Double quadrics with large automorphism groups (Q511449)

A threefold \(X\) defined over the complex numbers is called a double quadric if it is the double cover of an irreducible quadric \(Y\subset \mathbb{P}^3\) ramified over the intersection of \(Y\) with a quintic hypersurface \(Z\subset \mathbb{P}^3\). The general such \(X\) is a Fano variety of Picard number 1, index 1 and anticanonical degree 4. In this paper the authors classify double quadrics whose automorphism group contains a finite non-abelian simple group. The main results are the following. {\parindent=0.6cm\begin{itemize}\item[1.] Let G be a finite simple non-abelian group. Suppose that G acts by automorphisms of a threefold X that is a double cover of an irreducible quadric branched over an intersection with a quartic. Then either \(G=A_6\) or \(G = A_5\). In the former case the variety X is unique, its singularities are isolated ordinary double points, and X is non-rational. \item[2.] There exists a two parameter family \(X_{s,t}\), \(s, t \in \mathbb{C}\), of threefolds and a threefold \(X_{\mathrm{irr}}\) such that \(X_{s,t}\) and \(X_{\mathrm{irr}}\) are acted on by the icosahedral group \(A_5\) and the following assertions hold: {\parindent=0.8cm\begin{itemize}\item[2.1] Suppose that the group \(A_5\) acts by automorphisms of a threefold X that is a double cover of a smooth quadric branched over an intersection with a quartic. Suppose also that X has at most isolated singularities. Then either there is an \(A_5\)-equivariant isomorphism \(X \cong X_{s,t}\) for some \(s,t \in \mathbb{C}\), or there is an \(A_5\)-equivariant isomorphism \(X\cong X_{\mathrm{irr}}\). \item[2.2] The varieties \(X_{s,t}\) are non-rational up to a finite number of possible exceptions. \item[2.3] A very general variety \(X_{s,t}\) is not stably rational. \item[2.4] The variety \(X_{\mathrm{irr}}\) is non-rational. \end{itemize}} \end{itemize}}