On the number of moduli of plane sextics with six cusps (Q731397)

Let \(\Sigma^6_{6,0} \subset \mathbb{P}(H^0(\mathbb{P}^2, {\mathcal O}_{\mathbb{P}^2}(6))) \) be the closure in the Zariski topology of the locally closed set of reduced and irreducible plane sextics with six cusps as singularities. Let \(\Sigma \subset \Sigma^6_{6,0}\) be an irreducible component of \(\Sigma^6_{6,0}\) and let \({\mathcal M}_4\) denote the moduli space of smooth curves of genus \(4\); consider the rational map \(\Pi\) from \(\Sigma\) to \( {\mathcal M}_4\) defined by sending the general point \([\Gamma] \in \Sigma\) to the class of the normalization of the curve \(\Gamma \subset \mathbb{P}^2\). The number of moduli of \(\Sigma\) is then defined as \(\dim(\Pi(\Sigma))\). Recently \textit{A. Degtyarev} [J. Algebr. Geom. 17, No. 1, 101--135 (2008; Zbl 1131.14040)] proved that the unique irreducible components of \(\Sigma^6_{6,0}\) are \(\Sigma_1\) (whose general point corresponds to an irreducible sextic with six cups on a conic as singularities) and \(\Sigma_2\) (whose general point corresponds to an irreducible sextic with six cups not on a conic as singularities and containing in its closure the variety of elliptic sextics with nine cusps). The moduli number of these irreducible components cannot be calculated by using the author's result given in [Collect. Math. 57, No. 3, 319--346 (2006; Zbl 1108.14023)]. This is done in the present paper, where, among many other facts, the Author proves that both the irreducible components of \(\Sigma^6_{6,0}\) have the expected number of moduli (which is seven).