On the bicanonical map of irregular varieties (Q2894541)

Let \(X\) be a smooth complex projective variety, then \(X\) is of general type if the \(m\)-th pluri-canonical map \(\phi _m:X \dasharrow \mathbb P (H^0(X,\omega _X^m))\) is birational for some \(m>0\). Pluricanonical maps of curves and surfaces are well understood. In particular, by a result of Bombieri, it is known that if \(\dim X =2\) and \(X\) is of general type then \(\phi _m\) is birational for all \(m\geq 5\). In higher dimensions the situation is much more complicated. A particularly tractable (but still interesting) case is that of varieties of maximal Albanese dimension i.e. those varieties for which the Albanese morphism \(\mathrm{alb}:X\to\mathrm{Alb} X\) is generically finite onto its image. By results of Chen-Hacon and Jiang-Lahoz-Tirabassi, it is known that if \(X\) is of general type and maximal Albanese dimension, then \(\phi _m\) is birational for all \(m\geq 5\).NEWLINENEWLINEIn the paper under review, the authors show that if \(X\) is a primitive variety of general type and maximal Albanese with non-birational bicanonical map, then \(X\) is birationally equivalent to a theta divisor on an indecomposable principally polarized abelian variety. Recall that \(X\) is primitive if \(\dim V^i(\omega _X)=0\) for all \(i>0\) where NEWLINE\[NEWLINE V^i(\omega _X)=\{ P\in Pic^0(X)|h^i(\omega _X\otimes P)>0\}.NEWLINE\]