arXiv subjects

Margarida Melo

Publications and source records attributed to Margarida Melo.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Tropical trigonal curves: the general case

This paper is a follow-up of a previous work in which we show that, for a $3$-edge connected tropical curve $\Gamma$, the existence of a divisor of degree $3$ and Baker-Norine rank at least $1$ in $\Gamma$ is equivalent to the existence of a non-degenerate harmonic morphism of degree $3$ from a tropical modification of $\Gamma$ to a tropical rational curve. In this work, we extend this result to a tropical curve with lower edge connectivity which does not contain a cycle of (at least three) separating vertices (a so-called necklace).

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arXiv2025

Tropical trigonal curves

We prove that the existence of a divisor of degree $3$ and Baker-Norine rank at least $1$ on a $3$-edge connected tropical curve is equivalent to the existence of a non-degenerate harmonic morphism of degree $3$ from a tropical modification of it to a tropical rational curve. Using the second description, we define the moduli spaces of $3$-edge connected tropical trigonal covers and of $3$-edge connected tropical trigonal curves, the latter as a locus in the moduli space of tropical curves. Finally, we prove that the moduli space of $3$-edge connected genus $g$ tropical trigonal curves has the same dimension as the moduli space of genus $g$ algebraic trigonal curves.

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arXiv2024

Clifford representatives via the uniform algebraic rank

In this paper, we introduce the uniform algebraic rank of a divisor class on a finite graph. We show that it lies between Caporaso's algebraic rank and the combinatorial rank of Baker and Norine. We prove the Riemann-Roch theorem for the uniform algebraic rank, and show that both the algebraic and the uniform algebraic rank are realized on effective divisors. As an application, we use the uniform algebraic rank to show that Clifford representatives always exist. We conclude with an explicit description of such Clifford representatives for a large class of graphs.

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arXiv2022

On the Top-Weight Rational Cohomology of $A_g$

We compute the top-weight rational cohomology of $A_g$ for $g=5$, $6$, and $7$, and we give some vanishing results for the top-weight rational cohomology of $A_8, A_9,$ and $ A_{10}$. When $g=5$ and $g=7$, we exhibit nonzero cohomology groups of $A_g$ in odd degree, thus answering a question highlighted by Grushevsky. Our methods develop the relationship between the top-weight cohomology of $A_g$ and the homology of the link of the moduli space of principally polarized tropical abelian varieties of rank $g$. To compute the latter we use the Voronoi complexes used by Elbaz-Vincent-Gangl-Soulé. Our computations give natural candidates for compactly supported cohomology classes of $A_g$ in weight $0$ that produce the stable cohomology classes of the Satake compactification of $A_g$ in weight $0$, under the Gysin spectral sequence for the latter space.

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arXiv2021

Tropicalization of the universal Jacobian

In this article we provide a stack-theoretic framework to study the universal tropical Jacobian over the moduli space of tropical curves. We develop two approaches to the process of tropicalization of the universal compactified Jacobian over the moduli space of curves -- one from a logarithmic and the other from a non-Archimedean analytic point of view. The central result from both points of view is that the tropicalization of the universal compactified Jacobian is the universal tropical Jacobian and that the tropicalization maps in each of the two contexts are compatible with the tautological morphisms. In a sequel we will use the techniques developed here to provide explicit polyhedral models for the logarithmic Picard variety.

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arXiv2020

Theta characteristics on tropical curves

We give an explicit description of theta-characteristics on tropical curves and characterize the effective ones. We construct the moduli space for tropical theta-characteristics of genus g as a generalized cone complex. We describe the fibers of the specialization map from the classical moduli space of theta-characteristics on algebraic curves to our moduli space of tropical theta-characteristics.

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arXiv2019

Tropicalizing the moduli space of spin curves

We study the tropicalization of the moduli space of algebraic spin curves, exhibit its combinatorial stratification and prove that the strata are irreducible. We construct the moduli space of tropical spin curves, prove that it is isomorphic to the skeleton of the Berkovich analytification of the moduli space of algebraic spin curves, and give a geometric interpretation of the retraction map in terms of a tropicalization map.

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arXiv2019

Fourier-Mukai and autoduality for compactified Jacobians II

To every reduced (projective) curve X with planar singularities one can associate many fine compactified Jacobians, depending on the choice of a polarization on X, which are birational (possibly non-isomorphic) Calabi-Yau projective varieties with locally complete intersection singularities. We define a Poincare' sheaf on the product of any two (possibly equal) fine compactified Jacobians of X and show that the integral transform with kernel the Poincare' sheaf is an equivalence of their derived categories. In particular, any two fine compactified Jacobians are derived equivalent. When applied to the same fine compactified Jacobian, one gets a Fourier-Mukai autoequivalence, which generalizes the classical result of Mukai for Jacobians of smooth curves (or more generally abelian varieties) and of Arinkin for compactified Jacobians of integral curves, thus providing further evidence for the classical limit of the geometric Langlands conjecture (as formulated by R. Donagi and T. Pantev). As a corollary of our main result, we prove an autoduality result for fine compactified Jacobians: there is a natural equivariant open embedding of the connected component of the scheme parametrizing rank-1 torsion-free sheaves on X into the connected component of the algebraic space parametrizing rank-1 torsion-free sheaves on a given fine compactified Jacobian of X.

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arXiv2017

Fourier-Mukai and autoduality for compactified Jacobians. I

To every singular reduced projective curve X one can associate, following E. Esteves, many fine compactified Jacobians, depending on the choice of a polarization on X, each of which yields a modular compactification of a disjoint union of the generalized Jacobian of X. We prove that, for a reduced curve with locally planar singularities, the integral (or Fourier-Mukai) transform with kernel the Poincare' sheaf from the derived category of the generalized Jacobian of X to the derived category of any fine compactified Jacobian of X is fully faithful, generalizing a previous result of D. Arinkin in the case of integral curves. As a consequence, we prove that there is a canonical isomorphism (called autoduality) between the generalized Jacobian of X and the connected component of the identity of the Picard scheme of any fine compactified Jacobian of X and that algebraic equivalence and numerical equivalence coincide on any fine compactified Jacobian, generalizing previous results of Arinkin, Esteves, Gagne', Kleiman, Rocha, Sawon. The paper contains an Appendix in which we explain how our work can be interpreted in view of the Langlands duality for the Higgs bundles as proposed by Donagi-Pantev.

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arXiv2016

Compactifications of the universal Jacobian over curves with marked points

We construct modular compactifications of the universal Jacobian stack over the moduli stack of reduced curves with marked points depending on stability parameters obtained out of fixing a vector bundle on the universal curve. When restricted to the locus of stable marked curves, our compactifications are Deligne-Mumford irreducible smooth stacks endowed with projective moduli spaces and, following Esteves approach to the construction of fine compactifications of Jacobians, they parametrize torsion-free rank-1 simple sheaves satisfying a stability condition with respect to the fixed vector bundle. We also study a number of properties of our compactifications as the existence of forgetful and clutching morphisms and as well of sections from the moduli stack of stable curves with marked points. We conclude by indicating a number of different possible applications for our constructions.

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arXiv2016

Universal Néron models for curves with marked points

We consider the problem of constructing universal Néron models for families of curves with sections. By applying a construction of the author of universal compactified Jacobians over the moduli stack of reduced curves with markings and a result by J. Kass, we get a positive answer for smooth families of curves with planar singularities over Dedekind schemes.

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arXiv2015

Fine compactified Jacobians of reduced curves

To every singular reduced projective curve X one can associate many fine compactified Jacobians, depending on the choice of a polarization on X, each of which yields a modular compactification of a disjoint union of the generalized Jacobian of X. We investigate the geometric properties of fine compactified Jacobians focusing on curves having locally planar singularities. We give examples of nodal curves admitting non isomorphic (and even non homeomorphic over the field of complex numbers) fine compactified Jacobians. We study universal fine compactified Jacobians, which are relative fine compactified Jacobians over the semiuniversal deformation space of the curve X. Finally, we investigate the existence of twisted Abel maps with values in suitable fine compactified Jacobians.

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arXiv2014

Algebraic and combinatorial rank of divisors on finite graphs

We study the algebraic rank of a divisor on a graph, an invariant defined using divisors on algebraic curves dual to the graph. We prove it satisfies the Riemann-Roch formula, a specialization property, and the Clifford inequality. We prove that it is at most equal to the (usual) combinatorial rank, and that equality holds in many cases, though not in general.

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arXiv2014

GIT for polarized curves

We investigate GIT quotients of polarized curves. More specifically, we study the GIT problem for the Hilbert and Chow schemes of curves of degree d and genus g in a projective space of dimension d-g, as the ratio v:=d/(2g-2) decreases. We prove that the first three values of v at which the GIT quotients change are given by v=4, 3.5, 2. We show that, for v>4, L. Caporaso's results hold true for both Hilbert and Chow semistability. If 3.5<v<4, the Hilbert semistable locus coincides with the Chow semistable locus and it maps to the moduli stack of weakly-pseudo-stable curves. If 2<v<3.5, the Hilbert and Chow semistable loci coincide and they map to the moduli stack of pseudo-stable curves. We also analyze in detail the critical values v=3.5 and v=4, where the Hilbert semistable locus is strictly smaller than the Chow semistable locus. As an application, we obtain three compactifications of the universal Jacobian over the moduli space of stable curves, weakly-pseudo-stable curves and pseudo-stable curves, respectively.

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arXiv2014

The Picard group of the compactified universal Jacobian

We determine explicitly the Picard groups of the universal Jacobian stack and of its compactification over the stack of stable curves. Along the way, we prove some results concerning the gerbe structure of the universal Jacobian stack over its rigidification by the natural action of the multiplicative group and relate this with the existence of generalized Poincaré line bundles. We also compare our results with Kouvidakis-Fontanari computations of the divisor class group of the universal (compactified) Jacobian scheme.

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arXiv2013

Tropical Teichmuller and Siegel spaces

In this paper, we present a unified study of the moduli space of tropical curves and Outer space which we link via period maps to the moduli space of tropical abelian varieties and the space of positive definite quadratic forms. Our work is a first step towards exhibiting Outer space and the space of positive definite quadratic forms as analogues of Teichmüller space and Siegel space, respectively, in tropical geometry. All these spaces and the maps among them are described within the category of ideal stacky fans, which we describe in detail.

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arXiv2012

On GIT quotients of Hilbert and Chow schemes of curves

The aim of this note is to announce some results on the GIT problem for the Hilbert and Chow scheme of curves of degree d and genus g in P^{d-g}, whose full details will appear in a subsequent paper. In particular, we extend the previous results of L. Caporaso up to d>4(2g-2) and we observe that this is sharp. In the range 2(2g-2)<d<7/2(2g-2), we get a complete new description of the GIT quotient. As a corollary, we get a new compactification of the universal Jacobian over the moduli space of pseudo-stable curves.

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arXiv2011

Comparing Perfect and 2nd Voronoi decompositions: the matroidal locus

We compare two rational polyhedral admissible decompositions of the cone of positive definite quadratic forms: the perfect cone decomposition and the 2nd Voronoi decomposition. We determine which cones belong to both the decompositions, thus providing a positive answer to a conjecture of V. Alexeev and A. Brunyate. As an application, we compare the two associated toroidal compactifications of the moduli space of principal polarized abelian varieties: the perfect cone compactification and the 2nd Voronoi compactification.

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