Burniat surfaces. III: Deformations of automorphisms and extended Burniat surfaces (Q374028)

A Burniat surface is a minimal surface \(X\) of general type such that \(2 \leq K^2_X \leq 6\) and \(p_g(X)=0\) which is the minimal resolution of a bidouble cover of \(\mathbb{P}^2\) branched along nine lines. These are divided into two classes. Nodal, if \(-K_X\) is not ample and therefore the canonical model of \(X\) has nodes, and nonnodal if \(-K_X\) is ample. In this paper the authors generalize the construction of Burniat surfaces and define the notions of nodal and extended Burniat surfaces. These are bidouble covers of certain Del Pezzo surfaces and moreover, in both cases their canonical models are also bidouble covers of singular Del Pezzo surfaces. Let \(\mathcal{M}^{\mathrm{can}}_{1,4}\) and \(\mathcal{M}^{\mathrm{can}}_{1,3}\) the moduli spaces of canonical surfaces with \(K^2=4,3\) and \(\chi=1\), respectively. The first result of this paper is that the subset \(\mathcal{NEB}_4\) of \(\mathcal{M}^{\mathrm{can}}_{1,4}\) consisting of nodal and extended Burniat surfaces is a three dimensional irreducible connected component of \(\mathcal{M}^{\mathrm{can}}_{1,4}\). Moreover, it is normal and unirational. The fact that \(\mathcal{NEB}_4\) is a connected component is shown by proving that the limit of a one parameter \(\mathbb{Q}\)-Gorenstein deformation of a nodal or extended Burniat surfcace is also a nodal or extended Burniat surface. The proof of this is based on the following result, proved in a previous paper of the authors [F. Catanese, I. Bauer\dots.]. Let \(f : \mathcal{X} \rightarrow T\) be a flat morphism over an affine curve such that \(X_t\) is a Burniat surface with \(K^2=4\), for \(t\not= t_0\), which by construction, is a bidouble cover of a Del Pezzo surface \(Y_t\). Then there is a deformation \(g : \mathcal{Y} \rightarrow T\) and a factorization \(\phi : \mathcal{X}\rightarrow \mathcal{Y}\), over \(T\) such that \(Y_{t_0}\) is a Gorenstein Del Pezzo surface. A detailed study of the deformations of the Del Pezzo surfaces \(Y_t\) and their bidouble covers lead to the result. The authors also show that the set of nodal and extended Burniat surfaces with \(K^2=4\) is bounded. In particular there is a flat morphism \(f : \mathcal{X} \rightarrow S\), where \(S\) is smooth, connected, rational of dimension three such that every nodal or extended Burniat surface is isomorphic to a fiber of \(f\). Moreover \(S\) admits a finite map to \(\mathcal{M}^{\mathrm{can}}_{1,4}\). From this the statement about the dimension and unirationality of \(\mathcal{M}^{\mathrm{can}}_{1,4}\) follows. The second result of this paper is that the subset \(\mathcal{NEB}_3\) of \(\mathcal{M}^{\mathrm{can}}_{1,3}\) consisting of nodal and extended Burniat surfaces is a four dimensional normal, unirational and irreducible open subset of \(\mathcal{M}^{\mathrm{can}}_{1,3}\) . This is proved in the same way as in the \(\mathcal{M}^{\mathrm{can}}_{1,4}\) case. However, in contrast with the \(\mathcal{M}^{\mathrm{can}}_{1,4}\) case, \(\mathcal{NEB}_3\) is not closed in \(\mathcal{NEB}_3\). This is shown by exhibiting explicit examples of one parameter families \(\mathcal{X} \rightarrow T\) such that \(X_t\) is a Burniat surface for \(t\not= t_0\) but \(X_{t_0}\) is a bidouble cover of a 4-nodal qubic surface.