On some modular contractions of the moduli space of stable pointed curves (Q2045159)

Let \(\overline{\mathcal M}_{g,n}\) be the Deligne-Mumford-Knudsen moduli space of stable genus \(g\) curves with \(n\) marked points. In recent years it has been an important question to investigate the minimal model program for \(\overline{\mathcal M}_{g,n}\) (also called the Hassett-Keel program), where the birational models arising in the program can provide alternate modular compactifications for the moduli space of smooth pointed curves. In this paper the authors study a specific kind of birational models of \(\overline{\mathcal M}_{g,n}\) which are induced by adjoint divisors (in the sense of generalized log canonical pairs). As a corollary, they describe the decomposition in Shokurov polytopes of a region of adjoint divisors on \(\overline{\mathcal M}_{g,n}\).