Polarizations of Prym varieties of pairs of coverings (Q818744)

This paper can is a sequel of \textit{H. Lange} and \textit{S. Recillas} [Adv. Geom. 4, No. 3, 373--387 (2004; Zbl 1070.14032)], where the authors introduce a special class of abelian varieties, Prym varieties of pairs of coverings, and study their basic properties. For a given 4-tuple of finite coverings of smooth irreducible curves \(f_i: X \rightarrow X_i\),\ \(g_i: X_i \rightarrow Y\), \(i = 1,2\) forming a commutative diagram, and such that \(g_1\) and \(g_2\) do not factorize via a morphism \(Y' \rightarrow Y\) of degree \(\geq 2\), the Prym variety \(P(f_1,f_2)\) is an abelian subvariety of the Jacobian \(J(X)\) given as the complement of the \(f_2\)-preimage of the Prym variety of \(g_2\) inside the Prym variety of \(f_1\). By \S 1 of the cited above paper, this definition is correct and does not depend on the change of indices \(1 \leftrightarrow 2\). In Section 3 of the present paper is studied the polarization on \(P = P(f_1,f_2)\) defined as a restriction of the canonical principal polarization \(\Theta\) on the Jacobian \(J(X) \supset P\) in the particular case when \(Y = \mathbb P^1\) and with mutually prime degrees \(d_1 = \deg(g_1)\) and \(d_2 = \deg(g_2)\). Of a particular interest is the case when the restricted polarization \(\Theta| _P\) is an integer multiple \(\Theta| _P = q.\Xi\) of a principal polarization \(\Xi\) on \(P\), i.e. when \(P\) is a Prym-Tyurin variety in \(J(X)\) of exponent \(q\). Still in the above conditions, Propositions 3.3 and 3.4 show that: 1. If \(f_1\) and \(f_2\) do not factorize via a cyclic unramified covering, then \(P = P(f_1,f_2)\) is a Prym-Tyurin variety in \(J(X)\) of exponent \(d_1.d_2\) iff \(\dim(P) = g(X_1) = g(X_2)\); 2. If \(f_1\) does not factorize via an unramified covering and if \(f_2\) is étale cyclic, then \(P = P(f_1,f_2)\) is a Prym-Tyurin variety in \(J(X)\) of exponent \(d_1.d_2\) iff \(\dim(P) = g(X_1) = g(X_2) - 1\); and in case when \(\dim(P) \geq 2\) then \(d_1 = 3\). In Section 4 the results 1 and 2 are used to describe two special families of Prym varieties of pairs of coverings, which are Prym-Tyurin varieties of exponent \(6\).