Characterizing Jacobians via the KP equation and via flexes and degenerate trisecants to the Kummer variety: an algebro-geometric approach (Q2043613)

The authors give completely algebro-geometric proofs of a theorem by \textit{T. Shiota} [Invent. Math. 83, 333--382 (1986; Zbl 0621.35097)], and of a theorem by \textit{I. Krichever} [Ann. Math. (2) 172, No. 1, 485--516 (2010; Zbl 1215.14031)], characterizing Jacobians of algebraic curves among all irreducible principally polarized abelian varieties. Shiota's characterization is given in terms of the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili (KP) equation. Krichever's characterization is given in terms of trisecant lines to the Kummer variety. Here, the authors treat the case of flexes and degenerate trisecants. The methods of Shiota and Krichever are completely analytic in nature. In the present article, the authors provide simple algebro-geometric proofs of Shiota's theorem (Novikov's conjecture) and of parts of Krichever's theorem (the trisecant conjecture). The basic tool they use is a theorem they prove asserting that the base locus of the linear system associated to an effective line bundle on an abelian variety is reduced. This result allows them to remove all the extra assumptions that were introduced in theorems of the first author et al. [Math. Res. Lett. 13, No. 1, 109--123 (2006; Zbl 1098.14020)], \textit{O. Debarre} [J. Algebr. Geom. 1, No. 1, 5--14 (1992; Zbl 0783.14015); Compos. Math. 107, No. 2, 177--186 (1997; Zbl 0890.14013)], and \textit{G. Marini} [Math. Ann. 309, No. 3, 483--490 (1997; Zbl 0885.14015); Compos. Math. 111, No. 3, 305--322 (1998; Zbl 0945.14017)], in order to achieve algebro-geometric proofs of the results above. In other words, their arguments build on the methods introduced by De Concini and the first author and on the subsequent developments mostly by Debarre and Marini, which all provided algebro-geometric proofs of the above theorems, but only under certain additional assumption This paper is organized as follows: Section 1 is an introduction to the subject and a description of the results. Section 2 is devoted to some base loci. The main result of this section is that the base locus of an effective line bundle on an abelian variety is always reduced. Section 3 deals with subschemes will play a central role in some arguments. Section 4 is devoted to Shiota's theorem. Section 5 deals with Kummer varieties with one flex come from Jacobians. Here the authors give a completely algebro-geometric proof of the Krichever's theorem. Section 6 deals with Kummer varieties with one degenerate trisecant line come from Jacobians. In this section the authors give a completely algebro-geometric proof of Krichever's theorem, in the case of a degenerate trisecant.