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Ben Moonen

Publications and source records attributed to Ben Moonen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2025

B\'ezout's theorem for abelian varieties

Let $X$, $Y$ be closed irreducible subvarieties of an absolutely simple abelian variety of dimension $g$ over a field. If $\dim(X) + \dim(Y) \le g$, we prove that the addition morphism $X \times Y \to X + Y$ is semismall. As a consequence, we deduce that if $\dim(X) + \dim(Y) \ge g$, the subvarieties $X$ and $Y$ must meet (B\'ezout's theorem). If we drop the assumption that the abelian variety is absolutely simple, we prove that B\'ezout's theorem still holds if $X$ satisfies a nondegeneracy condition. These results were previously known only in characteristic zero. Our proof of the semismallness statement is based on the theory of perverse sheaves: using results of Kr\"amer and Weissauer, we prove that for perverse sheaves $K$ supported on $X$, and $L$ supported on $Y$, the convolution product $K * L$ is again perverse.

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arXiv2024

A remark on the paper of Deninger and Murre

We show that the results proven by Deninger and Murre directly imply that the Chern classes of the de Rham bundle of an abelian scheme are torsion elements in the Chow ring, a result that was later proven by van der Geer. We also discuss several results about the orders of these classes.

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arXiv2024

Integral aspects of Fourier duality for abelian varieties

We prove several results about integral versions of Fourier duality for abelian schemes, making use of Pappas's work on integral Grothendieck-Riemann-Roch. If $S$ is smooth quasi-projective of dimension $d$ over a field and $\pi \colon X\to S$ is a $g$-dimensional abelian scheme, we prove, under very mild assumptions on $X/S$, that all classical results about Fourier duality, including the existence of a Beauville decomposition, are valid for the Chow ring $\mathrm{CH}(X;\Lambda)$ with coefficients in the ring $\Lambda = \mathbb{Z}[1/(2g+d+1)!]$. If $X$ admits a polarization $\theta$ of degree $\nu(\theta)^2$ we further construct an $\mathfrak{sl}_2$-action on $\mathrm{CH}(X;\Lambda_\theta)$ with $\Lambda_\theta = \Lambda[1/\nu(\theta)]$, and we show that $\mathrm{CH}(X;\Lambda_\theta)$ is a sum of copies of the symmetric powers $\mathrm{Sym}^n(\mathrm{St})$ of the $2$-dimensional standard representation, for $n=0,\ldots,g$. For an abelian variety over an algebraically closed field, we use our results to produce torsion classes in $\mathrm{CH}^i(X;\Lambda_\theta)$ for every $i\in \{1,\ldots,g\}$.

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arXiv2022

The Tate Conjecture for even dimensional Gushel-Mukai varieties in characteristic $p\geq 5$

We study Gushel-Mukai (GM) varieties of dimension 4 or 6 in characteristic $p$. Our main result is the Tate conjecture for all such varieties over finitely generated fields of characteristic $p\geq 5$. In the case of GM sixfolds, we follow the method used by Madapusi Pera in his proof of the Tate conjecture for K3 surfaces. As input for this, we prove a number of basic results about GM sixfolds, such as the fact that there are no nonzero global vector fields. For GM fourfolds, we prove the Tate conjecture by reducing it to the case of GM sixfolds by making use of the notion of generalised partners plus the fact that generalised partners in characteristic 0 have isomorphic Chow motives in the middle degree. Several steps in the proofs rely on results in characteristic 0 that are proven our paper "Algebraic cycles on Gushel-Mukai varieties", \'Epijournal G\'eom\'etrie Alg\'ebrique, Volume sp\'ecial en l'honneur de Claire Voisin, 2024.

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arXiv2022

Algebraic cycles on Gushel-Mukai varieties

We study algebraic cycles on complex Gushel-Mukai (GM) varieties. We prove the generalised Hodge conjecture, the (motivated) Mumford-Tate conjecture, and the generalised Tate conjecture for all GM varieties. We compute all integral Chow groups of GM varieties, except for the only two infinite-dimensional cases (1-cycles on GM fourfolds and 2-cycles on GM sixfolds). We prove that if two GM varieties are generalised partners or generalised duals, their rational Chow motives in middle degree are isomorphic.

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arXiv2022

Computing discrete invariants of varieties in positive characteristic. I. Ekedahl-Oort types of curves

We develop a method to compute the Ekedahl-Oort type of a curve C over a field k of characteristic p (which is the isomorphism type of the p-kernel group scheme J[p], where J is the Jacobian of C). Part of our method is general, in that we introduce the new notion of a Hasse-Witt triple, which re-encodes in a useful way the information contained in the Dieudonne module of J[p]. For complete intersection curves we then give a simple method to compute this Hasse-Witt triple. An implementation of this method is available in Magma.

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arXiv2022

The Coleman-Oort conjecture: reduction to three key cases

We show that the Coleman-Oort conjecture can be reduced to three particular cases. As an application we extend a result of Lu and Zuo, to the effect that for g at least 8 the Coleman-Oort conjecture is true on the hyperelliptic locus.

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arXiv2018

A note on images of Galois representations (with an application to a result of Litt)

Let $X$ be a variety (possibly non-complete or singular) over a finitely generated field $k$ of characteristic $0$. For a prime number $\ell$, let $ρ_\ell$ be the Galois representation on the first $\ell$-adic cohomology of $X$. We show that if $\ell$ varies the image of $ρ_\ell$ is of bounded index in the group of $\mathbb{Z}_\ell$-points of its Zariski closure. We use this to improve a recent result of Litt about arithmetic representations of geometric fundamental groups. Litt's result says that there exist constants $N = N(X,\ell)$ such that every arithmetic representation $π_1(X_{\bar{k}}) \to \mathrm{GL}_n(\mathbb{Z}_\ell)$ that is trivial modulo $\ell^N$ is unipotent. We show that these constants can in fact be chosen independently of $\ell$.

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arXiv2018

A remark on the Tate conjecture

The Tate conjecture has two parts: an assertion (S) about semisimplicity of Galois representations, and an assertion (T) which says that every Tate class is algebraic. We show that in characteristic 0, (T) implies (S). In characteristic p an analogous result is true under stronger assumptions.

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arXiv2016

The Deligne-Mostow list and special families of surfaces

We study whether there exist infinitely many surfaces with given discrete invariants for which the H^2 is of CM type. This is a surface analogue of a conjecture of Coleman about curves. We construct a large number of examples of families of surfaces with p_g = 1 that in the moduli space cut out a special subvariety; these provide a positive answer to our question. Most of these are families of K3 surfaces but we also obtain some families of surfaces of general type. As input for our construction we use the work of Deligne and Mostow. Finally we prove that a very general K3 surface cannot be dominated by a product of curves of small genus.

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arXiv2015

On the Tate and Mumford-Tate conjectures in codimension one for varieties with h^{2,0}=1

We prove the Tate conjecture for divisor classes and the Mumford-Tate conjecture for the cohomology in degree 2 for varieties with $h^{2,0}=1$ over a finitely generated field of characteristic 0, under a mild assumption on their moduli. As an application of this general result, we prove the Tate and Mumford-Tate conjectures for some classes of algebraic surfaces with $p_g=1$.

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arXiv2015

Integral and adelic aspects of the Mumford-Tate conjecture

Let $Y$ be an abelian variety over a subfield $k \subset \mathbb{C}$ that is of finite type over $\mathbb{Q}$. We prove that if the Mumford-Tate conjecture for $Y$ is true, then also some refined integral and adelic conjectures due to Serre are true for $Y$. In particular, if a certain Hodge-maximality condition is satisfied, we obtain an adelic open image theorem for the Galois representation on the (full) Tate module of $Y$. Our second main result is an (unconditional) adelic open image theorem for K3 surfaces. The proofs of these results rely on the study of a natural representation of the fundamental group of a Shimura variety.

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arXiv2014

Some remarks on modified diagonals

We prove a number of basic vanishing results for modified diagonal classes. We also obtain some sharp results for modified diagonals of curves and abelian varieties, and we prove a conjecture of O'Grady about modified diagonals on double covers.

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arXiv2013

On a question of O'Grady about modified diagonals

Let X be an abelian variety of dimension g. In a recent preprint O'Grady defines modified diagonal classes Γ^m on X^m and he conjectures that the class of Γ^m in the Chow ring of X^m is torsion for m \geq 2g+1. We prove a generalization of this conjecture.

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arXiv2012

On the Chow motive of an abelian scheme with non-trivial endomorphisms

Let X be an abelian scheme over a base variety S with endomorphism algebra D. We prove that the relative Chow motive R(X/S) has a canonical decomposition as a direct sum of motives R^(ξ)$ where ξruns over an explicitly determined finite set of irreducible representations of the group D^{opp,*}, such that R^(ξ), seen as a functor from Chow motives to D^{\opp,*}-representations, is ξ-isotypic. Our decomposition refines the motivic decomposition of Deninger and Murre, as well as Beauville's decomposition of the Chow group. The second main result is that we construct a canonical generalized motivic Lefschetz decomposition. Inspired by work of Looijenga and Lunts, the role of sl_2 in the classical theory is here replaced by a larger Lie algebra, generated by all Lefschetz and Lambda operators associated to non-degenerate line bundles. We construct an action of this larger Lie algebra on R(X/S) and deduce from this a generalized Lefschetz decomposition. We also give a precise structure result for the Lefschetz components that arise. As an application of our techniques, we provide a positive answer to a question of Claire Voisin concerning the analogue for abelian varieties of a conjecture of Beauville.

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arXiv2011

The Torelli locus and special subvarieties

We study the Torelli locus T_g in the moduli space A_g of abelian varieties. We consider special subvarieties (Shimura subvarieties) contained in the Torelli locus. We review the construction of some non-trivial examples, and we discuss some conjectures, techniques and recent progress.

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arXiv2010

Special subvarieties arising from families of cyclic covers of the projective line

We consider families of cyclic covers of the projective line, where we fix the covering group and the local monodromies and we vary the branch points. We prove that there are precisely twenty such families that give rise to a special subvariety in the moduli space of abelian varieties. Our proof uses techniques in mixed characteristics due to Dwork and Ogus.

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