Gushel Mukai Varieties Research Articles

Algebraic cycles on Gushel-Mukai varieties

We study algebraic cycles on complex Gushel-Mukai (GM) varieties. We prove the generalised Hodge conjecture, the (motivated) Mumford-Tate conjecture, and the generalised Tate conjecture for all GM varieties. We compute all integral Chow groups of GM varieties, except for the only two infinite-dimensional cases (1-cycles on GM fourfolds and 2-cycles on GM sixfolds). We prove that if two GM varieties are generalised partners or generalised duals, their rational Chow motives in middle degree are isomorphic.

Kuznetsov’s Fano threefold conjecture via K3 categories and enhanced group actions

Abstract We settle the last open case of Kuznetsov’s conjecture on the derived categories of Fano threefolds. Contrary to the original conjecture, we prove the Kuznetsov components of quartic double solids and Gushel–Mukai threefolds are never equivalent, as recently shown independently by Zhang. On the other hand, we prove the modified conjecture asserting their deformation equivalence. Our proof of nonequivalence combines a categorical Enriques-K3 correspondence with the Hodge theory of categories. Along the way, we obtain a categorical description of the periods of Gushel–Mukai varieties, which we use to resolve a conjecture of Kuznetsov and the second author on the birational categorical Torelli problem, as well as to give a simple proof of a theorem of Debarre and Kuznetsov on the fibers of the period map. Our proof of deformation equivalence relies on results of independent interest about obstructions to enhancing group actions on categories.

Chow groups of Gushel–Mukai fivefolds

Abstract We compute the Chow groups of smooth Gushel–Mukai varieties of dimension 5.

Stability conditions and moduli spaces for Kuznetsov components of Gushel–Mukai varieties

We prove the existence of Bridgeland stability conditions on the Kuznetsov components of Gushel-Mukai varieties, and describe the structure of moduli spaces of Bridgeland semistable objects in these categories in the even-dimensional case. As applications, we construct a new infinite series of unirational locally complete families of polarized hyperk\"{a}hler varieties of K3 type, and characterize Hodge-theoretically when the Kuznetsov component of an even-dimensional Gushel-Mukai variety is equivalent to the derived category of a K3 surface.

Gushel–Mukai varieties with many symmetries and an explicit irrational Gushel–Mukai threefold

We construct an explicit smooth Fano complex threefold with Picard number 1, index 1, and degree 10 (also known as a Gushel–Mukai threefold) and prove that it is not rational by showing that its intermediate Jacobian has a faithful \({{\,\mathrm{PSL}\,}}(2,\mathbf{F}_{11}) \)-action. Along the way, we construct Gushel–Mukai varieties of various dimensions with rather large (finite) automorphism groups. The starting point of all these constructions is an Eisenbud–Popescu–Walter sextic with a faithful \({{\,\mathrm{PSL}\,}}(2,\mathbf{F}_{11}) \)-action discovered by the second author in 2013.

Gushel--Mukai varieties: intermediate Jacobians

We describe intermediate Jacobians of Gushel-Mukai varieties $X$ of dimensions 3 or 5: if $A$ is the Lagrangian space associated with $X$, we prove that the intermediate Jacobian of $X$ is isomorphic to the Albanese variety of the canonical double covering of any of the two dual Eisenbud-Popescu-Walter surfaces associated with $A$. As an application, we describe the period maps for Gushel-Mukai threefolds and fivefolds.

On Morin Configurations of Higher Length

AbstractThis paper studies finite Morin configurations $F$ of planes in $\mathbb P^5$ having higher length—a question naturally related to the theory of Gushel–Mukai varieties. The uniqueness of the configuration of maximal cardinality $20$ is proven. This is related to the canonical genus $6$ curve $C_{\ell }$ union of the $10$ lines in a smooth quintic Del Pezzo surface $Y$ in $\mathbb P^5$ and to the Petersen graph. More in general an irreducible family of special configurations of length $\geq 11$, we name as Morin–Del Pezzo configurations, is considered and studied. This includes the configuration of maximal cardinality and families of configurations of lenght $\geq 16$, previously unknown. It depends on $9$ moduli and is defined via the family of nodal and rational canonical curves of $Y$. The special relations between Morin–Del Pezzo configurations and the geometry of special threefolds, like the Igusa quartic or its dual Segre primal, are focused.

Gushel–Mukai varieties: Moduli

We describe the moduli stack of Gushel–Mukai varieties as a global quotient stack and its coarse moduli space as the corresponding GIT quotient. The construction is based on a comprehensive study of the relation between this stack and the stack of so-called Lagrangian data defined in our previous works; roughly speaking, we show that the former is a generalized root stack of the latter. As an application, we define the period map for Gushel–Mukai varieties and construct some complete nonisotrivial families of smooth Gushel–Mukai varieties. In an appendix, we describe a generalization of the root stack construction used in our approach to the moduli stack.

Gushel–Mukai varieties: Linear spaces and periods

Beauville and Donagi proved in 1985 that the primitive middle cohomology of a smooth complex cubic 4-fold and the primitive second cohomology of its variety of lines, a smooth hyper-Kähler 4-fold, are isomorphic as polarized integral Hodge structures. We prove analogous statements for smooth complex Gushel–Mukai varieties of dimension 4 (resp., 6), that is, smooth dimensionally transverse intersections of the cone over the Grassmannian Gr(2,5), a quadric, and two hyperplanes (resp., of the cone over Gr(2,5) and a quadric). The associated hyper-Kähler 4-fold is in both cases a smooth double cover of a hypersurface in P5 called an Eisenbud–Popescu–Walter sextic.

Derived categories of Gushel–Mukai varieties

We study the derived categories of coherent sheaves on Gushel–Mukai varieties. In the derived category of such a variety, we isolate a special semiorthogonal component, which is a K3 or Enriques category according to whether the dimension of the variety is even or odd. We analyze the basic properties of this category using Hochschild homology, Hochschild cohomology, and the Grothendieck group. We study the K3 category of a Gushel–Mukai fourfold in more detail. Namely, we show this category is equivalent to the derived category of a K3 surface for a certain codimension 1 family of rational Gushel–Mukai fourfolds, and to the K3 category of a birational cubic fourfold for a certain codimension 3 family. The first of these results verifies a special case of a duality conjecture which we formulate. We discuss our results in the context of the rationality problem for Gushel–Mukai varieties, which was one of the main motivations for this work.

Gushel-Mukai varieties: Classification and birationalities

We perform a systematic study of Gushel-Mukai varieties---quadratic sections of linear sections of cones over the Grassmannian Gr(2,5). This class of varieties includes Clifford general curves of genus 6, Brill-Noether general polarized K3 surfaces of genus 6, prime Fano threefolds of genus 6, and their higher-dimensional analogues. We establish an intrinsic characterization of normal Gushel-Mukai varieties in terms of their excess conormal sheaves, which leads to a new proof of the classification theorem of Gushel and Mukai. We give a description of isomorphism classes of Gushel-Mukai varieties and their automorphism groups in terms of linear algebraic data naturally associated to these varieties. We carefully develop the relation between Gushel-Mukai varieties and Eisenbud-Popescu-Walter sextics introduced earlier by Iliev-Manivel and O'Grady. We describe explicitly all Gushel-Mukai varieties whose associated EPW sextics are isomorphic or dual (we call them period partners or dual varieties respectively). Finally, we show that in dimension 3 and higher, period partners/dual varieties are always birationally isomorphic.

Gushel-Mukai varieties: Classification and birationalities

Gushel-Mukai varieties: Classification and birationalities

Derived categories of cyclic covers and their branch divisors

Given a variety $Y$ with a rectangular Lefschetz decomposition of its derived category, we consider a degree $n$ cyclic cover $X \to Y$ ramified over a divisor $Z \subset Y$. We construct semiorthogonal decompositions of $\mathrm{D^b}(X)$ and $\mathrm{D^b}(Z)$ with distinguished components $\mathcal{A}_X$ and $\mathcal{A}_Z$, and prove the equivariant category of $\mathcal{A}_X$ (with respect to an action of the $n$-th roots of unity) admits a semiorthogonal decomposition into $n-1$ copies of $\mathcal{A}_Z$. As examples we consider quartic double solids, Gushel-Mukai varieties, and cyclic cubic hypersurfaces.