Hurwitz spaces of coverings with two special fibers and monodromy group a Weyl group of type \(B_{d}\) (Q411917)

This paper proves an irreducibility result for a certain type of Hurwitz space. In particular, consider branched covers of the following form: \(X \to X'\to Y\) is a sequence of branched covers of smooth, complex, projective curves. The map \(X \to X'\) is a degree two branched cover with \(n_1\) branch points, and the map \(X' \to Y\) is a degree \(d\) branched cover with \(n_2\) simple branch points, and two additional branch points, having \(r\) and \(s\) preimages, respectively, with given ramification indices. Furthermore, we assume that the branch locus of \(X' \to Y\) is disjoint from the image of the branch locus of \(X \to X'\), and that the monodromy group of \(X \to Y\) is a Weyl group of type \(B_d\). Lastly, we assume \(n_2 - s - r \geq d+1\). Then the Hurwitz space of such covers is irreducible, as well as the Hurwitz space of such covers equipped with a marking of an unramified fiber. Each cover of the above form has a presentation in terms of Hurwitz data, and the proof proceeds by showing that all possible presentations (for a given \(n_1\), \(n_2\), \(r\), \(s\), \(d\), and ramification indices for the two non-simple branch points), lie in one orbit under the action of the braid group. This is done by exhibiting a specific normal form, and showing that each presentation can be translated to this normal form. The case where \(Y \cong \mathbb{P}^1\) is treated separately from the case of higher genus.