Hyperelliptic curves on \((1,4)\)-polarised abelian surfaces (Q2633131)

A smooth hyperelliptic curve contained in a complex abelian surface must have genus \(2\), \(3\), \(4\) or \(5\). This fact can be deduced from Reider's theorem, but the authors give a very short and essentially elementary proof. Then they concentrate on the case of genus \(5\), which is the only one that has not previously been looked at closely. By methods similar to those used by the first author and the reviewer in [Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 145, No. 12, 5023--5034 (2017; Zbl 1387.14119)] for the genus \(4\) case, they show that a general \((1,4)\)-polarised abelian surface does contain a hyperelliptic genus \(5\) curve. They further show that the curve is unique up to translation by certain \(2\)-torsion points, matching the number predicted in [\textit{J. Bryan} et al., Algebr. Geom. 5, No. 4, 398--463 (2018; Zbl 1425.14044)]. From their description it follows that the curve has an action of the Klein \(4\)-group \(V_4\): the quotient has genus \(2\). They examine in more detail the situation where a hyperelliptic curve has a \(V_4\) cover that is also hyperelliptic, and hence characterise the hyperelliptic genus \(5\) curves that lie in an abelian surface. Finally they describe the isotypical decomposition of the Jacobian of such a curve that results.