Holomorphic differentials of Klein four covers (Q6161069)

Suppose \(k\) is an algebraically closed field, and \(X\) is a smooth projective irreducible curve over \(k\) on which a finite group \(G\) acts faithfully on the right. Let \(\Omega_{X/k}\) be the sheaf of relative differentials of \(X\) over \(k\), and let \(H^0(X, \Omega_{X/k})\) be the space of holomorphic differentials of \(X\) over \(k\). It is a classical problem, posed by \textit{E. Hecke} in [Abh. Math. Semin. Univ. Hamb. 6, 235--257 (1928; JFM 54.0405.02)], to determine the indecomposable \(kG\)-modules that occur as direct summands of \(H^0(X, \Omega_{X/k})\) together with their multiplicities. If the characteristic of \(k\) does not divide the order of \(G\), this was solved by \textit{C. Chevalley} and \textit{A. Weil} in [Abh. Math. Semin. Univ. Hamb. 10, 358--361 (1934; Zbl 0009.16001; JFM 60.0098.01)]. In the paper under review, the authors study the smallest case when the set of isomorphism classes of finitely generated indecomposable \(kG\)-modules is infinite, which occurs when the characteristic of \(k\) is two and \(G\) is a Klein four group, i.e., \(G\) is isomorphic to \(\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z} \times \mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z}\). Moreover, they assume that the Klein four cover \(\pi:X \rightarrow X/G\) is totally ramified, in the sense that it is ramified and every ramification point in \(X\) has \(G\) as its inertia group. Then they study the following two questions: \begin{itemize} \item[(1)] To what extent do the lower ramification group of the closed points of \(X\) determine the precise \(kG\)-module structure of \(H^0(X, \Omega_{X/k})\), in the sense that they give the precise decomposition of \(H^0(X, \Omega_{X/k})\) into a direct sum of indecomposable \(kG\)-modules? \item[(2)] What can we say about the list of isomorphism classes of indecomposable \(kG\)-modules that actually occur as direct summands of \(H^0(X, \Omega_{X/k})\)? \end{itemize} The authors give sufficient conditions that lead to the following complete answers to Question \((1)\) and \((2)\) above: Theorem 1.1. Suppose \(\pi:X \rightarrow Y:=X/G\) is a totally ramified Klein four cover. Moreover, assume that for each branch point \(y \in Y\) of \(\pi\), there exists a tower of function fields \(k(Y) \subset k(Z_y) \subset k(X)\) such that \(k(Z_y)=k(Y)(u_y)\) and \(k(X)=k(Z_y)(w_y)\) are degree two Artin-Schreier extensions of \(k(Y)\) and \(k(Z_y)\), respectively, satisfying the following two conditions: \begin{itemize} \item[(i)] If \(z_y \in Z_y\) lies above \(y\) and \(x_y \in X\) lies above \(z_y\), then \(j_y:=-\mathrm{ord}_{z_y}(u_y)\) and \(J_y:=-\mathrm{ord}_{x_y}(w_y)\) are positive odd integers such that \(j_y \leq J_y\) and the lower ramification groups at \(x_y\) inside \(G\) have jumps at \(j_y\) and \(J_y\), and \item[(ii)] either \(j_y=J_y\) and \((g-1)(w_y)\in k^\times\) for all non-identity elements \(g\in G\), or \(j_y< J_y\) and \(j_y=1\). \end{itemize} Then the lower ramification groups of the closed points of \(X\) that ramify in the cover \(\pi\) fully determine the \(kG\)-module structure of \(H^0(X, \Omega_{X/k})\). Moreover, the list of isomorphism classes of indecomposable \(kG\)-modules that actually occur as direct summands of \(H^0(X, \Omega_{X/k})\) for such \(X\) is infinite. Furthermore, in the case when \(X/G=\mathbb{P}_k^1\), the authors give the following complete answers to Questions \((1)\) and \((2)\) above, without any additional assumptions on the ramification behavior: Theorem 1.2. Suppose \(\pi:X\rightarrow \mathbb{P}_k^1=X/G\) is a totally ramified Klein four \(G\)-cover. Then the lower ramification groups of the closed points of \(X\) that ramify in the cover \(\pi\) fully determine the \(kG\)-module structure of \(H^0(X, \Omega_{X/k})\). More precisely, the isomorphism classes of the indecomposable \(kG\)-modules that actually occur as direct summands and their multiplicities in \(H^0(X, \Omega_{X/k})\) can be described explicitly. Furthermore, the list of these isomorphism classes is infinite and contains indecomposable \(kG\)-modules of arbitrarily large finite \(k\)-dimension.