Structure of the cycle map for Hilbert schemes of families of nodal curves (Q501848)

This paper describes the relative Hilbert Chow morphism for a flat projective family \(\pi: X \to B\) of generically nonsingular curves which are at worst nodal over an arbitrary irreducible base \(B\). The relative Hilbert Chow morphism is the cycle map \(c_m: X^{[m]}_B \to X^{(m)}_B\), where \(X^{[m]}_B\) is the relative Hilbert scheme of \(m\) points and \(X^{(m)}_B\) is the relative symmetric product. The main theorem states that \(c_m\) is equivalent to the blowing up of the discriminant locus \(D^m \subset X^{(m)}_B\). The author works over the complex numbers and uses Serre's GAGA principle, constructing a local analytic model \(H\) for \(X^{[m]}_B\) and reverse engineering an ideal sheaf \(G\) in \(X^{(m)}_B\) to have syzygies so that the blow up at \(G\) maps to the pullback \(OH\) of \(H\) over the Cartesian product via a map \(\gamma\). A local analysis shows that \(\gamma\) is an isomorphism and that \(G\) defines the ordered diagonal, hence descends to the isomorphism claimed. This provides the details of a proof sketched in the author's earlier paper [in: Projective varieties with unexpected properties. A volume in memory of Giuseppe Veronese. Proceedings of the international conference ``Varieties with unexpected properties'', Siena, Italy, June 8--13, 2004. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. 361--378 (2005; Zbl 1186.14027)]. In the second half of the paper the author uses the local model \(H\) to glean information about the singularity stratification of \(X^{[m]}_B\), specifically the structure of certain node polyscrolls he used earlier [Asian J. Math. 17, No. 2, 193--264 (2013; Zbl 1282.14097)] to develop an intersection calculus for the Hilbert scheme. This extends the intersection theory and enumerative geometry of a single smooth curve developed by \textit{I. G. Macdonald} [Topology 1, 319--343 (1962; Zbl 0121.38003)] to families with at worst nodal singularities, extending work of \textit{E. Cotterill} [Math. Z. 267, No. 3--4, 549--582 (2011; Zbl 1213.14064)].