Families of space curves with large cohomology (Q865481)

A space curve is a locally Cohen-Macaulay closed subscheme of \(\mathbb {P}^3\) of pure dimension \(1\). Fix the degree \(d\) and the arithmetic genus \(g\). Long time ago there was the classification of all curves \(C\) which maximize the Rao function \(h^1(I_C(j))\) for all \(j\in \mathbb {Z}\), called the extremal one. Known were also the subextremal curves \(C\) which maximize \(h^1(I_C(j))\) among the remaining curves for all integers \(j\). The authors point out that among among the remaining curves none maximizes all \(h^1(I_C(j))\). Here they study the ones (called of subextremal type) which have the same Rao function as the subextremal for \(j=1,\dots ,d-3\). It is proved that each curve of subextremal type is contained in a unique quadric which is either reducible or a double plain. The authors show that curves of subextremal type are parametrized by two irreducible families of the same dimension (one corresponding to subextremal curves, the other one formed by curves in a double plane) and the intersection of these families has codimension \(1\) in both. If \(g<0\) they prove that the closure of each family in the Hilbert scheme \(H_{d,g}\) is a generically smooth component of \(H_{d,g}\).