On linear stability and syzygy stability (Q2673550)

Let \(L\) be a line bundle on a smooth projective complex curve \(C\) and \(V\subset H^0(C,L)\) a subspace of global sections which generate \(L\). Let \(M_{V,L}\) be the vector bundle over \(C\) which fits in an exact sequence \[ 0\rightarrow M_{V,L}\rightarrow V\otimes\mathcal{O}_C\rightarrow L \rightarrow 0. \] The authors consider the following conjecture: Conjecture. If \(V=H^0(C,L)\) is a complete base-point-free linear series, then the linear (semi)stability of the linear series \(|L|\) is equivalent to the (semi)stability of \(M_{H^0(C,L),L}\). It is known that -- through the work of the first and third author -- the Conjecture holds in two extreme cases; when \(C\) is hyperelliptic and when \(C\) is a general curve. In this paper the authors showed that the Conjecture does not hold in general. Specifically they showed that on a smooth plane septic (of genus \(g=15\)) \(C\), a general member \(L\) of any component of \(W^2_{15}(C)\) is linearly stable, but the rank two vector bundle \(M_{H^0(C,L),L}\) is not semi-stable, hence not stable. They put together some earlier known results in classical Brill-Noether theory (on the variety of specials linear series on a fixed curve) such as a work of C. Voisin to provide the above counterexample to the Conjecture.