The base-locus characterization of Jacobians via the Gauss map

Let (A,Θ)(A,\Theta) be a principally polarized abelian variety, and for a fixed pPg1p\in\mathbb P^{g-1} let Zp2ΘZ_p\subset |2\Theta| be the linear system generated by the divisors

ΘxΘx\Theta_x\cup\Theta_{-x}

where xx lies in Θsing\Theta^{\rm sing} or in the fiber G1(p)\mathcal G^{-1}(p) of the Gauss map. Since xΘx\in\Theta, the origin belongs to every such divisor and hence to the base locus of ZpZ_p. Base-locus characterization. If (A,Θ)(A,\Theta) is not a Jacobian, then for some pPg1p\in\mathbb P^{g-1} the base locus of ZpZ_p is zero-dimensional in a neighborhood of the origin. This is a reformulation of a conjecture attributed in the source to [BD]; the assertion gives a geometric criterion distinguishing Jacobians from non-Jacobian principally polarized abelian varieties, but its resolution is not specified in the supplied text.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Robert Auffarth, Giulio Codogni and Riccardo Salvati Manni, “The Gauss map and secants of the Kummer variety”, arXiv:1706.01870 (2019).

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