Irreducible symplectic 4-folds and Eisenbud-Popescu-Walter sextics (Q2500443)

After the important examples of two new types of deformation classes of irreducible symplectic manifolds found by \textit{K. G. O'Grady} [J. Reine Angew. Math. 512, 49--117 (1999; Zbl 0928.14029); J. Algebr. Geom. 12, No.~3, 435--505 (2003; Zbl 1068.53058)], in this paper is given an explicit geometric description of locally complete families of irreducible symplectic fourfolds \(M\). These \(M\) belong to the class of numerical \(K3^{[2]}\), characterized by the existence of a special isomorphism between \(H^2(M,{\mathbb Z})\) and the second integer cohomologies of the Hilbert square \(S^{[2]}\) of a \(K3\) surface \(S\), see p.100. As shown in [\textit{K. G. O'Grady}, Irreducible symplectic 4-folds numerically equivalent to \(\text{Hilb}^2(K3)\), \texttt{math.AG/0504434}], such \(M\) is deformation equivalent to a symplectic fourfold \(X\) carrying an ample divisor \(H\) with square \(2\) with respect to the Beauville form on \(X\). Moreover \(\dim | H| = 5\), and either: (a) the linear system of \(H\) gives a 2-sheeted covering \(X \rightarrow Y\) to a singular sextic hypersurface \(Y \subset {\mathbb P}^5 = | H| ^*\), inducing an antisymplectic involution \(\phi: X \rightarrow X\) with fixed locus a smooth Lagrangian surface \(F \subset X\) isomorphic to \(\text{Sing}(Y)\), or: (b) \(H\) defines a birational map to a hypersurface in \({\mathbb P}^5\) of degree between \(6\) and \(12\). In this paper is studied the case (a). By Theorem 1.1 (1), in the case (a) the sextic hypersurface \(Y\) belongs to the family of sextics (the EPW sextics) described by \textit{D. Eisenbud, S. Popescu}, and \textit{Ch. Walter} [Duke Math. J. 107, No.~3, 427--467 (2001; Zbl 1069.14053)]. Conversely, as shown in section 4, the generic EPW sextic has a natural double cover, which is a deformation of the Hilbert square of a \(K3\) surface. Moreover the family of such ``double EPW sextics'' is locally complete for deformations that keep the hyperplane class (1,1), see Theorem 1.1 (2). Until the O'Grady's double EPW sextics, the only explicitly described complete family of irreducible symplectic fourfolds is the known by \textit{A. Beauville} and \textit{R. Donagi} family of 4-folds of lines on cubic fourfolds [C. R. Acad. Sci., Paris, Sér. I 301, 703--706 (1985; Zbl 0602.14041)], to which one can add the recent example of \textit{K. Ranestad} and the reviewer [\texttt{math.AG/0611533}]. As in the case of double EPW sextics, the general element of these two other families is a polarized deformation of a \(K3^{[2]}\). In the introduction the author raises a conjecture that there are no numerical \(K3^{[2]}\) of type (b). Supposing this conjecture true, the results of the present paper will imply that any numerical \(K3^{[2]}\) will be a deformation equivalent to the Hilbert square of a \(K3\) surface.