The unirationality of the moduli space of \(K3\) surfaces of genus 22 (Q2049943)

This paper studies the problem of unirationality of moduli spaces of polarized \(K3\) surfaces; in particular, the authors focus on the case of polarized \(K3\) surfaces \((S,H)\) of genus \(g=22\) and they study their moduli space \(\mathcal{F}_{22}\). The main result of the paper is the proof that \(\mathcal{F}_{22}\) is unirational. It is the highest genus for which \(\mathcal{F}_{g}\) is currently known to be not of general type. Previous works by \textit{B. Hassett} [Compos. Math. 120, No. 1, 1--23 (2000; Zbl 0956.14031)] and \textit{K.-W. Lai} [Algebra Number Theory 11, No. 7, 1597--1626 (2017; Zbl 1375.14054)] described a relation between \(\mathcal{F}_{22}\) and the locus \(\mathcal{C}_{42}\) of special cubic fourfolds of discriminant 42. By Hassett's results, there exists a degree two map \(\phi:\mathcal{F}_{22}\rightarrow \mathcal{C}_{42}\). Lai associated to each \((S,H)\in\mathcal{F}_{22}\) a rational curve of degree 9 inside the Fano variety of lines in \(X:=\phi(S,H)\subset \mathbb{P}^5\), and thus also a degree 9 scroll \(R\subset X\) which must be 8-nodal. This allows to study \(\mathcal{C}_{42}\) via an incidence correspondence \(\mathfrak{X}\) between \(\mathcal{C}_{42}\) and the \(PGL(6)\)-quotient \(\mathfrak{h}_{scr}\) of the Hilbert scheme of 8-nodal scrolls in \(\mathbb{P}^5\) of degree 9. The authors first introduce the universal \(K3\) surface \(\mathcal{F}_{22,1}\) and show the existence of a birational isomorphism \(\mathcal{F}_{22,1}\rightarrow \mathfrak{X}\). Since \(\mathfrak{X}\) is a \(\mathbb{P}^5\)-bundle over \(\mathfrak{h}_{scr}\), the unirationality of \(\mathcal{F}_{22,1}\) follows from the unirationality of \(\mathfrak{h}_{scr}\). This is not proven directly; instead, the authors show the unirationality the moduli space of pairs \((\Gamma,L)\) where \(\Gamma\) is an integral 8-nodal curve of arithmetic genus 12 and \(L\) is a line bundle of degree 8 on \(\Gamma\) with \(h^0(L)\geq 3\), then they deduce the unirationality of \(\mathfrak{h}_{scr}\) via a nice geometric construction.