Arithmetic and geometry of a \(K3\) surface emerging from virtual corrections to Drell-Yan scattering (Q2214179)

The article provides a detailed study of the surface \(X_{DY}\) given by the equation \[w^2=4xy^2z(x-z)^2+(x+y)^2(xy+z^2)^2.\] Such surface arises naturally in the context of Drell-Yan scattering in particle physics. First, it is proved that \(X_{DY}\) is birationally equivalent to a \(K3\) surface of Picard rank \(19\) and discriminant \(24\). This is used to show that \(X_{DY}\) is not birationally equivalent nor isogenous to the \(K3\) surface studied in [\textit{D. Festi} and \textit{D. van Straten}, Commun. Number Theory Phys. 13, No. 2, 463--485 (2019; Zbl 1504.14071)]. Moreover, the authors find many elliptic fibrations on \(X_{DY}\), and study three of them in depth. This is used to recover the structure of the Picard lattice of \(X_{DY}\), and to find an explicit Shioda-Inose structure for \(X_{DY}\). Finally, they obtain some information about the algebraic part of the Brauer group of a smooth model of \(X_{DY}\) by using the Galois module structure of its geometric Picard group.