Variétés de Prym et ensembles d'Andreotti et Mayer. (Prym varieties and Andreotti-Mayer sets) (Q752794)

Inside the moduli space \({\mathcal A}_ g\) of principally polarized abelian varieties of dimension \(g\) consider the sublocus \({\mathcal N}_ k^ g\) parametrizing those abelian varieties such that the singular locus of the theta divisor has dimension \(\geq k\). These subloci \({\mathcal N}_ k^ g\) where introduced by \textit{A. Andreotti} and \textit{A. L. Mayer} [Ann. Sc. Norm. Super. Pisa, Sci. Fis. Mat., III. Ser. 21, 189-238 (1967; Zbl 0222.14024)], who proved that the jacobian locus is an irreducible component of \({\mathcal N}^ g_{g-4}.\) The paper under review gives an analogue of this result for Prym varieties. The author proves that, for \(g\geq 7\), \({\mathcal P}_ g\), the locus of (generalized) Prym varieties, is an irreducible component of \({\mathcal N}^ g_{g-6}\). In a previous paper [Duke Math. J. 57, No.1, 221-273 (1988; Zbl 0699.14058)] he showed that \({\mathcal P}_ g\subset {\mathcal N}^ g_{g-6}\); indeed, as in the case of jacobians, \({\mathcal N}^ g_{g-6}\) has some other components. The main result cannot hold for \(g=6\), since in that case \({\mathcal P}_ g\) has codimension 3 in \({\mathcal A}_ g\), while, according to A. Beauville and D. Mumford, \({\mathcal N}^ g_ 0\) is a divisor of \({\mathcal A}_ g\) for every g.