The class of a Hurwitz divisor on the moduli of curves of even genus

DOI10.4310/AJM.2012.V16.N4.A9MaRDI QIDQ1939229zbMATH OpenFDO

Authors Gerard van der Geer, Alexis Kouvidakis

Publication date 27 February 2013

Published in The Asian Journal of Mathematics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1005.0969, https://projecteuclid.org/euclid.ajm/1355321987

zbMATH Keywords

Hurwitz divisorHurwitz spacemoduli of curves

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Families, moduli of curves (algebraic) (14H10) Special divisors on curves (gonality, Brill-Noether theory) (14H51)

Abstract: We calculate the cycle class of the Hurwitz divisor $D_2$ on the moduli space of stable curves of genus $g=2k$ given by the degree $k+1$ covers of the projective line with simple ramification points, two of which lie in the same fibre. We also study some aspects of the geometry of the natural map of the Hurwitz space of admissible covers of degree $k+1$ and genus $2k$ to the moduli space of stable curves of genus $2k$.

Review text

This paper under review determines the class of a key divisor (Hurwitz cycle) whose class was still unknown. Let \(\overline{\mathcal{M}}_g\) be the Deligne-Mumford compactification of the moduli space of stable curves of even genus \(g=2k\) (over \(\mathbb{C}\)). A general curve of genus \(g\) is in finitely many ways a degree \(k+1\) cover of \(\mathbb{P}^1\) with \(6k\) simple branch points by the Hurwitz-Zeuthen formula. The condition that two of the resulting \(6k\) branch points lie in the same fiber over \(\mathbb{P}^1\) defines a divisor \(D_2\) in \(\overline{\mathcal{M}}_g\). Similarly, the condition that two branch points collide (and therefore define a triple ramification) defines a divisor \(D_3\) in \(\overline{\mathcal{M}}_g\). The class of \(D_3\) was already calculated by \textit{J. Harris} in the paper [Invent. Math. 75, 437--466 (1984; Zbl 0542.14014)] The class of \(D_2\) remain was undetermined so far. The authors of this paper determines the class of \(D_2\) by studying the geometry of the natural map \[ \overline{H}_{2k,k+1}\longrightarrow\overline{\mathcal{M}_{2k}}. \] Here \(\overline{H}_{g,d}\) is the compactification of the Hurwitz scheme by the admissible covers. The method of proof is by pushing forward a formula (given in [\textit{A. Kokotov, D. Korotkin} and \textit{P. Zograf}, Adv. Math. 227, No. 1, 586--600 (2011; Zbl 1218.30119)]) to \(\overline{\mathcal{M}_{2k}}\) that relates the class \(\lambda_H\) of the Hodge bundle on \(\overline{H}_{2k,k+1}\) to the boundary divisors in \(\overline{H}_{2k,k+1}\setminus{H}_{2k,k+1}\) and carefully study the push-forward of the boundary divisors of \(\overline{H}_{2k,k+1}\) to \(\overline{\mathcal{M}_{2k}}\) involved in that formula. Some of the boundary divisors dominate \(D_2\) and therefore they could obtain a formula for the class of \(D_2\).

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Cited in

(12)

• The Fermat cubic and special Hurwitz loci in \(\overline{\mathcal{M}}\)
• Kähler geometry on Hurwitz spaces
• A Hurwitz divisor on the moduli of Prym curves
• On the Kodaira dimension of Hurwitz spaces
• Tau functions, Prym-Tyurin classes and loci of degenerate differentials
• Evaluating tautological classes using only Hurwitz numbers
• Rational correspondences between moduli spaces of curves defined by Hurwitz spaces
• The cycle classes of divisorial Maroni loci
• Effective divisors on Hurwitz spaces
• Hurwitz complete sets of factorizations in the modular group and the classification of Lefschetz elliptc fibrations over the disk
• Divisors on Hurwitz spaces: an appendix to `The cycle classes of divisorial Maroni loci'
• Hurwitz class numbers with level and modular correspondences

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