Deformation classification of real non-singular cubic threefolds with a marked line (Q2283189)

Recent advance in the study of real cubic hypersurfaces in the projective space \( \mathbb{P}^4 \) is due to Krasnov who gave their deformation and topological classifications (see [\textit{V. Krasnov}, Izv. Math. 70, No. 4, 731--768 (2006; Zbl 1222.14125); Math. Notes 85, No. 5--6, 841--847 (2009; Zbl 1193.55008)]). For a such real cubic threefold \(X\subset \mathbb{P}^4 \), he also described how the topology of the real locus \(F_{\mathbb{R}}(X) \) of the Fano surface of \( X \) formed by the lines on \( X \) depends on the deformation class of \( X \) (see [\textit{V. Krasnov}, Izv. Math. 71, No. 5, 863--894 (2007; Zbl 1135.14046)]). In the reviewed paper, the authors make the next significant step and perform the deformation classification of the pairs \( (X, l) \) where \( X \) is a real non-singular cubic hypersurface in \( \mathbb{P}^4 \) and \(l\subset X \) is a real line. According to the authors, their interest to this problem has grown from a wish to disclose a puzzling similarity of two adjacency graphs of the deformation classes: the graph for real cubic threefolds and a graph for real plane quintic curves. The vertices of these graphs represent the deformation classes of real non-singular cubic threefolds for the first graph and those of real non-singular plane quintics for the second one. Two vertices are connected by an edge if the corresponding deformation classes are adjacent through a wall, that is if these classes can be joined by a continuous family of real cubic threefolds or, respectively, real plane quintics, such that all but one element of the family are non-singular, the singular one (cubic or quintic) has only one singularity that is a simple double point (note that an edge indicates only existence of walls and not their number). Due to the classical correspondence between cubic threefolds and plane quintics that associates to a cubic threefold \( X \) a plane quintic \( S \) arising as the discriminant locus of the projection \( X\rightarrow \mathbb{P}^2 \) with a chosen line \(l\subset X \) as the center, it was natural to expect that such a similarity of the graphs should not be accidental. However, two difficulties obstruct an immediate application of this correspondence. The first difficulty is in degenerating of \( S \) for some choices of \( l \) even on a non-singular \( X \). The second one is due to the presence of several connected components in the real locus \( F_{\mathbb{R}}(X) \) of the Fano surface of \( X \). For most of the deformation classes of \( X \), this leads to dependence of the deformation class of \( S \) on the choice of a connected component of \( F_{\mathbb{R}}(X) \) that contains \( l \). The first difficulty turns out to be inessential: the authors show that despite such degenerations the deformation class \( [S] \) of \( S \) is not changing under deformations of pairs \( (X, l) \). Furthermore, the authors prove that deformation classes of pairs \( (X, l) \) are completely determined by \textit{matchings} \( ([X], [S]) \) between the deformation classes \([X]\) and \([S]\). The second difficulty happens to be a more subtle issue. The authors present the final deformation classification in a form of a complete list of possible matchings in terms of simple topological invariants of \( A\) \( (A=X,S) \) such as \textit{Klein type} (I if \( A_{\mathbb{R}} \) is null-homologous in \( H_n(A; \mathbb{Z}/2) \), \( n = \dim_{\mathbb{C}}(A) \), and II otherwise) and \textit{Smith discrepancy} \( d = \frac{1}{2}(\dim_{\mathbb{Z}/2} H_*(A; \mathbb{Z}/2) - \dim_{\mathbb{Z}/2} H_*(A_{\mathbb{R}}; \mathbb{Z}/2)) \); \( A \) is \textit{an \( M \)-variety} if \( d = 0 \), and in the case \( d>0 \), \textit{an \( (M - d) \)-variety}. Accordingly, the number of deformation classes happens to be 18. In fact, the set of matchings, and hence the set of deformation classes, turns out to be in 1--1 correspondence with the set of orbits of the monodromy action, induced by real deformations, on the set of connected components of the real loci of Fano surfaces. In particular, each real Fano surface has a unique connected component whose Euler characteristic is odd, this component is preserved by the monodromy. As the authors show, it is the choice of \( l \) on these components that establishes a natural isomorphism between the two graphs mentioned above. The monodromy on the set of toric components is less trivial, and the authors give a full explicit description of these orbits. For example, if \( X_{\mathbb{R}} = \mathbb{R}\mathbb{P}^3\#5(S^1 \times S^2) \) (the case of \( M \)-threefolds) then \( F_{\mathbb{R}}(X) \) is formed by a non-orientable component \( N_5 = \#_5\mathbb{R}\mathbb{P}^2 \) (of Euler characteristic \( -3 \)) and \( 15 \) torus components. The monodromy action on these tori has two orbits: \( 6 \) torus components in one and \( 9 \) components in another orbit; namely, a choice of a line \(l\subset X \) on a torus gives an \( (M - 2) \)-quintic, which is of Klein type I for tori from the first orbit, and of type II for the second orbit.