Singularities of the Prym theta divisor (Q2389213)

A principally polarized abelian variety (ppav) can be studied through the geometry of its theta divisor. While in general this geometry is not understood, one can simplify the problem by focusing on ppavs related to curves. For the Jacobian of a curve, the Riemann singularity theorem gives a geometric interpretation of the singularities of the theta divisor in terms of special linear series on the curve. This paper proves an analogous theorem for Prym varieties. Theorem 3. Let \((P, \Sigma)\) be a 5-dimensional Prym variety; let \(x \in \mathrm{Sing} \Sigma.\) If \(\mathrm{mult}_{x}\Sigma =3,\) then \((P, \Sigma)\) is a hyperelliptic Jacobian, the product of two hyperelliptic Jacobians, or the intermediate Jacobian of a smooth cubic threefold.