On surfaces with \(p_{g} = q = 2, K^{2} = 5\) and Albanese map of degree 3 (Q379111)

As the title affirms, this paper studies some minimal surfaces of general type with \(p_g=q=2\) and \(K^2=5\). Note that it follows that \(\chi=1\), the minimal possible value. Indeed, in the classification of the surfaces of general type with \(\chi =1\) this was a rather mysterious case: only two examples of surfaces with these invariants were constructed so far, by \textit{J. A. Chen} and \textit{C. D. Hacon} [Pac. J. Math. 223, No. 2, 219--228 (2006; Zbl 1112.14047)] and by \textit{M. Penegini} [Collect. Math. 62, No. 3, 239--274 (2011; Zbl 1228.14035)]. The starting point of this paper is the remark that the Albanese map of both examples is surjective of degree \(3\). This has lead the authors to the study of certain triple covers of an abelian surface, by Miranda's method [\textit{R. Miranda}, Am. J. Math. 107, 1123--1158 (1985; Zbl 0611.14011)], and then to give the definition of what they call a \textit{Chen-Hacon} surface. They obtain a very detailed description of the geometry of these surfaces and of their Albanese morphism, in particular showing that all these surfaces contain a smooth rational curve with self-intersection \(-3\). The main theorem is that these surfaces form an irreducible component of the moduli space of the surfaces of general type with the mentioned invariants of dimension \(4\), and moreover that this component is also a connected component. In other words every surface which deforms to a Chen-Hacon surface is itself a Chen-Hacon surface.