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Margherita Lelli-Chiesa

Publications and source records attributed to Margherita Lelli-Chiesa.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

The Prym-canonical Clifford index

We introduce two new invariants of Prym curves, the Prym-canonical Clifford index and the Prym-canonical Clifford dimension. The former is a nonnegative integer (according to Prym-Clifford's theorem), while the latter is a pair of nonnegative ordered integers. We classify Prym curves with Prym-canonical Clifford index equal to 0,1,2. By specialization to hyperelliptic curves, we compute the Prym-canonical Clifford index of a general Prym curve and show that its Prym-canonical Clifford dimension is (0,0).

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arXiv2025

Secant loci on moduli of Prym varieties

We present a Prym analogue of Lazarsfeld's result that curves on general polarized K3 surfaces verify the Brill-Noether Theorem, or equivalently, that their canonical embedding has no unexpected secants. We show that the Prym-canonical embedding of a curve on a general Nikulin surface (both of standard and non-standard types) has no unexpected secants. We then explain how these geometric facts suffice to determine the class of the universal difference divisor on the moduli space of stable Prym curves of (odd) genus g.

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arXiv2025

The Caporaso-Harris-Ran degeneration principle: proof and applications

Severi varieties are the parameter spaces for curves with prescribed homology class and genus on a smooth surface. We describe their limits along degenerations of surfaces, with a view towards the enumeration of curves. This includes a complete proof of the Caporaso-Harris recursive formula, with all the necessary background on deformations of curves and singularities.

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arXiv2023

Irreducibility of Severi varieties on K3 surfaces

Let $(S,L)$ be a general primitively polarized $K3$ surface of genus $g$. For every $0\leq δ\leq g$ we consider the Severi variety parametrizing integral curves in $|L|$ with exactly $δ$ nodes as singularities. We prove that its closure in $|L|$ is connected as soon as $δ\leq g-1$. If $δ\leq g-4$, we obtain the stronger result that the Severi variety is irreducible, as predicted by a well-known conjecture. The results are obtained by degeneration to Halphen surfaces.

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arXiv2023

Double covers of curves on Nikulin surfaces

We survey basic results concerning Prym varieties, the Prym-Brill-Noether theory initiated by Welters, and Brill-Noether theory of general étale double covers of curves of genus g>=2. We then specialize to curves on Nikulin surfaces and show that étale double covers of curves on Nikulin surfaces of standard type do not satisfy Welters' Theorem. On the other hand, by specialization to curves on Nikulin surfaces of non-standard type, we prove that general double covers of curves ramified at b=2,4,6 points are Brill-Noether general; the case b=2 was already obtained by Bud with different techniques.

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arXiv2021

A codimension 2 component of the Gieseker-Petri locus

We show that the Brill-Noether locus M^3_{18,16} is an irreducible component of the Gieseker-Petri locus in genus 18 having codimension 2 in the moduli space of curves. This result disproves a conjecture predicting that the Gieseker-Petri locus is always divisorial.

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arXiv2020

Genus two curves on abelian surfaces

This paper deals with singularities of genus 2 curves on a general (d_1,d_2)-polarized abelian surface (S,L). In analogy with Chen's results concerning rational curves on K3 surfaces [Ch1,Ch2], it is natural to ask whether all such curves are nodal. We prove that this holds true if and only if d_2 is not divisible by 4. In the cases where d_2 is a multiple of 4, we exhibit genus 2 curves in |L| that have a triple, 4-tuple or 6-tuple point. We show that these are the only possible types of unnodal singularities of a genus 2 curve in |L|. Furthermore, with no assumption on d_1 and d_2, we prove the existence of at least a nodal curve in |L|. As a corollary, we obtain nonemptiness of all Severi varieties on general abelian surfaces and hence generalize [KLM, Thm 1.1] to nonprimitive polarizations.

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arXiv2019

Moduli of non-standard Nikulin surfaces in low genus

Primitively polarized genus $g$ Nikulin surfaces $(S,M,H)$ are of two types, that we call standard and non-standard depending on whether the lattice embedding $\mathbb{Z}[H] \oplus_{\perp} \mathbf{N} \subset \rm{Pic}(S)$ is primitive. Here $H$ is the genus $g$ polarization and $\mathbf{N}$ is the Nikulin lattice. We concentrate on the non-standard case, which only occurs in odd genus. In particular, we study the birational geometry of the moduli space of non-standard Nikulin surfaces of genus $g$ and prove its rationality for $g=7,11$ and the existence of a rational double cover of it when $g=9$. Furthermore, if $(S,M,H)$ is general in the above moduli space and $(C,M|_C)$ is a general Prym curve in $|H|$, we determine the dimension of the family of non-standard Nikulin surfaces of genus $g$ containing $(C, M|_C)$ for $3\leq g\leq 11$; this completes the study of the Prym-Nikulin map initiated in our previous work.

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arXiv2018

Ulrich bundles on three dimensional scrolls

In this paper we construct Ulrich bundles of low rank on three-dimensional scrolls (with respect to the tautological line bundle). We pay special attention to the four types of threefold scrolls in $\mathbb{P}^5$ which were classified in [Ott92].

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arXiv2017

Half Nikulin surfaces and moduli of Prym curves

Let F^N_g be the moduli space of polarized Nikulin surfaces (Y,H) of genus g and let P^N_g be the moduli of triples (Y,H,C), with C in |H| a smooth curve. We study the natural map χ_g:P^N_g -> R_g, where R_g is the moduli space of Prym curves of genus g. We prove that it is generically injective on every irreducible component, with a few exceptions in low genus. This gives a complete picture of the map χ_g and confirms some striking analogies between it and the Mukai map m_g: P_g ->M_g for moduli of triples (Y,H,C), where (Y,H) is any genus g polarized K3 surface. The proof is by degeneration to boundary points of a partial compactification of F^N_g. These represent the union of two surfaces with four even nodes and effective anticanonical class, which we call half Nikulin surfaces. The use of this degeneration is new with respect to previous techniques.

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arXiv2015

Wall divisors and algebraically coisotropic subvarieties of irreducible holomorphic symplectic manifolds

Rational curves on Hilbert schemes of points on $K3$ surfaces and generalised Kummer manifolds are constructed by using Brill-Noether theory on nodal curves on the underlying surface. It turns out that all wall divisors can be obtained, up to isometry, as dual divisors to such rational curves. The locus covered by the rational curves is then described, thus exhibiting algebraically coisotropic subvarieties that deform to general small deformations of the manifold. This provides strong evidence for a conjecture by Voisin concerning the Chow ring of irreducible holomorphic symplectic manifolds. Some general results concerning the birational geometry of irreducible holomorphic symplectic manifolds are also proved, such as a non-projective contractibility criterion for wall divisors.

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arXiv2015

Severi Varieties and Brill-Noether theory of curves on abelian surfaces

Severi varieties and Brill-Noether theory of curves on K3 surfaces are well understood. Yet, quite little is known for curves on abelian surfaces. Given a general abelian surface $S$ with polarization $L$ of type $(1,n)$, we prove nonemptiness and regularity of the Severi variety parametrizing $δ$-nodal curves in the linear system $|L|$ for $0\leq δ\leq n-1=p-2$ (here $p$ is the arithmetic genus of any curve in $|L|$). We also show that a general genus $g$ curve having as nodal model a hyperplane section of some $(1,n)$-polarized abelian surface admits only finitely many such models up to translation; moreover, any such model lies on finitely many $(1,n)$-polarized abelian surfaces. Under certain assumptions, a conjecture of Dedieu and Sernesi is proved concerning the possibility of deforming a genus $g$ curve in $S$ equigenerically to a nodal curve. The rest of the paper deals with the Brill-Noether theory of curves in $|L|$. It turns out that a general curve in $|L|$ is Brill-Noether general. However, as soon as the Brill-Noether number is negative and some other inequalities are satisfied, the locus $|L|^r_d$ of smooth curves in $|L|$ possessing a $g^r_d$ is nonempty and has a component of the expected dimension. As an application, we obtain the existence of a component of the Brill-Noether locus $\mathcal{M}^r_{p,d}$ having the expected codimension in the moduli space of curves $\mathcal{M}_p$. For $r=1$, the results are generalized to nodal curves.

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arXiv2014

Generalized Lazarsfeld-Mukai bundles and a conjecture of Donagi and Morrison

Let S be a K3 surface and assume for simplicity that it does not contain any (-2)-curve. Using coherent systems, we express every non-simple Lazarsfeld-Mukai bundle on S as an extension of two sheaves of some special type, that we refer to as generalized Lazarsfeld-Mukai bundles. This has interesting consequences concerning the Brill-Noether theory of curves C lying on S. From now on, let g denote the genus of C and A be a complete linear series of type g^r_d on C such that d<= g-1 and the corresponding Brill-Noether number is negative. First, we focus on the cases where A computes the Clifford index; if r>1 and with only some completely classified exceptions, we show that A coincides with the restriction to C of a line bundle on S. This is a refinement of Green and Lazarsfeld's result on the constancy of the Clifford index of curves moving in the same linear system. Then, we study a conjecture of Donagi and Morrison predicting that, under no hypothesis on its Clifford index, A is contained in a g^s_e which is cut out from a line bundle on S and satisfies e<= g-1. We provide counterexamples to the last inequality already for r=2. A slight modification of the conjecture, which holds for r=1,2, is proved under some hypotheses on the pair (C,A) and its deformations. We show that the result is optimal (in the sense that our hypotheses cannot be avoided) by exhibiting, in the Appendix, some counterexamples obtained jointly with Andreas Leopold Knutsen.

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arXiv2013

Stability of rank-3 Lazarsfeld-Mukai bundles on K3 surfaces

Given an ample line bundle L on a K3 surface S, we study the slope stability with respect to L of rank-3 Lazarsfeld-Mukai bundles associated with complete, base point free nets of type g^2_d on curves C in the linear system |L|. When d is large enough and C is general, we obtain a dimensional statement for the variety W^2_d(C). If the Brill-Noether number is negative, we prove that any g^2_d on any smooth, irreducible curve in |L| is contained in a g^r_e which is induced from a line bundle on S, thus answering a conjecture of Donagi and Morrison. Applications towards transversality of Brill-Noether loci and higher rank Brill-Noether theory are then discussed.

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arXiv2010

The Gieseker-Petri divisor in M_g for genus g<=13

The Gieseker-Petri locus GP_g is defined as the locus inside M_g consisting of curves which violate the Gieseker-Petri Theorem. It is known that GP_g has always some divisorial components and it has been conjectured that it is of pure codimension 1 inside M_g. We prove that this holds true for genus up to 13.

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