be computed, we have \(\operatorname{per}(\alpha) = \operatorname{ind}(\alpha)\).