Multiplicities of the Betti map associated to a section of an elliptic surface from a differential-geometric perspective (Q6157823)

The paper under review concerns specific complex elliptic surfaces \(\mathcal E\) and their sections, namely those arising from an elliptic modular surface (as introduced by \textit{T. Shioda} [J. Math. Soc. Japan 24, 20--59 (1972; Zbl 0226.14013)]) by a base change (phrased in terms of classifying maps of the underlying modular curve). Notably, elliptic modular surfaces always have finite group of sections (and maximal Picard number, equalling Lefschetz' upper bound \(h^{1,1}\)). Hence the authors concentrate on non-torsion sections \(\sigma\) of \(\mathcal E\). In [Proc. Symp. Pure Math. None, 335--396 (1991; Zbl 0736.53048)], the first author introduced differential geometric methods to approach this problem using the ramification divisor of the classifying map. Further input comes from [\textit{N. Mok} and \textit{W.-K. To}, J. Reine Angew. Math. 444, 29--78 (1993; Zbl 0781.14030)] where first order differential equations are studied for what the authors call the verticality \(\eta_\sigma\) of the section \(\sigma\). Presently the authors focus on the places where the Betti multiplicities of \(\sigma\) are greater than one. Their finiteness has been proven in [\textit{P. Corvaja} et al., J. Reine Angew. Math. 782, 1--41 (2022; Zbl 1485.14085)]. Here the authors develop an equality for their sum in terms of the ramification indices of the classifying map and a particular Kähler form on \(\mathcal E\). Independently, such an estimate has been obtained in greater generality, and by different methods, in [\textit{D. Ulmer} and \textit{G. Urzúa}, Int. Math. Res. Not. 2021, No. 6, 4768--4802 (2021; Zbl 1477.14058)].