A family of \(K3\) surfaces and towers of algebraic curves over finite fields (Q2304518)

In the earlier article of \textit{S. Rybakov} [Math. Notes 104, No. 5, 712--719 (2018; Zbl 1439.11149)], an optimal tower of algebraic curves over \(\mathbb F_{p^2}\) was constructed starting from a smooth family \(f:X\to U\) of elliptic curves over an open subset \(U\) of \(\mathbb P^1\). In this article, using a special case of this construction that lifts to characteristic zero, it is shown that one can bound the ramification and the genus in the tower using transcendental methods, and prove that there exists a tower \(C_{\bullet}\) over \(\mathbb F_{p^2}\) that is optimal for \(p=3\) and is good if \(p\equiv 3\pmod 4\). An explicit example of good tower coming from a family \(V_{\lambda}\) of \(K3\) surfaces is presented. The family of \(K3\) surfaces considered here is defined by \(X_{\lambda}: \sum_{i=0}^3 x_i^4+4\lambda\prod_{i=0}^3 x_i=0\). The group scheme \(H:=\mu_4\times\mu_4\) where \(\mu_4=\operatorname{Spec}{Z}[i]/(i^4-1)\) acts on \(X_{\lambda}\) and the general fiber of the quotient family \(X_{\lambda}\otimes C/H\) has \(6\) rational points of type \(A_3\). The resolution of the quotient family gives rise to the family \(V_{\lambda}\) of Kummer surfaces associated to the product \(E_1\times E_2\) of two elliptic curves. The monodromy group \(G\) of this family is the subgroup of \(\Gamma_0(2)\) generated by the Fricke involution \(\left(\begin{array}{cc} 0 & -1/\sqrt{2} \\ \sqrt{2} & 0\end{array}\right)\). Exceptional lines of the resolution of \(6\) double points of type \(A_3\) generate a sublattice of rank \(18\) in the Neron-Severi group \(NS(V_{\lambda})\), and thus the \(H\)-invariant subspace \(H^2(X_{\lambda}\otimes C,Z)^H\) is of rank \(4\). Moreover, a hyperplane section gives a \(G\)-invariant sublattice of rank \(1\). So the orthogonal complement \(T\) is natually isomorphic to the lattice \(T\) of quadratic forms. The zero locus of the quadratic forms on \(T\) is exactly the set of degenerate forms. Let \(D_n\subset \mathbb P_n(T/\ell^nT)\) be the projectivisation of the cone of degnerate forms. This yields a tower of curves \(C_n\) over \(\mathbb F_{p^2}\) of genus \(g_n\leq (\ell+1)\ell^{n-1}/2\) with the required properties. Here \(\ell+1\) is the degree of \(C_1\) over \(C_0\), and \(\ell\) is the degree of a morphism \(C_n\to C_{n-1}\) for \(n>1\).