We compute the integral Chow rings of $\overline {\mathcal {M}}_{1,n}$ for $n=3,4$. The alternative compactifications introduced by Smyth – and studied further by Lekili and Polishchuk – present each of these stacks as a sequence of weighted blow-ups and blow-downs from a weighted projective space. We compute all the integral Chow rings by repeated application of the blow-up formula.

We obtain explicit expressions for the class in the Grothendieck group of varieties of the moduli space $\overline {\mathcal{M}}_{0,n}$. This information is equivalent to the Poincaré polynomial and yields explicit expressions for the Betti numbers of $\overline {\mathcal{M}}_{0,n}$ in terms of Stirling or Bernoulli numbers. The expressions are obtained by solving a differential equation characterizing the generating function for the Poincaré polynomials, determined by Manin in the 1990s and equivalent to Keel’s recursion for the Betti numbers of $\overline {\mathcal{M}}_{0,n}$. Our proof reduces the solution to two combinatorial identities, verified by applying Lagrange series. We also study generating functions for the individual Betti numbers. These functions are determined by a set of polynomials $p^{(k)}_m(z)$, $k\geqslant m$. These polynomials are conjecturally log-concave; we verify this conjecture for several infinite families, corresponding to generating functions for $2k$-Betti numbers of $\overline {\mathcal{M}}_{0,n}$ for all $k\leqslant 100$. Further, studying the polynomials $p^{(k)}_m(z)$, we prove that the generating function for the Grothendieck class can be written in terms of a series of rational functions in the principal branch of the Lambert W-function. We include an interpretation of the main result in terms of Stirling matrices and a discussion of the Euler characteristic of $\overline {\mathcal{M}}_{0,n}$.

We pose some conjectures about the existence of certain complete, one-dimensional families of degree $d$, genus $g$ branched covers of an elliptic curve. The conjectures would imply that the slope of the corresponding Hurwitz space is precisely $5+6/d$, and that the slope of the moduli space of stable genus $g$ curves is bounded below by $5$. We provide evidence for the conjectures when $g=2$ or when $d \leq 5$ and $g \gg 0$.

We consider the question of when a Jacobian of a curve of genus $2g$ admits a $(2,2)$-isogeny to a product of two polarized dimension g abelian varieties. We find that one of them must be a Jacobian itself and, if the associated curve is hyperelliptic, so is the other.

For $g=2,$ this allows us to describe $(2,2)$-decomposable genus $4$ Jacobians in terms of Prym varieties. We describe the locus of such genus $4$ curves in terms of the geometry of the Igusa quartic threefold. We also explain how our characterization relates to Prym varieties of unramified double covers of plane quartic curves, and we describe this Prym map in terms of $6$ and $7$ points in $\mathbb {P}^3$.

We also investigate which genus $4$ Jacobians admit a $2$-isogeny to the square of a genus $2$ Jacobian and give a full description of the hyperelliptic ones. While most of the families we find are of the expected dimension $1$, we also find a family of unexpectedly high dimension $2$.

In this paper we show that the rank of the normal function function of the genus $g$ Ceresa cycle over the moduli space of curves has the maximal rank possible, $3g-3$ , provided that $g\ge 3$. In genus 3 we show that the Green–Griffiths invariant of this normal function is a Teichmüller modular form of weight $(4,0,-1)$ and use this to show that the rank of the Ceresa normal function is exactly 1 along the hyperelliptic locus. We also introduce new techniques and tools for studying the behaviour of normal functions along and transverse to boundary divisors. These include the introduction of residual normal functions and the use of global monodromy arguments to compute them.

We study universal-existential fragments of first-order theories of fields, in particular of function fields and of equicharacteristic henselian valued fields. For example, we discuss to what extent the theory of a field k determines the universal-existential theories of the rational function field over k and of the field of Laurent series over k, and we find various many-one reductions between such fragments.

Dedicated to the memory of Alexander Prestel (1941–2024)

We show that the cohomological Brauer groups of the moduli stacks of stable genus g curves over the integers and an algebraic closure of the rational numbers vanish for any $g\geq 2$. For the n marked version, we show the same vanishing result in the range $(g,n)=(1,n)$ with $1\leq n \leq 6$ and all $(g,n)$ with $g\geq 4.$ We also discuss several finiteness results on cohomological Brauer groups of proper and smooth Deligne-Mumford stacks over the integers.

A Pell–Abel equation is a functional equation of the form $P^{2}-DQ^{2} = 1$, with a given polynomial $D$ free of squares and unknown polynomials $P$ and $Q$. We show that the space of Pell–Abel equations with the degrees of $D$ and of the primitive solution $P$ fixed is a complex manifold. We describe its connected components by an efficiently computable invariant. Moreover, we give various applications of this result, including to torsion pairs on hyperelliptic curves and to Hurwitz spaces, and a description of the connected components of the space of primitive $k$-differentials with a unique zero on genus $2$ Riemann surfaces.

We compute the $\ell$-primary torsion of the Brauer group of the moduli stack of smooth curves of genus three over any field of characteristic different from two and the Brauer group of the moduli stacks of smooth plane curves of degree d over any algebraically closed field of characteristic different from two, three and coprime to d. We achieve this result by computing the low-degree cohomological invariants of these stacks. As a corollary, we are additionally able to compute the $\ell$-primary torsion of the Brauer group of the moduli stack of principally polarized abelian varieties of dimension three over any field of characteristic different from two.

Let $X$ be a curve of genus at least 4 that is very general or very general hyperelliptic. We classify all the ways in which a power $(JX)^k$ of the Jacobian of $X$ can be isogenous to a product of Jacobians of curves. As an application, we show that if $A$ is a very general principally polarized abelian variety of dimension at least 4 or the intermediate Jacobian of a very general cubic threefold, then no power $A^k$ is isogenous to a product of Jacobians of curves. This confirms various cases of the Coleman–Oort conjecture. We further deduce from our results some progress on the question of whether the integral Hodge conjecture fails for $A$ as above.

We determine the list of automorphism groups for smooth plane septic curves over an algebraically closed field $K$ of characteristic $0$, as well as their signatures. For each group, we also provide a geometrically complete family over $K$, which consists of a generic defining polynomial equation describing each locus up to $K$-projective equivalence. Notably, we present two distinct examples of what we refer to as final strata of smooth plane curves.

We calculate the orbifold Euler characteristics of all the degree d fine universal compactified Jacobians over the moduli space of stable curves of genus g with n marked points, as defined by Pagani and Tommasi. We show that this orbifold Euler characteristic agrees with the Euler characteristic of $\overline{\mathcal{M}}_{0, 2g+n}$ up to a combinatorial factor, and in particular, is independent of the degree d and the choice of degree d fine compactified universal Jacobian.

A real variety whose real locus achieves the Smith–Thom equality is called maximal. This paper introduces new constructions of maximal real varieties, by using moduli spaces of geometric objects. We establish the maximality of the following real varieties:

• – moduli spaces of stable vector bundles of coprime rank and degree over a maximal real curve (recovering Brugallé–Schaffhauser’s theorem with a short new proof), which extends to moduli spaces of parabolic vector bundles;

• – moduli spaces of stable Higgs bundles of coprime rank and degree over a maximal real curve, providing maximal hyper-Kähler manifolds in every even dimension;

• – if a real variety has maximal Hilbert square, then the variety and its Hilbert cube are maximal, which happens for all maximal real cubic 3-folds, but never for maximal real cubic 4-folds;

• – punctual Hilbert schemes on a maximal real surface with vanishing first $\mathbb {F}_2$-Betti number and connected real locus, such as $\mathbb {R}$-rational maximal real surfaces and some generalized Dolgachev surfaces;

• – moduli spaces of stable sheaves on an $\mathbb {R}$-rational maximal Poisson surface (e.g. the real projective plane).

We develop analogues of Green’s $N_p$ conditions for subvarieties of weighted projective space, and we prove that such $N_p$ conditions are satisfied for high degree embeddings of curves in weighted projective space. A key technical result links positivity with low degree (virtual) syzygies in wide generality, including cases where normal generation fails.

This corrigendum fixes an error in the statement of Lemma 8.3 in the published version of the paper.

We study the rationality properties of the moduli space ${\mathcal{A}}_g$ of principally polarised abelian $g$-folds over $\mathbb{Q}$ and apply the results to arithmetic questions. In particular, we show that any principally polarised abelian 3-fold over ${\mathbb{F}}_p$ may be lifted to an abelian variety over $\mathbb{Q}$. This is a phenomenon of low dimension: assuming the Bombieri–Lang conjecture, we also show that this is not the case for abelian varieties of dimension at least 7. Concerning moduli spaces, we show that ${\mathcal{A}}_g$ is unirational over $\mathbb{Q}$ for $g\le 5$ and stably rational for $g=3$. This also allows us to make unconditional one of the results of Masser and Zannier about the existence of abelian varieties over $\mathbb{Q}$ that are not isogenous to Jacobians.

Mukai’s program in [16] seeks to recover a K3 surface X from any curve C on it by exhibiting it as a Fourier–Mukai partner to a Brill–Noether locus of vector bundles on the curve. In the case X has Picard number one and the curve $C\in |H|$ is primitive, this was confirmed by Feyzbakhsh in [11, 13] for $g\geq 11$ and $g\neq 12$. More recently, Feyzbakhsh has shown in [12] that certain moduli spaces of stable bundles on X are isomorphic to the Brill–Noether locus of curves in $|H|$ if g is sufficiently large. In this paper, we work with irreducible curves in a nonprimitive ample linear system $|mH|$ and prove that Mukai’s program is valid for any irreducible curve when $g\neq 2$, $mg\geq 11$ and $mg\neq 12$. Furthermore, we introduce the destabilising regions to improve Feyzbakhsh’s analysis in [12]. We show that there are hyper-Kähler varieties as Brill–Noether loci of curves in every dimension.

We study algebraic subvarieties of strata of differentials in genus zero satisfying algebraic relations among periods. The main results are Ax–Schanuel and André–Oort-type theorems in genus zero. As a consequence, one obtains several equivalent characterizations of bi-algebraic varieties. It follows that bi-algebraic varieties in genus zero are foliated by affine-linear varieties. Furthermore, bi-algebraic varieties with constant residues in strata with only simple poles are affine-linear. In addition, we produce infinitely many new linear varieties in strata of genus zero, including infinitely many new examples of meromorphic Teichmüller curves.

Let $e$ and $q$ be fixed co-prime integers satisfying $1\lt e\lt q$. Let $\mathscr {C}$ be a certain family of deformations of the curve $y^e=x^q$. That family is called the $(e,q)$-curve and is one of the types of curves called plane telescopic curves. Let $\varDelta$ be the discriminant of $\mathscr {C}$. Following pioneering work by Buchstaber and Leykin (BL), we determine the canonical basis $\{ L_j \}$ of the space of derivations tangent to the variety $\varDelta =0$ and describe their specific properties. Such a set $\{ L_j \}$ gives rise to a system of linear partial differential equations (heat equations) satisfied by the function $\sigma (u)$ associated with $\mathscr {C}$, and eventually gives its explicit power series expansion. This is a natural generalisation of Weierstrass’ result on his sigma function. We attempt to give an accessible description of various aspects of the BL theory. Especially, the text contains detailed proofs for several useful formulae and known facts since we know of no works which include their proofs.

We examine the maximum dimension of a linear system of plane cubic curves whose $\mathbb {F}_q$-members are all geometrically irreducible. Computational evidence suggests that such a system has a maximum (projective) dimension of $3$. As a step towards the conjecture, we prove that there exists a three-dimensional linear system $\mathcal {L}$ with at most one geometrically reducible $\mathbb {F}_q$-member.