The moduli space of genus four even spin curves is rational (Q715201)

The paper shows the rationality of \(\mathcal{S}_4^+\), the moduli space of even spin curves parameterizing isomorphism classes of smooth projective curves \(\Gamma\) of genus \(4\) together with a line bundle \(\theta\) on \(\Gamma\) satisfying \(\theta^{\otimes 2} \cong K_\Gamma\), and such that \(h^0(\Gamma,\, \theta)\) is even. It was known before that \(\mathcal{S}_2^+\) and \(\mathcal{S}_3^+\) are rational, and that \(\mathcal{S}_4^+\) has negative Kodaira dimension and is a finite cover of the rational space \(\mathcal{M}_4\) via the map forgetting the line bundle. Rationality of \(\mathcal{S}_4^+\) is shown using the geometry of the (unique) smooth quintic del Pezzo threefold \(B\) and uses many results established in the previous papers [\textit{H. Takagi} and \textit{F. Zucconi}, Math. Ann. 349, No. 3, 623--645 (2011; Zbl 1208.14051); Mich. Math. J. 61, No. 1, 19--62 (2012; Zbl 1262.14048)]. In particular, these results enable the authors to associate to a sextic rational normal curve \(C \subset B\) a non-hyperelliptic genus \(4\) curve together with a theta characteristic on it, giving rise to a map \(\pi_{\mathcal{S}_4^+}: \mathcal{H} \dashrightarrow \mathcal{S}_4^+\), where \(\mathcal{H}\) is the Hilbert scheme of sextic rational normal curves on \(B\). It is then shown that in the Stein factorization \(p_{\mathcal{S}_4^+}: \mathcal{H} \dashrightarrow \widetilde{\mathcal{S}}_4^+\), \(q_{\mathcal{S}_4^+}: \widetilde{\mathcal{S}}_4^+ \dashrightarrow \mathcal{S}_4^+\) of \(\pi_{\mathcal{S}_4^+}\), the second map \(q_{\mathcal{S}_4^+}\) is of degree \(2\) and is an involution on the theta characteristics induced by exchanging the two \(g^1_3\)'s on a general curve of genus \(4\). The Hilbert scheme \(\mathcal{H}\) is shown to be birational to the space \((\mathbb{P}^2)^6 / \mathfrak{S}_6\), and the map \(p_{\mathcal{S}_4^+}\) corresponds to the quotient of this space by an action of the automorphism group of \(B\). Via this construction, the space \(\mathcal{S}_4^+\) can be written as a projective bundle over the space \(X / \mathfrak{S}_6 /j\), where \(X = (\mathbb{P}^2) // \text{PGL}_3\) and \(j\) is induced from the classical association map on \(X\). In this setting, the map \(q_{\mathcal{S}_4^+}\) is identified with a lifting of the involution \(j\). The quotient \(X / \mathfrak{S}_6 / j\) was shown to be rational by Coble, which by the above construction yields the rationality of \(\mathcal{S}_4^+\).