The KSBA compactification of the moduli space of D_{1,6}-polarized Enriques surfaces

Abstract

We describe a compactification by stable pairs (also known as KSBA compactification) of the 4-dimensional family of Enriques surfaces which arise as the {mathbb {Z}}_2^2-covers of the blow up of {mathbb {P}}^2 at three general points branched along a configuration of three pairs of lines. Up to a finite group action, we show that this compactification is isomorphic to the toric variety associated to the secondary polytope of the unit cube. We relate the KSBA compactification considered to the Baily–Borel compactification of the same family of Enriques surfaces. Part of the KSBA boundary has a toroidal behavior, another part is isomorphic to the Baily–Borel compactification, and what remains is a mixture of these two. We relate the stable pair compactification studied here with Looijenga’s semitoric compactifications.