Artin–Schreier root stacks

Abstract

We classify stacky curves in characteristic p>0 with cyclic stabilizers of order p using higher ramification data. This approach replaces the local root stack structure of a tame stacky curve, similar to the local structure of a complex orbifold curve, with a more sensitive structure called an Artin–Schreier root stack, allowing us to incorporate this ramification data directly into the stack. As an application, we compute dimensions of Riemann–Roch spaces for some examples of stacky curves in positive characteristic and suggest a program for computing spaces of modular forms in this setting.