The stable hyperelliptic locus in genus 3: an application of Porteous formula (Q888851)

The closure \(\overline{H}\) of the locus of hyperelliptic curves forms a divisor in the moduli space of stable genus three curves. Its divisor class \([\overline{H}]\) can be expressed as a linear combination of \(\lambda\), \(\delta_0\), and \(\delta_1\) as \([\overline{H}] = 9 \lambda - \delta_0 - 3\delta_1\), where \(\lambda\) is the Hodge class and \(\delta_0, \delta_1\) are the boundary divisor classes. The coefficient of \(\lambda\) can be computed by using Porteous Formula for maps between vector bundles, and the coefficients of \(\delta_0, \delta_1\) are typically computed by using test curves and intersection calculations on the moduli space. \textit{J. Harris} and \textit{I. Morrison} [Moduli of curves. New York, NY: Springer (1998; Zbl 0913.14005), p. 169] asked whether a Porteous-type formula can be extended to the boundary of the moduli space for computing the coefficients of \(\delta_0, \delta_1\). \textit{S. P. Diaz} [Mich. Math. J. 52, No. 3, 507--514 (2004; Zbl 1078.14072)] and \textit{T. Bleier} [Mich. Math. J. 61, No. 2, 359--383 (2012; Zbl 1262.14026)] applied a delicate blowup procedure to establish a Porteous-type formula for maps between coherent sheaves, and consequently obtained the coefficients of \(\delta_0\) and \(\delta_1\), respectively. In the paper under review, the author gives a more direct Porteous-type calculation for the class of \(\overline{H}\), without using blowups or test curves. The upshot is to consider the sheaf of jets, or principal parts, which becomes a bundle after a pushout construction.