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Very stable and wobbly loci for elliptic curves

Kuntal Banerjee Centre for Quantum Topology and Its Applications (quanTA) and Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Saskatchewan, SK, Canada  S7N 5E6 [email protected]  and  Steven Rayan Centre for Quantum Topology and Its Applications (quanTA) and Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Saskatchewan, SK, Canada  S7N 5E6 [email protected]
Abstract.

We explore very stable and wobbly bundles, twisted in a particular sense by a line bundle, over complex algebraic curves of genus 11. We verify that twisted stable bundles on an elliptic curve are not very stable for any positive twist. We utilize semistability of trivially twisted very stable bundles to prove that the wobbly locus is always a divisor in the moduli space of semistable bundles on a genus 11 curve. We prove, by extension, a conjecture regarding the closedness and dimension of the wobbly locus in this setting. This conjecture was originally formulated by Drinfeld in higher genus.

footnotetext: 2020 Mathematics Subject Classification. 14C20, 14H52.footnotetext: Keywords and phrases. Very stable bundle, wobbly bundle, elliptic curve, algebraic curve, Higgs bundle, moduli space, symmetric product, projective bundle.

1. Statement of results

Laumon introduced very stable bundles, proving that the very stable locus is an open dense subset in the moduli space of stable bundles [12]. Hausel subsequently studied [8] the global nilpotent cone for SL(2,)\mbox{SL}(2,\mathbb{C})-Higgs bundles with a fixed determinant line bundle Λ\Lambda of degree 11 on a curve of genus 2\geq 2. The zero set of the determinant morphism (valued in global sections of KX2K_{X}^{2}) contains the moduli of stable bundles of rank 22 with fixed determinant Λ\Lambda, as an open subset. The inclusion is simply [E][(E,0)][E]\mapsto[(E,0)]. This nilpotent cone coincides with the downward Morse flow of the moduli space of Higgs bundles (cf. [8], Theorem 4.4.2). The wobbly locus 𝒲\mathcal{W} is the collection of stable bundles that admit a nonzero nilpotent Higgs field. This definition of the wobbly locus was exploited by Pal and Pauly [20], who investigated the irreducible components of the wobbly locus in order to prove a conjecture that Laumon attributes to Drinfeld in [12]. The claim is that the wobbly locus 𝒲\mathcal{W} is a closed subset of pure codimension 11. In a separate paper [19], Pal proves Drinfeld’s conjecture in arbitrary rank. However, the irreducible components are not easily understood for higher ranks because we lose access to useful information about their dimensions. In spite of this, Pauly and Peón-Nieto realized the importance of locating a very stable bundle EE via the sections of its twisted endomorphism bundle EndEKX\mbox{End}E\otimes K_{X} (cf. [21]), imposing a condition of properness and appealing to the semiprojectivity of the moduli space. More recently, Hausel and Hitchin [9] introduced very stable Higgs bundles by appealing to the upward flow of ×\mathbb{C}^{\times}-action on the moduli space of Higgs bundles.

Working in this context, we focus on curves of genus 0 and 11. It is common to investigate moduli spaces of parabolic Higgs bundles on such curves; however, instead of puncturing the curve at certain marked points and maintaining the canonical line bundle as the sheaf of values of the Higgs field, we keep the curve compact but allow the Higgs field to take values in any line bundle LL. We say that the Higgs field is twisted by LL or, accordingly, that LL is the twist of the Higgs field. Thus far, we have not encountered literature concerning very stable and wobbly loci in this twisted setting. In order to characterize very stable and wobbly bundles here, we shall need to rely on several well-known results about the geometry of symmetric products of a smooth projective curve. For sufficiently large nn, the nn-fold symmetric product of a curve XX, Symn(X)\mbox{Sym}^{n}(X), can be realized as a projective bundle over Pic0(X)\mbox{Pic}^{0}(X). Carefully studying Symn(X)\mbox{Sym}^{n}(X) for arbitrary curves XX and any n1n\geq 1, Macdonald [13] computed their Betti numbers and the cohomological invariants of their closed subvarieties. Hitchin [10] and Gothen [6] utilized the now classical Macdonald’s formula for the Betti numbers of Symn(X)\mbox{Sym}^{n}(X) to compute Poincaré polynomials of moduli spaces of stable Higgs bundles for ranks up to and including 33 on curves of genus g2g\geq 2. In a context close the spirit of the present manuscript, a similar application of thi formula was used to compute Betti numbers of moduli spaces of AA-type quiver bundles in low genus, as a means to accessing similar results for twisted Higgs bundle moduli spaces at genus 0 and 11 [23]. We refer the reader to [22] for more on these subjects. In our methods, we will rely on Macdonald’s formula in at least one major step. Our techniques also depend intrinsically upon results about divisors in symmetric products as per, for example, [11, 14, 1].

Now, we will establish some of the basic notation required to state our results. Let us continue to use XX to denote a smooth complex algebraic curve; likewise, LL continues to denote a choice of holomorphic line bundle on XX. Let EXE\to X be a holomorphic vector bundle of rank rr so that the only nilpotent element ϕH0(EndEL)\phi\in H^{0}(\text{End}E\otimes L) is 0. Such a bundle is said to be an LL-very stable bundle. We call a bundle LL-wobbly if it is not LL-very stable. We will refer the LL-very stable (respectively, the LL-wobbly) bundles to very stable (respectively, wobbly) if the twist line bundle LL is well understood from the context. In particular, we call a bundle canonically very stable (respectively, canonically wobbly) if L=KXL=K_{X} is the canonical line bundle on XX. In the literature of which we are aware, the canonically very stable bundles are referred as “very stable bundles”. We remark that any line bundle is immediately very stable, while a general bundle EE is LL-very stable if and only if EME\otimes M is very stable for a line bundle MM. Indeed ϕi=0\phi^{i}=0 if and only if ϕiI=0\phi^{i}\otimes\operatorname{I}=0 where I:MM\operatorname{I}:M\to M denotes the identity morphism. From the vantage point of linear algebra, the strictly upper triangular and strictly lower triangular matrices are the first examples of nilpotent elements, and the construction of nilpotent bundle morphisms begins in the same way. One may, in low genus, exploit the wealth of known information about holomorphic bundles and their maps — for example, the Birkhoff-Grothendieck splitting when working in genus 0 — to create globally strictly triangular morphisms as needed.

In service to stating our main results, let us fix the definitions of the very stable and wobbly loci, recognizing that very stable bundles are semistable for a twist of sufficiently large degree. This follows after the assumption of property (2) in Lemma 2.2.2. Below, Xss(r,d)\mathcal{M}_{X}^{ss}(r,d) denotes the moduli space of semistable rank rr, degree dd bundles on XX.

Definition 1.0.1.

The subsets of Xss(r,d)\mathcal{M}_{X}^{ss}(r,d) consisting, respectively, of LL-very stable and LL-wobbly bundles are, respectively, the very stable locus and the wobbly locus. We denote these by the symbols 𝒱(r,d,L)\mathcal{V}(r,d,L) and 𝒲(r,d,L)\mathcal{W}(r,d,L), respectively.

We now state the main theorem that will be developed in later sections.

Theorem 1.

Let XX be a complex elliptic curve, let rr be an integer greater than or equal to 22, let dd be any integer, and let (r,d)\mathcal{E}(r,d) denote the set of isomorphism classes of indecomposable bundles of rank rr and degree dd on XX.

  1. (1)

    Any holomorphic bundle E(r,0)E\in\mathcal{E}(r,0) is canonically wobbly. A stable bundle E(r,d)E\in\mathcal{E}(r,d), should one exist, is canonically very stable. A polystable bundle Ei=1nEiE\cong\bigoplus_{i=1}^{n}E_{i}, where the summands have equal slopes, is canonically very stable if and only if EiEjE_{i}\ncong E_{j} for all iji\neq j.

  2. (2)

    Let LXL\to X be a twist of degree 11. A bundle E(2,1)E\in\mathcal{E}(2,1) is LL-very stable if and only if det(E)L\det(E)\neq L.

  3. (3)

    Let LXL\to X be a twist with a degree 2\geq 2. A stable bundle E(r,d)E\in\mathcal{E}(r,d) is LL-wobbly.

  4. (4)

    If (r,d)=h>1(r,d)=h>1, then the canonically wobbly locus forms a closed irreducible subvariety of codimension 11 inside Xss(r,d)\mathcal{M}_{X}^{ss}(r,d), and hence is a divisor.

  5. (5)

    The first Chern class of the wobbly divisor is 2(hησ)2(h\cdot\eta-\sigma) for some generators η,σH2(Symh(X),)\eta,\sigma\in H^{2}(\emph{Sym}^{h}(X),\mathbb{Z}).

Acknowledgements. The authors thank Christian Pauly for preliminary discussions on this subject after a lecture of his during the Workshop on the Geometry, Algebra, and Physics of Higgs Bundles (23w5082). The workshop, which was co-organized by the second-named author, took place at the Kelowna site of the Banff International Research Station (BIRS) in May-June 2023. Both authors thank the BIRS Kelowna team for providing a hospitable environment for mathematical collaboration as well as the other organizers — Lara Anderson, Antoine Bourget, and Laura Schaposnik — for their scientific and logistical efforts. The second-named author acknowledges Eloise Hamilton for a continuing discourse around twisted Higgs bundles in low genus that was advanced in a significant way at the same venue. The second-named author was partially supported by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant during this work. The first-named author was supported by a University of Saskatchewan Graduate Teaching Fellowship (GTF).

2. Very stable and wobbly bundles

2.1. Twisted global nilpotent cone on 1\mathbb{P}^{1}

As a warm-up exercise we first focus on 1\mathbb{P}^{1}. If t0t\geq 0 there does not exist any tt-very stable bundle over 1\mathbb{P}^{1}. It is enough to check the statement for r=2r=2. Let E𝒪(d1)𝒪(d2)E\cong\mathcal{O}(d_{1})\oplus\mathcal{O}(d_{2}). Then either d1d20d_{1}-d_{2}\geq 0 or d2d10d_{2}-d_{1}\geq 0. Furthermore, without loss of any generality, we can take d1d2+t0d_{1}-d_{2}+t\geq 0. Define

(2.1.1) ϕ=[0ϕ00].\phi=\begin{bmatrix}0&\phi^{\prime}\\ 0&0\end{bmatrix}.

Here, ϕ\phi^{\prime} is a nonzero section of a line bundle, appearing as a global component of ϕ\phi. This ϕ\phi is a non-zero nilpotent Higgs field.

Proposition 2.1.1.

Let t<0t<0; then, a bundle E𝒪(d1)𝒪(dr)E\cong\mathcal{O}(d_{1})\oplus...\oplus\mathcal{O}(d_{r}) is tt-very stable if and only if

|didj|<tfor alli,j.|d_{i}-d_{j}|<-t~{}~{}\text{for all}~{}i,j.
Proof.

Supposing EE satisfies the inequality from the statement, we necessarily have

didj|didj|>t.d_{i}-d_{j}\geq-|d_{i}-d_{j}|>t.

That is, didj+t<0d_{i}-d_{j}+t<0 for all i,ji,j. As a consequence, ϕH0(EndE𝒪(t))\phi\in H^{0}(\mbox{End}E\otimes\mathcal{O}(t)) is zero and very stability of EE is confirmed. Let us consider the other direction now. In case there exists iji\neq j so that 0>t>djdi0>t>d_{j}-d_{i}, then didj+t>0d_{i}-d_{j}+t>0. We choose a section sH0(𝒪(d1d2+t))s\in H^{0}(\mathcal{O}(d_{1}-d_{2}+t)). Construct ϕ\phi by inserting ss at the (i,j)(i,j)-th (or the (j,i)(j,i)-th) entry of a matrix, based on an ordered choice of a global basis; furthermore, place 0 everywhere else so that ϕ\phi is nilpotent. We also remark that the differences of any two Grothendieck numbers of a tt-very stable bundle EE are bounded and a semistable bundle is tt-very stable. ∎

2.2. Stable versus very stable bundles

The following results are well known, but we outline their proofs.

Lemma 2.2.1.

Let E,E,E′′E,E^{\prime},E^{\prime\prime} be vector bundles on a curve XX satisfying an exact sequence

0EEE′′00\to E^{\prime}\to E\to E^{\prime\prime}\to 0

and LL be a line bundle on XX such that H0(Hom(E′′,EL))0H^{0}(\operatorname{Hom}(E^{\prime\prime},E^{\prime}\otimes L))\neq 0. Then EE is not very stable. Conversely, if EE is an LL-wobbly bundle of rank 22 with a nonzero nilpotent element ϕH0(EndEL)\phi\in H^{0}(\mbox{End}E\otimes L) then there exists a line subbundle EE^{\prime} such that H0(Hom(E/E,EL))0H^{0}(\operatorname{Hom}(E/E^{\prime},E^{\prime}\otimes L))\neq 0.

Proof.

Let ψ\psi denote a nonzero bundle morphism E′′ELE^{\prime\prime}\to E^{\prime}\otimes L. According to the following diagram we can choose ϕ=i1ψq\phi=i\otimes 1\circ\psi\circ q which satisfies ϕ2=0\phi^{2}=0.

(2.2.1) 0{0}E{E^{\prime}}E{E}E′′{E^{\prime\prime}}0{0}0{0}EL{E^{\prime}\otimes L}EL{E\otimes L}E′′L{E^{\prime\prime}\otimes L}0{0}i\scriptstyle{i}q\scriptstyle{q}ψ\scriptstyle{\psi}i1\scriptstyle{i\otimes 1}

Assume that ϕ:EEL\phi:E\to E\otimes L such that ϕ0\phi\neq 0 and ϕ2=0\phi^{2}=0. Then we choose E=ker(ϕ)E^{\prime}=\ker(\phi) considering ϕ\phi as a homomorphism of locally free sheaves. In a similar diagram as above taking E′′=E/E=Im(ϕ)E^{\prime\prime}=E/E^{\prime}=\operatorname{Im}(\phi) we obtain a diagram where ψ\psi will be a well-defined bundle morphism Im(ϕ)ker(ϕ)L\operatorname{Im}(\phi)\to\ker(\phi)\otimes L due to ϕ2=0\phi^{2}=0 and exactness of the following sequence of bundles

0{0}ker(ϕ)L{\ker(\phi)\otimes L}EL{E\otimes L}Im(ϕ)L{\operatorname{Im}(\phi)\otimes L}0.{0.}i1\scriptstyle{i\otimes 1}

Lemma 2.2.2.

Let XX be a smooth complex curve.

  1. (1)

    If EE is semistable and deg(L)<0\deg(L)<0 then EE is LL-very stable.

  2. (2)

    Let XX be a curve with genus gX1g_{X}\geq 1 and LL be a line bundle with deg(L)2(gX1)\deg(L)\geq 2(g_{X}-1). An LL-very stable bundle EE is slope-semistable. In particular, gX>1g_{X}>1 implies EE is slope-stable.

Proof.

To prove the first statement we claim that H0(EndEL)=0H^{0}(\mbox{End}E\otimes L)=0. Choose, if possible, a nonzero ϕH0(EndEL)\phi\in H^{0}(\mbox{End}E\otimes L). As a morphism of sheaves ϕ\phi can not be injective because we must respect the obvious inequality deg(E)>deg(EL)\deg(E)>\deg(E\otimes L). So we apply the semistability condition on the subbundle ker(ϕ)E\ker(\phi)\subset E and on the saturated subbundle of Im(ϕ)\mbox{Im}(\phi) contained in ELE\otimes L, to arrive at the contradiction that deg(L)0\deg(L)\geq 0.
To prove the latter statement we choose a slope-destabilizing subbundle FF of EE, that is, μ(F)>μ(E)\mu(F)>\mu(E). We claim that H0(Hom(E/F,FL))0H^{0}(\operatorname{Hom}(E/F,F\otimes L))\neq 0 under this assumption. Observe that

(2.2.2) μ(F)μ(E)>0(1rank(F)rank(E))(gX1deg(L)).\mu(F)-\mu(E)>0\geq\left(1-\frac{\mbox{rank}(F)}{\mbox{rank}(E)}\right)(g_{X}-1-\deg(L)).

Appealing to Riemann-Roch formula we obtain

h0(Hom(E/F,FL))\displaystyle h^{0}(\operatorname{Hom}(E/F,F\otimes L))
=h1(Hom(E/F,FL))+rank(F)(rank(E)rank(F))(1gX)\displaystyle=h^{1}(\operatorname{Hom}(E/F,F\otimes L))+\mbox{rank}(F)\cdot(\mbox{rank}(E)-\mbox{rank}(F))(1-g_{X})
+deg((E/F)FL)>0.\displaystyle+\deg((E/F)^{*}\otimes F\otimes L)>0.

According to the proof we see that under the assumption gX>1g_{X}>1 we can replace slope-semistability with slope-stability. Here we have the following inequality

(2.2.3) μ(F)μ(E)0>(1rank(F)rank(E))(gX1deg(L)).\mu(F)-\mu(E)\geq 0>\left(1-\frac{\mbox{rank}(F)}{\mbox{rank}(E)}\right)(g_{X}-1-\deg(L)).

Even if gX=1g_{X}=1 and deg(L)>0\deg(L)>0 we obtain stability of an LL-very stable bundle. ∎

2.3. Additivity and multiplicativity of vector bundles on an elliptic curve

The crux of Atiyah’s work is the exploration of indecomposable bundles and their multiplicative structures on elliptic curves. Tu organizes necessary information about the moduli of stable and semistable bundles out of Atiyah’s construction of indecomposable bundles. Moreover, they computed the respective cohomology groups of such moduli space of bundles. We collect a list of useful results (with some changes in language) from both papers ([2] and [25]) in service to the readers.

A point AA on an elliptic curve XX gives rise to a unique line bundle 𝒪(A)X\mathcal{O}(A)\to X so that every nonzero section of 𝒪(A)\mathcal{O}(A) vanishes at AA. This is an isomorphism of complex manifolds (between the elliptic curve and its Picard variety of degree 11), usually called the Abel-Jacobi map. There is an isomorphism Pic1XPic0X\mbox{Pic}^{1}X\cong\mbox{Pic}^{0}X by LL𝒪(A)1L\mapsto L\otimes\mathcal{O}(A)^{-1}. Commonly the elements of a symmetric product of a curve are well defined divisors of the degree same as the power of the symmetric product. We will use the description of Symh(X)\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X) as the collection of effective divisors interchangeably with the classical definition. More generally, there is a holomorphic Abel-Jacobi map α:Symh(X)PichX\alpha:\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X)\to\mbox{Pic}^{h}X assigning a divisor of hh points on XX to its corresponding line bundle of degree hh. The tangent and the cotangent (canonical) bundles on XX are isomorphic to the trivial line bundle X×X\times\mathbb{C}.

  1. (1)

    (The Uniqueness Theorem) Let E(r,d)E\in\mathcal{E}(r,d) with d0d\geq 0. Then (i) dimH0(E)=h0(E)=d\dim H^{0}(E)=h^{0}(E)=d when d>0d>0 and 0 or 11 when d=0d=0, (ii) if d<rd<r, there is a trivial subbundle Is=i=1s𝒪XI_{s}=\bigoplus_{i=1}^{s}\mathcal{O}_{X} of EE while E=E/IsE^{\prime}=E/I_{s} is indecomposable with h0(E)=sh^{0}(E^{\prime})=s.

  2. (2)

    (Existence Theorem) Let E(r,d)E^{\prime}\in\mathcal{E}(r^{\prime},d) with d0d\geq 0 and if d=0d=0 let h0(E)0h^{0}(E^{\prime})\neq 0. Then there exists a bundle E(r,d)E\in\mathcal{E}(r,d) unique up to isomorphism, given by an extension

    0IsEE00\to I_{s}\to E\to E^{\prime}\to 0

    where r=r+sr=r^{\prime}+s and s=ds=d when d>0d>0 and 11 when d=0d=0.

  3. (3)

    (Extensions of indecomposable bundles of degree 0) There exists a vector bundle Fr(r,0)F_{r}\in\mathcal{E}(r,0) with h0(Fr)0h^{0}(F_{r})\neq 0 that fits into an exact sequence

    0𝒪XFrFr100\to\mathcal{O}_{X}\to F_{r}\to F_{r-1}\to 0

    and a bundle E(r,0)E\in\mathcal{E}(r,0) is of the form EFrLE\cong F_{r}\otimes L for some rr-torsion element LPic0(X)L\in\mbox{Pic}^{0}(X). The bundle FrF_{r} is self dual i.e FrFrF_{r}\cong F_{r}^{*} and h0(FrL)0h^{0}(F_{r}\otimes L)\neq 0 if and only if h0(L)0h^{0}(L)\neq 0.

  4. (4)

    (Indecomposable bundles with nonzero degrees) Let r,dr,d be mutually prime integers. Then E(r,d)E\in\mathcal{E}(r,d) is uniquely identified with its determinant det(E)Picd(X)\det(E)\in\mbox{Pic}^{d}(X). Suppose that APic1(X)XA\in\mbox{Pic}^{1}(X)\cong X is a chosen base point. There is a unique bundle EA(r,d)(r,d)E_{A}(r,d)\in\mathcal{E}(r,d) so that we are able to identify E(r,d)E\in\mathcal{E}(r,d) as EA(r,d)LE_{A}(r,d)\otimes L. To be precise, EA(r,d)E_{A}(r,d) is the unique indecomposable bundle of rank rr and degree dd that admits determinant 𝒪(A)d\mathcal{O}(A)^{d}. Moreover,

    EA(r,d)EA(r,d).E_{A}(r,d)^{*}\cong E_{A}(r,-d).

    Even if rr and dd admit the greatest common divisor hh, a bundle EA(r,d)E_{A}(r,d) is uniquely defined by a bijective correspondence between (h,0)\mathcal{E}(h,0) and (r,d)\mathcal{E}(r,d). Related results are generalized with step by step reductions to the ‘mutually prime’ cases.

  5. (5)

    (Multiplicative structures) If r,s>1r,s>1 the bundle FrFsF_{r}\otimes F_{s} decomposes as a finite direct sum of bundles FiF_{i}’s. If r,dr,d are mutually prime integers then

    EA(r,d)FhEA(rh,dh)E_{A}(r,d)\otimes F_{h}\cong E_{A}(rh,dh)

    is indecomposable for any integer hh. For chosen mutually prime pairs of integers r,dr,d and r,dr^{\prime},d^{\prime} so that r,rr,r^{\prime} are mutually prime we have

    EA(r,d)EA(r,d)EA(rr,rd+rd).E_{A}(r,d)\otimes E_{A}(r^{\prime},d^{\prime})\cong E_{A}(rr^{\prime},rd^{\prime}+r^{\prime}d).
  6. (6)

    (Semistability of indecomposable bundles) For a chosen base point AA in Pic1X\mbox{Pic}^{1}X, the canonical indecomposable bundle EA(r,d)E_{A}(r,d) is semistable for any r,dr,d. If (r,d)=h>1(r,d)=h>1 and r=rhr=r^{\prime}h and d=dhd=d^{\prime}h then EA(r,d)E_{A}(r,d) is strictly semistable from the following exact sequence of bundles

    0EA(r,d)EA(r,d)EA(rr,dd)0.0\to E_{A}(r^{\prime},d^{\prime})\to E_{A}(r,d)\to E_{A}(r-r^{\prime},d-d^{\prime})\to 0.

    This confirms stability of EE precisely if rr and dd are mutually prime. In particular, FrF_{r} is semistable for all rr\in\mathbb{N}.

  7. (7)

    (Decomposable semistable bundles) Set h=(r,d)h=(r,d) and r=rh;d=dhr=r^{\prime}h;~{}d=d^{\prime}h. Every semistable bundle of rank rr and degree dd on XX is strongly equivalent to a bundle of the form

    EA(r,d)i=1hMi,E_{A}(r^{\prime},d^{\prime})\otimes\bigoplus_{i=1}^{h}M_{i},

    where MiPic0XM_{i}\in\mbox{Pic}^{0}X with Min=𝒪XM_{i}^{n^{\prime}}=\mathcal{O}_{X}. There is an isomorphism EA(r,d)i=1hMii=1h(MinA)E_{A}(r^{\prime},d^{\prime})\otimes\oplus_{i=1}^{h}M_{i}\mapsto\oplus_{i=1}^{h}(M_{i}^{n^{\prime}}\otimes A).

  8. (8)

    (Semistable bundles and symmetric products of an elliptic curve) Let the moduli space of (grading equivalent) semistable and the moduli space of (isomorphic) stable bundles of rank rr and degree dd on an elliptic curve XX be denoted with Xss(r,d)\mathcal{M}_{X}^{ss}(r,d) and Xs(r,d)\mathcal{M}_{X}^{s}(r,d) respectively. Suppose that hh is the greatest common divisor of rr and dd. Then

    Xss(r,d)Symh(X)\mathcal{M}_{X}^{ss}(r,d)\cong\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X)

    and

    Xs(r,d){;h>1X;h=1.\mathcal{M}_{X}^{s}(r,d)\cong\begin{cases}\emptyset;~{}h>1\\ X;~{}h=1\end{cases}.
  9. (9)

    There is a commutative diagram

    (2.3.1) Xss(r,d){\mathcal{M}_{X}^{ss}(r,d)}Symh(X){\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X)}PicdX{\mbox{Pic}^{d}X}PichX{\mbox{Pic}^{h}X}\scriptstyle{\cong}det\scriptstyle{\det}α\scriptstyle{\alpha}𝒪(A)hd\scriptstyle{\otimes\mathcal{O}(A)^{h-d}}

    In short we explain the commutative diagram as following. Choose an element EE in Symh(X)\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X) and represent it in two ways, first as a bundle E1EhE_{1}\oplus...\oplus E_{h} each with the same rank and the same degree and take its determinant LL. Then consider the same element EE as a divisor p1++php_{1}+...+p_{h} and consider the line bundle i=1h𝒪(pi)\otimes_{i=1}^{h}\mathcal{O}(p_{i}). These two line bundles differ by a tensor product of a power of 𝒪(A)\mathcal{O}(A) so that det(Ei)=𝒪(A)rank(Ei)\det(E_{i})=\mathcal{O}(A)^{\mbox{rank}(E_{i})}.

  10. (10)

    Pic(Xss(r,d))Pic(Pic(X))\mbox{Pic}(\mathcal{M}_{X}^{ss}(r,d))\cong\mbox{Pic}(\mbox{Pic}(X))\oplus\mathbb{Z}. Denote Xss(r,L)\mathcal{M}_{X}^{ss}(r,L) the semistable bundles of a fixed determinant LL. Then Xss(r,L)h1\mathcal{M}_{X}^{ss}(r,L)\cong\mathbb{P}^{h-1}. We derive it from the fact that a fiber of the Abel-Jacobi map is the projectivization of the linear system of effective divisors of L𝒪(A)hdL\otimes\mathcal{O}(A)^{h-d}.

3. Very stable and wobbly loci

3.1. Characterization of very stable and wobbly bundles

We first consider 0d<r0\leq d<r and manage any other degree through adjusting via the division algorithm. We handle the indecomposable bundles at first then the case of the decomposable ones.

Remark 3.1.1.

We should be attentive to specific marginal cases. On an elliptic curve a trivially (or canonically) twisted very stable bundle is semistable but it does not necessarily define a point in the moduli space of semistable bundles and yields no information surrounding the very stable locus. Hence we should work out the case of decomposable (polystable) bundles to establish a few topological results of the very stable locus (or the wobbly locus) while handling separately the case of the indecomposable bundles. The same comment makes sense for any twist of degree 0.

  1. (1)

    Let E(r,0)E\in\mathcal{E}(r,0). For a twist deg(L)<0\deg(L)<0 we have EE is LL-very stable due to the fact that EE is semistable. However a more elementary argument is available at our exposure, utilizing the fact that there exists an element MPic0(X)M\in\mbox{Pic}^{0}(X) so that EFrME\cong F_{r}\otimes M. Decompose

    (3.1.1) FrFr=i=1nFkiF_{r}\otimes F_{r}=\bigoplus\limits_{i=1}^{n}F_{k_{i}}

    in to indecomposable components and observe that H0(FiL)=0H^{0}(F_{i}\otimes L)=0 since FrLF_{r}\otimes L is indecomposable with a negative degree (cf. [3] Lemma 3.19) we arrive at H0(End(E)L)=0H^{0}(\mbox{End}(E)\otimes L)=0. Hence EE is LL-very stable.∎
    Next we choose a twist LL as deg(L)>0\deg(L)>0 or L=𝒪XL=\mathcal{O}_{X} we apply Lemma 2.2.1 on the exact sequence

    (3.1.2) 0MEFr1M00\to M\to E\to F_{r-1}\otimes M\to 0

    whereas H0(Hom(Fr1M,ML))=H0(Fr1L)0H^{0}(\mbox{Hom}(F_{r-1}\otimes M,M\otimes L))=H^{0}(F_{r-1}\otimes L)\neq 0. We conclude that EE is LL-wobbly.∎

  2. (2)

    Now we consider 0<d<r0<d<r. For deg(L)<0\deg(L)<0 we have E(r,d)E\in\mathcal{E}(r,d) is LL-very stable once again as EE is semistable (Lemma 2.2.1).∎
    Choose a twist LL with deg(L)>0\deg(L)>0. We focus on a line bundle LL so that deg(L)2\deg(L)\geq 2. We derive that EE is LL-wobbly. Choose an exact sequence

    (3.1.3) 0𝒪XEE0.0\to\mathcal{O}_{X}\to E\to E^{\prime}\to 0.

    We remark that EE^{\prime} may decompose in to bundles of smaller ranks. The inequality 0<d<r+(r2)0<d<r+(r-2) implies deg(L)2>dr1\deg(L)\geq 2>\frac{d}{r-1}. We obtain

    (3.1.4) deg(EL)=(r1)deg(L)d>0.\deg(E^{\prime*}\otimes L)=(r-1)\deg(L)-d>0.

    By 2.2.1 we have EE is LL-wobbly via Riemann-Roch.∎
    Let deg(L)=1\deg(L)=1. We choose the rank and the degree of EE so that r>d+1r>d+1. The exactly same reasoning EE is LL-wobbly. We sharpen our reasoning to investigate the LL-very stable pairs in the case of r=d+1r=d+1. At first we focus at d=1d=1. Suppose that EE is a rank 22 bundle of degree 11 with determinant δPic1(X)\delta\in\mbox{Pic}^{1}(X). Due to its stability each line subbundle ξE\xi\subset E admits a degree 0\leq 0. In particular, there is an exact sequence of bundles

    (3.1.5) 0ξEξ1δ0.0\to\xi\to E\to\xi^{-1}\otimes\delta\to 0.

    If EE admits a line subbundle ξ\xi such that ξ2L=δ\xi^{2}\otimes L=\delta then EE is LL-wobbly. If such a line subbundle does not exist then EE is LL-very stable due to 2.2.1. In general we use the exact sequence

    (3.1.6) 0IdEE00\to I_{d}\to E\to E^{\prime}\to 0

    where EE^{\prime} is a degree 11 line bundle isomorphic to the determinant of EE. If ELE^{\prime}\cong L we can conclude EE is LL-wobbly which confirms that the LL-wobbly locus in (d+1,d)\mathcal{E}(d+1,d) is nonempty. We frame a relevant conjecture 3.1.2 in this context. We further choose the twist L=𝒪X=TXL=\mathcal{O}_{X}=T^{*}X. If (r,d)=1(r,d)=1 then E(r,d)E\in\mathcal{E}(r,d) is stable, thus simple and obviously very stable. However, if (r,d)>1(r,d)>1 a bundle EE is not necessarily stable and H0(EndE)H^{0}(\mbox{End}E) may or may not admit a nonzero nilpotent Higgs field. We handle such bundles up to a grading equivalent polystable bundle in Remark 3.1.4.∎

    Conjecture 3.1.2.

    Consider the holomorphic one-to-one correspondence

    det:(d+1,d)XXPic1(X).\det:\mathcal{E}(d+1,d)\cong X\to X\cong\operatorname{Pic}^{1}(X).

    The set of LL-very stable locus is an open dense subset det1(Pic1(X)\{L})=X\det1(L)\det^{-1}(\operatorname{Pic}^{1}(X)\backslash\{L\})=X\backslash\det^{-1}(L) for d2d\geq 2.

Remark 3.1.3.

we are yet to settle very stability of bundles for a nontrivial twist LPic0XL\in\mbox{Pic}^{0}X. For r2r\geq 2 we focus on two particular cases: either LL is an rr-torsion element in Pic0(X)\mbox{Pic}^{0}(X) with order rr or not an rr-torsion element. Suppose that LPic0XL\in\mbox{Pic}^{0}X admits order rr and EE is a bundle of rank rr and ϕH0(EndEL)\phi\in H^{0}(\mbox{End}E\otimes L) admitting a nonzero determinant det(ϕ)\det(\phi)\in\mathbb{C}. It is easy to derive that

ϕ:EEL\phi:E\to E\otimes L

is an isomorphism of bundles. Assuming moreover that EE is stable we conclude that EE is LL-very stable. On the other hand EE is very stable if and only if H0(EndEL)H^{0}(\mbox{End}E\otimes L) is trivial, given that det(ϕ)=0\det(\phi)=0 for any ϕ\phi (since ϕH0(EndEL)\phi\in H^{0}(\mbox{End}E\otimes L) is nilpotent).

Choose a twist LL so that its order is greater than rr. This is an extension of the previous case. Once again, a bundle EE of rank rr is very stable if and only if H0(EndEL)H^{0}(\mbox{End}E\otimes L) is trivial. For example, Fr(r,0)F_{r}\in\mathcal{E}(r,0) is LL-very stable.∎

Remark 3.1.4.

We can briefly talk about decomposable LL-very stable bundles on an elliptic curve XX. To respect the stability property, we discard all the twists LL with positive degrees (Lemma 2.2.2). Assume deg(L)0\deg(L)\leq 0 and Ei=1nEiE\cong\bigoplus_{i=1}^{n}E_{i} decomposes in to indecomposable summands. If EE is LL-very stable then

deg(EiEjL)0\deg(E_{i}^{*}\otimes E_{j}\otimes L)\leq 0

precisely if

|μ(Ei)μ(Ej)|deg(L)|\mu(E_{i})-\mu(E_{j})|\leq-\deg(L)

holds for all i,ji,j. In particular, if deg(L)=0\deg(L)=0 we moreover impose that EiE_{i}’s are stable, each with slope μ\mu. Then the bundle EE is LL-wobbly if and only if for some iji\neq j,

EiEjL.E_{i}\cong E_{j}\otimes L.

This assertion is true due to the following well known fact: Let E1,E2E_{1},E_{2} be stable bundles of same slope. Then H0(Hom(E1,E2))0H^{0}(\mbox{Hom}(E_{1},E_{2}))\neq 0 if and only if E1E2E_{1}\cong E_{2}. For example, i=1nE\bigoplus_{i=1}^{n}E is 𝒪X\mathcal{O}_{X}-wobbly for any stable bundle EXE\to X. On this note we conclude the characterization of the twisted very stable and wobbly bundles on an elliptic curve XX.∎

We summarize the whole discussion in form of the following theorem.

Theorem 3.1.5.

Let XX be a complex elliptic curve.

  1. (1)

    Any bundle E(r,0)E\in\mathcal{E}(r,0) is canonically wobbly. A stable bundle E(r,d)E\in\mathcal{E}(r,d), if exists, is canonically very stable. A polystable bundle Ei=1nEiE\cong\bigoplus_{i=1}^{n}E_{i} (summands of equal slopes) is canonically very stable if and only if EiEjE_{i}\ncong E_{j} for all iji\neq j.

  2. (2)

    Let LXL\to X be a twist of degree 11. A bundle E(2,1)E\in\mathcal{E}(2,1) is LL-very stable if and only if det(E)L\det(E)\neq L.

  3. (3)

    Let LXL\to X be a twist with a degree 2\geq 2. A stable bundle E(r,d)E\in\mathcal{E}(r,d) is LL-wobbly.

Corollary 3.1.6.

Let XX be a complex elliptic curve.

  1. (1)

    A semistable canonically wobbly bundle is not stable.

  2. (2)

    Let LXL\to X be a twist of degree 11. The wobbly locus 𝒲(2,1,L)\mathcal{W}(2,1,L) is a point on XX.

  3. (3)

    Let LXL\to X be a twist of degree 2\geq 2. Then 𝒲(r,d,L)Xss(r,d)\mathcal{W}(r,d,L)\cong\mathcal{M}_{X}^{ss}(r,d).

Remark 3.1.7.

Let EE be an indecomposable bundle of degree 0. Its grading is a direct sum of line bundles which are isomorphic to each other, thus the grading bundle is wobbly too.

3.2. Topology of the canonically very stable locus and the wobbly locus on curves

We dedicate this subsection to a rapid recollection of the results concerning the canonically wobbly loci on curves of higher genera. We furthermore discuss the merits and demerits of these results in case of an elliptic curve. The geometry of the canonically very stable and the canonically wobbly locus of bundles was formally introduced by Laumon [12] on the algebraic stack of rank nn bundles FibX,n\mbox{Fib}_{X,n}, on a complex algebraic curve XX. Laumon proved that the nilpotent cone in the cotangent bundle TFibX,nT^{*}\mbox{Fib}_{X,n} is the support of a closed reduced Lagrangian submanifold of TFibX,nT^{*}\mbox{Fib}_{X,n} of dimension n2(gX1)n^{2}(g_{X}-1) and later concluded that very stable bundles form an open dense subset in FibX,n\mbox{Fib}_{X,n}. The very stable bundles live inside the open dense subset of slope-semistable bundles for gX>0g_{X}>0 (cf. [12] Proposition (3.5)) by Lemma 2.2.1 and Lemma 2.2.2. In the same article [12] Laumon referred to a result of Drinfeld stating that the collection of the wobbly bundles form a pure closed subset in FibX,n\mbox{Fib}_{X,n} of codimension 11. Recently mathematicians ([18], [20], [21]) investigated in to topological properties of the moduli space of the very stable and the wobbly bundles within the moduli space of Higgs bundles on curves XX of genus 2\geq 2. At this stage, we briefly recollect features of the moduli space of semistable LL-twisted pairs for a chosen line bundle LL.

For the rest of the article, we restrict our focus to L=KXL=K_{X} or deg(L)>2gX2\deg(L)>2g_{X}-2 on a curve XX of genus at least 11. Nitsure ([17]) proved existence of a quasi-projective separated noetherian scheme X(r,d,L)\mathcal{M}_{X}(r,d,L) of finite type over \mathbb{C} parametrizing the collection of strongly equivalent semistable LL-twisted pairs which contains an open subscheme X(r,d,L)\mathcal{M}_{X}^{\prime}(r,d,L) parametrizing the collection of isomorphism classes of stable pairs. In particular, there is a smooth open subscheme 0\mathcal{M}_{0}^{\prime} of complex dimension dim0=r2deg(L)+1+h1(X,L)\dim_{\mathbb{C}}\mathcal{M}_{0}^{\prime}=r^{2}\deg(L)+1+h^{1}(X,L) parametrizing the stable pairs which admits a stable underlying bundle. This scheme 0\mathcal{M}_{0}^{\prime} is integral. In particular, 0(KX)\mathcal{M}_{0}^{\prime}(K_{X}) is the cotangent bundle TXs(r,d)T^{*}\mathcal{M}_{X}^{s}(r,d) that admits hyperkähler structures. For a general twist the space of stable pairs 0\mathcal{M}_{0}^{\prime} admits a Kähler structure. There is a proper morphism H:X(r,d,L)i=1rH0(X,Li)H:\mathcal{M}_{X}(r,d,L)\to\oplus_{i=1}^{r}H^{0}(X,L^{i}) evaluating the characteristic coefficients of pairs. In [21], Pauly and Peón-Nieto proved a chain of important criteria as a device to locate the very stable bundles inside TXs(r,d)T^{*}\mathcal{M}_{X}^{s}(r,d) on a curve of genus 2\geq 2. The following result is a version of [21] Theorem 1.1 with minimal changes in the language and the notation.

Theorem 3.2.1.

Let EE be a stable bundle of rank rr and degree dd and VEV_{E} be the complex vector space H0(EndEKX)H^{0}(\mbox{End}E\otimes K_{X}). Then the following statements are equivalent.

  1. (1)

    EE is very stable.

  2. (2)

    VEV_{E} is closed in X(r,d,KX)\mathcal{M}_{X}(r,d,K_{X}).

  3. (3)

    The restriction of the Hitchin morphism HH on VEV_{E} is proper.

  4. (4)

    HVEH_{V_{E}} is quasi-finite.

The proof of the above statement engages deeply with the topology of the limit points coming from the usual \mathbb{C}^{*}-action on the moduli space X(r,d,KX)\mathcal{M}_{X}(r,d,K_{X}). We recall, as a standard fact, that this moduli space is semiprojective i.e. the limit limλ0(E,λϕ)\lim_{\lambda\to 0}(E,\lambda\cdot\phi) which exists in the projective completion of the moduli space lies inside the moduli space itself. To prove this specific assertion, they choose the path of showing a contradiction. They modify a rational map from a complex surface to X(r,d,KX)\mathcal{M}_{X}(r,d,K_{X}) by resolving its indeterminacy locus and construct a morphism from a connected union of projective lines to the Zariski closure of VV. This morphism assumes values (E,0)(E,0) and (F,ψ)V¯\V(F,\psi)\in\bar{V}\backslash V at two distinct points and leads to the conclusion that F=EF=E to respect semistability of FF. A favorable estimate of the dimensions of affine spaces plays an important role in this argument. Recall that a proper morphism between two affine schemes of the same dimension, in particular, the Hitchin base \mathcal{B} and the vector space H0(EndEK)H^{0}(\mbox{End}E\otimes K) of the same complex dimension 1+r2(gX1)1+r^{2}(g_{X}-1), is quasi-finite. We can interpret the criterion in a slightly different way. Recall that there is a holomorphic projection morphism π:0Xs(r,d)\pi:\mathcal{M}_{0}^{\prime}\to\mathcal{M}_{X}^{s}(r,d) and π1([E])\pi^{-1}([E]) is the vector space VV which is closed in 0\mathcal{M}_{0}^{\prime} but may not be closed inside X(r,d,L)\mathcal{M}_{X}(r,d,L). Theorem 3.2.1 confirms that on a curve of genus >1>1, a fiber π1([E])\pi^{-1}([E]) is closed if and only if EE is canonically very stable.

The nilpotent cone 𝒩\mathcal{N} is the collection of semistable nilpotent Higgs bundles. It is formally defined as the fiber H1(0)H^{-1}(0). Due to properness 𝒩\mathcal{N} is a compact subset (possibly containing singular points) and it is not easy to explore the generally twisted nilpotent cone. For a stable bundle EXE\to X we have [(E,0)]H1(0)[(E,0)]\in H^{-1}(0), thus the stable bundles contribute to the nilpotent cone a dimensional estimate at least r2(gX1)+1r^{2}(g_{X}-1)+1. Geometrically, a stable point (E,0)(E,0) lies at the bottom of the nilpoent cone and appears as a global minima of the Morse function of stable pairs (E,ϕ)2iXtrace(ϕϕ)(E,\phi)\mapsto 2i\int_{X}\mbox{trace}(\phi\phi^{*}). To study the geometry of the nilpotent cone, Mathematicians ([8], [20]) restricted their investigation to the determinant morphism on trace-free canonically twisted pairs of rank 22 with a fixed determinant Λ\Lambda. The main advantage here is that the very stable locus lives inside the ‘zero-determinant locus’ of the stable Higgs bundles as an open subset and simplifies the analysis. The definition that is due to [20]. It futher leads to the fact that the wobbly locus is a reducible divisor.

Definition 3.2.2.

Let gX2g_{X}\geq 2 and Λ\Lambda be a fixed line bundle on the curve XX. We denote the moduli space of the stable traceless Higgs bundles of rank 22 with a fixed determinant Λ\Lambda by X(2,Λ,KX)\mathcal{M}_{X}^{\prime}(2,\Lambda,K_{X}). The determinant morphism h:X(2,Λ,KX)H0(K2)h:\mathcal{M}_{X}^{\prime}(2,\Lambda,K_{X})\to H^{0}(K^{2}) is proper and surjective and we mention h1(0)h^{-1}(0) as the nilpotent cone 𝒩h\mathcal{N}_{h}. The nilpotent cone decomposes as Xs(2,Λ)𝒩0\mathcal{M}_{X}^{s}(2,\Lambda)\cup\mathcal{N}_{0}. We identify Xs(2,Λ)\mathcal{M}_{X}^{s}(2,\Lambda) with the collection of pairs [(E,0)][(E,0)] and 𝒩0\mathcal{N}_{0} consists of all nonzero nilpotent stable pairs [(E,ϕ)][(E,\phi)]. We observe that Xs(2,Λ)\mathcal{M}_{X}^{s}(2,\Lambda) is an open subset by the dimensional estimates ([8]) and the image of 𝒩0\mathcal{N}_{0} under the forgetful rational map 𝒩hXs(2,Λ)\mathcal{N}_{h}\dashrightarrow\mathcal{M}_{X}^{s}(2,\Lambda) is the wobbly locus.

Works of Narasimhan and Ramanan [15], [16] laid the foundation of research of stable bundles on complex curves, particularly in the base case of rank 22. In case of gX=2g_{X}=2, Xs(2,δ)\mathcal{M}_{X}^{s}(2,\delta) is isomophic to the intersection of a smooth pencil of quadrics in 5\mathbb{CP}^{5}. As a known fact we mention that any non-trivial extension of the following type (this exact sequence is mentioned in Lemma 2.2.1)

(3.2.1) 0ξ1Eξδ00\to\xi^{-1}\to E\to\xi\otimes\delta\to 0

where ξ\xi is a line bundle of degree 0, is stable and any two such extensions are isomorphic if and only if these are scalar multiples of each other. Moreover, there is a linear embedding (H1(ξ2δ1))Xs(2,δ)\mathbb{P}(H^{1}(\xi^{-2}\otimes\delta^{-1}))\to\mathcal{M}_{X}^{s}(2,\delta). Pal further restricted the wobbly locus inside the cotangent bundle TXs(2,δ)T^{*}\mathcal{M}_{X}^{s}(2,\delta) and proved (cf. [18] Theorem 1.3). that the space of wobbly vector bundles of rank 22 with determinant δ\delta is isomorphic to a surface of degree 3232. Recently Pal has completed his proof for an arbitrary rank of the fact that wobbly locus forms a closed subvariety of codimension 11 inside Xs(r,δ)\mathcal{M}_{X}^{s}(r,\delta) generalizing his techniques of extensions of the very stable bundles from the rank 22 case to an arbitrary rank (cf. [19] Theorem 1.1). Pal proved that a stable bundle EXs(r,δ)E\in\mathcal{M}_{X}^{s}(r,\delta) is wobbly if and only if it passes through a nonfree minimal rational curve.

The work of Pal and Pauly ([20]) is significant for their explicit computation of the Chern classes of the irreducible subdivisors of the wobbly divisor. Assuming the definition 3.2.2, we present a theorem of Pal and Pauly (cf. [20] Theorem 1.1) with minimal changes in the language and the notation. We denote λ=deg(Λ)\lambda=\deg(\Lambda). Unfortunately, we do not find any major information about the topology of the irreducible components of the wobbly locus of an arbitrary rank on a curve of genus 2\geq 2.

Theorem 3.2.3.

The wobbly locus 𝒲Xs(2,Λ)\mathcal{W}\subset\mathcal{M}_{X}^{s}(2,\Lambda) is of pure dimension 11 and we have the following decomposition for λ=0\lambda=0 and λ=1\lambda=1,

𝒲=𝒲gXλ2𝒲gXλ.\mathcal{W}=\mathcal{W}_{\lceil\frac{g_{X}-\lambda}{2}\rceil}\cup...\cup\mathcal{W}_{g_{X}-\lambda}.

In particular, all loci 𝒲k\mathcal{W}_{k} appearing in the above decomposition are divisors. They are all irreducible, except 𝒲gX\mathcal{W}_{g_{X}} for λ=0\lambda=0, which is the union of 22gX2^{2g_{X}} irreducible divisors.

We explain the divisors 𝒲k\mathcal{W}_{k} briefly. A sublocus is defined

𝒲k0:={E𝒲:LE;deg(L)=1kwithH0(KXL2Λ1)0}\mathcal{W}_{k}^{0}:=\{E\in\mathcal{W}:L\subset E;~{}\deg(L)=1-k~{}\text{with}~{}H^{0}(K_{X}L^{2}\Lambda^{-1})\neq 0\}

and denote by 𝒲k\mathcal{W}_{k} the Zariski closure of 𝒲k0Xs(2,Λ)\mathcal{W}_{k}^{0}\subset\mathcal{M}_{X}^{s}(2,\Lambda). It is deduced that 𝒲=k=1g𝒲k\mathcal{W}=\cup_{k=1}^{g}\mathcal{W}_{k} for λ=0\lambda=0 and 𝒲=k=1g1𝒲k\mathcal{W}=\cup_{k=1}^{g-1}\mathcal{W}_{k} for λ=1\lambda=1. There is a filtration of 𝒲k\mathcal{W}_{k}’s as per [20] Proposition 2.3 that k=1gXλ21𝒲k𝒲gXλ2\bigcup_{k=1}^{\lceil{\frac{g_{X}-\lambda}{2}}\rceil-1}\mathcal{W}_{k}\subset\mathcal{W}_{\frac{g_{X}-\lambda}{2}}. Further each of the divisors 𝒲k\mathcal{W}_{k} represents an element in the Picard group of Xs(2,Λ)\mathcal{M}_{X}^{s}(2,\Lambda). According to a result by Drezet and Narasimhan we are aware that the Picard group of Xs(2,Λ)\mathcal{M}_{X}^{s}(2,\Lambda) is isomorphic to \mathbb{Z}. The following theorem is Theorem 1.3 [20] which mentions the representatives in the Picard group in terms of the first Chern classes.

Theorem 3.2.4.

We have the following equality for λ=0\lambda=0 and λ=1\lambda=1

cl(𝒲k)=22k(gX2gX2kλ)forgXλ2kgXλ.\emph{cl}(\mathcal{W}_{k})=2^{2k}{g_{X}\choose 2g_{X}-2k-\lambda}~{}\text{for}~{}\lceil\frac{g_{X}-\lambda}{2}\rceil\leq k\leq g_{X}-\lambda.

The proof is technical. We mention a few important steps. The actual strategy follows from decomposing 𝒩0\mathcal{N}_{0} as a union of images of 𝒲k\mathcal{W}_{k}’s under the aforementioned forgetful rational map. A set of subvarieties ZkPic1k(X)Z_{k}\subset\mbox{Pic}^{1-k}(X) for 1kgXλ1\leq k\leq g_{X}-\lambda appear as the pre-images of the Brill-Noether Loci W2gX2kλW_{2g_{X}-2k-\lambda} under the holomorphic map L(Pic1k(X))KXL2Λ1(Pic2gX2kλ(X))L(\in\mbox{Pic}^{1-k}(X))\mapsto K_{X}L^{2}\Lambda^{-1}(\in\mbox{Pic}^{2g_{X}-2k-\lambda}(X)). The fundamental class [Zk][Z_{k}] of ZkZ_{k} as a subvariety of Pic1k(X)\mbox{Pic}^{1-k}(X) is computed as 24k2gX+2(2kgX+1)!ΘPic1k(X)2kgX+1\frac{2^{4k-2g_{X}+2}}{(2k-g_{X}+1)!}\cdot\Theta_{\mbox{Pic}^{1-k}(X)}^{2k-g_{X}+1} ([20] Lemma 4.1) wherein we use ΘPic1k(X)\Theta_{\mbox{Pic}^{1-k}(X)} to denote a theta divisor of Pic1k(X)\mbox{Pic}^{1-k}(X). Under a classifying map f:SXs(2,Λ)f:S\to\mathcal{M}_{X}^{s}(2,\Lambda) the wobbly subloci 𝒲k\mathcal{W}_{k} is identified as f1(𝒲k)=πS(Δk(S×Zk))f^{-1}(\mathcal{W}_{k})=\pi_{S}(\Delta_{k}\cup(S\times Z_{k})) where πS:S×XS\pi_{S}:S\times X\to S is the projection map. Here Δk\Delta_{k} is a subvariety of S×Pic1k(X)S\times\mbox{Pic}^{1-k}(X) (cf. page 9 [20]). The fundamental class [Δk][\Delta_{k}] of Δk\Delta_{k} is computed as 22gX2k2(2gX2k1)!ΘSΘPic1k(X)2gX2k1\frac{2^{2g_{X}-2k-2}}{(2g_{X}-2k-1)!}\Theta_{S}\otimes\Theta_{\mbox{Pic}^{1-k}(X)}^{2g_{X}-2k-1} given that ΘS\Theta_{S} is the first Chern class of the pullback of an ample generator of Pic(Xs(2,Λ))\mbox{Pic}(\mathcal{M}_{X}^{s}(2,\Lambda)) under ff. Finally, the fundamental class of f1(𝒲k)f^{-1}(\mathcal{W}_{k}) is the tensor product of [Zk][Z_{k}] with [Δk][\Delta_{k}].

3.3. Topology of the wobbly locus on an elliptic curve

The work of Franco Gómez [5] initiates the study of the moduli space of GG-Higgs bundles on an elliptic curve for a complex reductive group G=GL(r,),SL(r,),PGL(r,),Sp(2m,),O(r,),SO(r,)G=\mbox{GL}(r,\mathbb{C}),\mbox{SL}(r,\mathbb{C}),\mbox{PGL}(r,\mathbb{C}),\mbox{Sp}(2m,\mathbb{C}),\mbox{O}(r,\mathbb{C}),\mbox{SO}(r,\mathbb{C}). From this, we collect information on GL(r,)\mbox{GL}(r,\mathbb{C})-Higgs bundles. For the group GL(r,)\mbox{GL}(r,\mathbb{C}), the results are extensions of Tu’s results ([25]). We combine [5] Proposition 4.2.1 and Proposition 4.2.3 to conclude that a Higgs bundle (E,ϕ)(E,\phi) is semistable if and only if EE is semistable and stable if and only if EE is stable (this fact further generalizes for GG-Higgs bundles). Destabilizing subbundles are obtained out of the Harder-Narasimhan series of a pair (E,ϕ)(E,\phi) on the elliptic curve. As a corollary ([5] Corollary 4.2.4), we have the following statement. Let (E,ϕ)(E,\phi) be polystable of rank rr and degree dd and put h=(r,d)h=(r,d). Then

(E,ϕ)=i=1h(Ei,ϕi)(E,\phi)=\bigoplus\limits_{i=1}^{h}(E_{i},\phi_{i})

in which EiE_{i} is a stable bundle of rank r=r/hr^{\prime}=r/h, d=d/hd^{\prime}=d/h, and ϕi=λiIEi\phi_{i}=\lambda_{i}\cdot\emph{I}_{E_{i}}. However, even if EE is a polystable bundle, a Higgs bundle (E,ϕ)(E,\phi) is not necessarily polystable. A polystable bundle EE on an elliptic curve is grading equivalent to itself but it may not be isomorphic to the underlying bundle of the polystable Higgs bundle that appears as the grading of a pair (E,ϕ)(E,\phi). This characterization of polystable Higgs bundles sums up to the following result as per [5] Theorem 4.3.7 and Proposition 4.3.9.

Theorem 3.3.1.

There exists a coarse moduli space of strongly equivalence classes of semistable Higgs bundles (GL(r,))\mathcal{M}(\emph{GL}(r,\mathbb{C})) isomorphic to Symh(𝒪X)\emph{Sym}^{h}(\mathcal{O}_{X}) where h=(r,d)h=(r,d). There is a natural projection map

π:Symh(𝒪X)Symh(X)\pi:\emph{Sym}^{h}(\mathcal{O}_{X})\to\emph{Sym}^{h}(X)

generalizing the bundle projection map 𝒪XX\mathcal{O}_{X}\to X.

We know that the Hitchin morphism is proper and we need to update the image of the Hitchin morphism inside the Hitchin base. The process establishes a Higgs bundle analogue of the commutative nature between the Abel-Jacobi morphism and the determinant morphism for bundles. Here the Hitchin base is r,d=i=1rH0(𝒪X)=r\mathcal{B}_{r,d}=\oplus_{i=1}^{r}H^{0}(\mathcal{O}_{X})=\mathbb{C}^{r}. Remember that each summand (Ei,ϕi)(E_{i},\phi_{i}) of a polystable Higgs bundle (E,ϕ)(E,\phi) is identified as (Ei,λiIEi)(E_{i},\lambda_{i}\mbox{I}_{E_{i}}) for some complex numbers λ1,,λh\lambda_{1},...,\lambda_{h} (because a stable bundle is simple). We can represent ϕ\phi as a long diagonal matrix

(λ1,,λ1rtimes,,λh,,λhrtimes)(\underbrace{\lambda_{1},...,\lambda_{1}}_{r^{\prime}~{}\text{times}},...,\underbrace{\lambda_{h},...,\lambda_{h}}_{r^{\prime}~{}\text{times}})

factoring r=rhr=r^{\prime}\cdot h. The characteristic coefficients of such a diagonal matrix are symmetric polynomials of the diagonal entries. Assembling these information we conclude that the image of the Hitchin morphism B(r,d)=Symh()B(r,d)=\mbox{Sym}^{h}(\mathbb{C}). A canonical embedding of B(r,d)r,dB(r,d)\hookrightarrow\mathcal{B}_{r,d} is given as (v1,,vh)(v1,,v1rtimes,,vh,,vhrtimes)(v_{1},...,v_{h})\mapsto(\underbrace{v_{1},...,v_{1}}_{r^{\prime}~{}\text{times}},...,\underbrace{v_{h},...,v_{h}}_{r^{\prime}~{}\text{times}}). The following commutative diagram summarizes the discussion;

(3.3.1) Xss(r,d,𝒪X){\mathcal{M}_{X}^{ss}(r,d,\mathcal{O}_{X})}Symh(𝒪X){\mbox{Sym}^{h}(\mathcal{O}_{X})}B(r,d){B(r,d)}Symh(){\mbox{Sym}^{h}(\mathbb{C})}\scriptstyle{\cong}Hα\scriptstyle{\alpha}π(h)\scriptstyle{\pi^{(h)}}

while π(h)\pi^{(h)} the canonical projection morphism π(h):Symh(𝒪X)Symh()\pi^{(h)}:\mbox{Sym}^{h}(\mathcal{O}_{X})\to\mbox{Sym}^{h}(\mathbb{C}). Spectral curves lie at another corner of this theory. Recall that the spectral curves in this specific case are not well behaved because they are always reduced and reducible subschemes of (𝒪X𝒪X)\mathbb{P}(\mathcal{O}_{X}\oplus\mathcal{O}_{X}). The fiber of HH of points of the form (λ1,,λh)(\lambda_{1},...,\lambda_{h}) so that λiλj\lambda_{i}\neq\lambda_{j} is isomorphic to an abelian variety XhX^{h}. It is an elementary observation that a polystable Higgs bundle i=1h(Ei,ϕi)\bigoplus_{i=1}^{h}(E_{i},\phi_{i}) is nilpotent if and only if λi\lambda_{i}’s are all 0. We conclude that the nilpotent cone is isomorphic to Symh(X)\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X) and neither a very stable nor a wobbly bundle can be specifically located inside the moduli space Xss(r,d)\mathcal{M}_{X}^{ss}(r,d) simply looking at its fiber under π\pi. A fiber π1([i=1hEi])=V\pi^{-1}([\oplus_{i=1}^{h}E_{i}])=V admits a vector space structure. Fix E1,,EhE_{1},...,E_{h} and there are well defined operations

[i=1h(Ei,ϕi)]+[i=1h(Ei,ϕi)]=[i=1h(Ei,ϕi+ϕi)][\oplus_{i=1}^{h}(E_{i},\phi_{i})]+[\oplus_{i=1}^{h}(E_{i},\phi_{i}^{\prime})]=[\oplus_{i=1}^{h}(E_{i},\phi_{i}+\phi_{i}^{\prime})]

and

λ[i=1h(Ei,ϕi)]=[i=1h(Ei,λϕi)].\lambda\cdot[\oplus_{i=1}^{h}(E_{i},\phi_{i})]=[\oplus_{i=1}^{h}(E_{i},\lambda\cdot\phi_{i})].

This is a complex vector space of dimension hh. Each fiber is closed in the moduli space of semistable pairs. Thus it is not a practical idea to locate very stable bundles with its fiber over π\pi (3.3.1). We will further see that the wobbly locus 𝒲(r,d,𝒪X)\mathcal{W}(r,d,\mathcal{O}_{X}) is closed. As a consequence π1(𝒲(r,d,𝒪X))\pi^{-1}(\mathcal{W}(r,d,\mathcal{O}_{X})) is closed. Here we warn the reader that we shift to the definition of the very stable locus and the wobbly locus given in section 1 for the rest of the article.

We can afford partial comments on the LL-wobbly loci on an elliptic curve for deg(L)>0\deg(L)>0. Note that the ‘quasi-finiteness’ criterion of LL-very stability is inconclusive for deg(L)>0\deg(L)>0. Denote V=H0(EndEL)V=H^{0}(\mbox{End}E\otimes L), then

(3.3.2) dimV=r2deg(L)>r(r+1)2deg(L)=i=1rh0(X,Li).\dim_{\mathbb{C}}V=r^{2}\deg(L)>\frac{r(r+1)}{2}\deg(L)=\sum\limits_{i=1}^{r}h^{0}(X,L^{i}).

As a consequence, we are unable to conclude properness of the restriction of the Hitchin morphism on VV. On the other hand, for a twist of a low degree, we can partly comment on nilpotent cone over the decomposable locus of rank 22 bundles.

Example 3.3.2.

Let L=𝒪(p)L=\mathcal{O}(p) be a twist on an elliptic curve XX and E=L1L2E=L_{1}\oplus L_{2} be a bundle of degree 1-1. We assume that deg(L1)deg(L2)\deg(L_{1})\geq\deg(L_{2}). An LL-twisted (semi)stable nilpotent element (E,ϕ)(E,\phi) is written

ϕ=[abca].\phi=\begin{bmatrix}a&b\\ c&-a\end{bmatrix}.

Here a,b,ca,b,c are global sections of L,L2L1L,L1L2LL,~{}L_{2}^{*}L_{1}L,~{}L_{1}^{*}L_{2}L respectively. To respect stability, we need c0c\neq 0 and deg(L1)=deg(L2)+deg(L)\deg(L_{1})=\deg(L_{2})+\deg(L) that is L1L2LL_{1}\cong L_{2}\otimes L. Thus ϕ\phi is obtained by scaling

ϕ0=[AA21A]\phi_{0}=\begin{bmatrix}A&-A^{2}\\ 1&-A\end{bmatrix}

for a fixed global section of AA of LL. It suffices to consider ϕ0\phi_{0} with [0010]\begin{bmatrix}0&0\\ 1&0\end{bmatrix} to count distinct elements under equivalence. In total, the collection of such pairs (E,ϕ)(E,\phi) is represented with orbits of (1,1)(1,1)-stable chains

(L2(L𝒪),[0010])\left(L_{2}\otimes(L\oplus\mathcal{O}),\begin{bmatrix}0&0\\ 1&0\end{bmatrix}\right)

under the usual \mathbb{C}^{*}-action. The noncompact complex analytic space Pic1(X)×\mbox{Pic}^{-1}(X)\times\mathbb{C}^{*} parametrizes these orbits.

Now we handle the case of an even degree. Let deg(E)=0\deg(E)=0 and a stable nilpotent LL-pair (E,ϕ)(E,\phi). The assumption of stability implies that deg(L1)=deg(L2)=0\deg(L_{1})=\deg(L_{2})=0. We write ϕ=[abca]\phi=\begin{bmatrix}a&b\\ c&-a\end{bmatrix}, for sections a,b,ca,b,c of L,L2L1L,L1L2LL,L_{2}^{*}L_{1}L,L_{1}^{*}L_{2}L. In a marginal case a=0a=0 we have bc=0bc=0. But b0cb\neq 0\neq c to entertain stability and this is contradictory. So, a0a\neq 0 and observe from its nilpotency that b,cb,c vanish at the point pp. This is possible only if L1L2L_{1}\cong L_{2}. So we write E=L(L1L1)E=L\otimes(L_{1}\oplus L_{1}). Fix a section ss of LL so that ϕ\phi can be written as

ϕ=sϕ0=s[abca]\phi=s\cdot\phi_{0}=s\cdot\begin{bmatrix}a^{\prime}&b^{\prime}\\ c^{\prime}&-a^{\prime}\end{bmatrix}

where a,b,ca^{\prime},b^{\prime},c^{\prime} are complex numbers satisfying a2+bc=0a^{\prime 2}+b^{\prime}\cdot c^{\prime}=0. As c0c^{\prime}\neq 0 we further rescale ϕ0\phi_{0} and identify with a representative

[0010].\begin{bmatrix}0&0\\ 1&0\end{bmatrix}.

This is contradictory as b0b^{\prime}\neq 0. Thus there are no stable nilpotent pair for deg(E)=0\deg(E)=0. However, if we entertain semistability of nilpotent pairs, only the trivial pairs survive and contribute a smooth compact connected subset isomorphic to Sym2(Pic0(X))\emph{Sym}^{2}(\mbox{Pic}^{0}(X)).∎

Now we focus on the topology and holomorphic structures of the wobbly loci on an elliptic curve. The wobbly bundles for higher twisted are already sorted out but there is still an open end to explore for trivially twisted wobbly locus. To investigate the topology of such (canonically) wobbly bundles it suffices to feature only the polystable bundles. To construct a very stable bundle by hand we choose a finite sequence of distinct points in the Picard group {p1,ph}\{p_{1},...p_{h}\} (after fixing a base point AA) which define a unique bundle E=EA(r,d)(p1p2ph)E=E_{A}(r^{\prime},d^{\prime})\otimes({p_{1}}\oplus{p_{2}}\oplus...\oplus{p_{h}}). We use a combinatorial point of view that yields a connection between the closed subvarieties of the symmetric powers of curves with the wobbly loci.

Let k,i1,,ikk,i_{1},...,i_{k} be integers 1\geq 1. The numbers i1,,iki_{1},...,i_{k} are said to be the weights with weight count kk and total weight hh if i1++ik=hi_{1}+...+i_{k}=h. A grading of a semistable bundle (non uniquely) appears as a weighted direct sum

(3.3.3) EE1E1i1timesEkEkiktimesE\cong\underbrace{E_{1}\oplus...\oplus E_{1}}_{i_{1}-\text{times}}\oplus...\oplus\underbrace{E_{k}\oplus...\oplus E_{k}}_{i_{k}-\text{times}}

(each summnand is stable of equal rank and equal degree) and note that EiE_{i} and EjE_{j} are not necessarily unique. We mention this bundle as i1E1ikEki_{1}E_{1}\oplus...\oplus i_{k}E_{k} alternatively. A generic polystable bundle associate to the weight count hh and all weights 11. Let TT denote the finite set of tuples

(3.3.4) T={(k,i1,,ik):i1++ik=handi1,,ik1;k}.T=\{(k,i_{1},...,i_{k}):i_{1}+...+i_{k}=h~{}\text{and}~{}i_{1},...,i_{k}\geq 1;~{}k\in\mathbb{N}\}.
Theorem 3.3.3.

Let (r,d)=h>1(r,d)=h>1. Then 𝒲(r,d,𝒪X)\mathcal{W}(r,d,\mathcal{O}_{X}) is a proper closed subset of Symh(X)\emph{Sym}^{h}(X).

Proof.

Let us identify XX with the collection of stable bundles of mutually prime rank r/hr/h and degree d/hd/h. Choosing an element (k,i1,,ik)T(k,i_{1},...,i_{k})\in T, define the map

f(k,i1,,ik):XkSymh(X)f_{(k,i_{1},...,i_{k})}:X^{k}\to\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X)

by

E1Ek[i1E1ikEk].E_{1}\oplus...\oplus E_{k}\mapsto[i_{1}E_{1}\oplus...\oplus i_{k}E_{k}].

This is a smooth morphism and we denote its image by 𝒲(k,i1,,ik)\mathcal{W}(k,i_{1},...,i_{k}). This is a compact path connected subset (so closed because Symh(X)\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X) is compact) in Symh(X)\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X). We name the subset 𝒲(k,i1,,ik)\mathcal{W}(k,i_{1},...,i_{k}) a wobbly sublocus on XX. Observe that if (k,i1,,ik)(k,i_{1},...,i_{k}) and (k,i1,,ik)(k,i_{1}^{\prime},...,i_{k}^{\prime}) are tuples of weights in TT with the same weight count differing by action of a permutation σSk\sigma\in S_{k} then

𝒲(k,i1,,ik)=𝒲(k,i1,,ik).\mathcal{W}(k,i_{1},...,i_{k})=\mathcal{W}(k,i_{1}^{\prime},...,i_{k}^{\prime}).

We observe that 𝒲(h,1,,1)=Symh(X)\mathcal{W}(h,1,...,1)=\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X) and in particular the wobbly locus is obtained as the proper compact connected subset in Symh(X)\emph{Sym}^{h}(X) given as

𝒲(h1,2,1,1)=𝒲(h1,1,2,1)=𝒲(h1,1,1,2).\mathcal{W}(h-1,2,1...,1)=\mathcal{W}(h-1,1,2...,1)=\mathcal{W}(h-1,1,1...,2).

Finally, it is projective too because Symh(X)\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X) is projective. ∎

We sharpen our description of the wobbly locus to compute the global cohomological invariants of the wobbly locus.

Remark 3.3.4.

On an elliptic curve XX we have the following statements.

  1. (1)

    Let i1,,iki_{1},...,i_{k} be weights all >1>1. Then there is a filtration of wobbly subloci

    𝒲(k,i1,,ik)𝒲(k+1,1,i11,,ik)𝒲(2k,1,,1ktimes,i11,,ik1)\displaystyle\emptyset\subsetneq\mathcal{W}(k,i_{1},...,i_{k})\subsetneq\mathcal{W}(k+1,1,i_{1}-1,...,i_{k})\subsetneq...\subsetneq\mathcal{W}(2k,\underbrace{1,...,1}_{k-\text{times}},i_{1}-1,...,i_{k}-1)
    Symh(X).\displaystyle\subsetneq...\subsetneq\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X).
  2. (2)

    Observe that

    𝒲(1,h)𝒲(2,h1,1)𝒲(3,h2,1,1)𝒲(h1,2,1,1).\emptyset\subsetneq\mathcal{W}(1,h)\subsetneq\mathcal{W}(2,h-1,1)\subsetneq\mathcal{W}(3,h-2,1,1)\subsetneq...\subsetneq\mathcal{W}(h-1,2,1...,1).

    We call each of these wobbly subloci a standard wobbly sublocus on XX.

  3. (3)

    A wobbly sublocus 𝒲(k,i1,,ik)\mathcal{W}(k,i_{1},...,i_{k}) is contained inside one of h1h-1 standard subloci

    𝒲(1,h)𝒲(2,h1,1)𝒲(3,h2,1,1)𝒲(h1,2,1,1).\emptyset\subsetneq\mathcal{W}(1,h)\subsetneq\mathcal{W}(2,h-1,1)\subsetneq\mathcal{W}(3,h-2,1,1)\subsetneq...\subsetneq\mathcal{W}(h-1,2,1...,1).

The wobbly locus of strictly semistable bundles is an irreducible divisor of Symh(X)\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X). In fact, there is a more useful definition of f(k,i1,,ik)f_{(k,i_{1},...,i_{k})} in algebraic geometry assuming the points of the symmetric powers as effective divisors. Let us consider N=(n1,,nk)N=(n_{1},...,n_{k}) and

h=l=1knlil.h=\sum\limits_{l=1}^{k}n_{l}\cdot i_{l}.

There is an orientation preserving diagonal morphism (cf. [13]) by the following weighted direct sum

(3.3.5) ΦN:Symn1(X)××Symnk(X)Symh(X);D1++Dki1D1++ikDk.\Phi_{N}:\mbox{Sym}^{n_{1}}(X)\times...\times\mbox{Sym}^{n_{k}}(X)\to\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X);D_{1}+...+D_{k}\mapsto i_{1}D_{1}+...+i_{k}D_{k}.

In a particular case n1==nk=1n_{1}=...=n_{k}=1 we obtain the sublocus 𝒲(k,i1,,ik)\mathcal{W}(k,i_{1},...,i_{k}) as the image of ΦN\Phi_{N}. Moreover, if i1>>iki_{1}>...>i_{k} then ΦN\Phi_{N} is an isomorphism of complex manifolds

(3.3.6) Symn1(X)××Symnk(X)𝒲(k,i1,,ik).\mbox{Sym}^{n_{1}}(X)\times...\times\mbox{Sym}^{n_{k}}(X)\cong\mathcal{W}(k,i_{1},...,i_{k}).
Remark 3.3.5.

The above definition of a diagonal morphism makes sense for curves of an arbitrary genus. In case gX=0g_{X}=0, MacDonald ([13]) identified the image spaces of ΦN\Phi_{N} (for specific tuples NN) in Symh(1)=h\mbox{Sym}^{h}(\mathbb{P}^{1})=\mathbb{P}^{h} with known projective curves and projective surfaces. However, we are not aware of any better description of the image of the diagonal morphism inside the projective variety Symh(X)\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X) for curves of nonzero genera.

Let n=n1++nkn=n_{1}+...+n_{k}. Computation of the image of the fundamental class — that is, the image of the generator 11 of

H2n(Symn1(X)××Symnk(X))H_{2n}(\mbox{Sym}^{n_{1}}(X)\times...\times\mbox{Sym}^{n_{k}}(X))\cong\mathbb{Z}

under the diagonal morphism ΦN\Phi_{N} is a standard problem in intersection theory. The standard wobbly subloci 𝒲(1,h),,𝒲(h1,2,1,,1)\mathcal{W}(1,h),...,\mathcal{W}(h-1,2,1,...,1) are proper closed submanifolds of Symh(X)\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X) isomorphic to X×Symhs(X)X\times\mbox{Sym}^{h-s}(X) for s=h,h1,,2s=h,h-1,...,2 respectively. Indeed, observe that s1+1(hs)=hs\cdot 1+1\cdot(h-s)=h and there are maps

π(s,1hs):X×Symhs(X)Symh(X)\pi(s,1^{h-s}):X\times\mbox{Sym}^{h-s}(X)\to\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X)

given as

(3.3.7) (p,[D])[sp+D](p,[D])\mapsto[s\cdot p+D]

so that these subloci are images of π(s,1hs)\pi(s,1^{h-s}). In [13], this variety appears and is denoted with Δ(s,1hs)\Delta(s,1^{h-s}). Each of these varieties is irreducible because X×SymhsX\times\mbox{Sym}^{h-s} is irreducible. Also observe that the usual structure sheaf of complex holomorphic functions X×SymhsX\times\mbox{Sym}^{h-s} leaves it reduced. Thus X×SymhsX\times\mbox{Sym}^{h-s} is smooth and integral and its admits complex dimension dimension hsh-s. As a proper closed subvariety 𝒲(r,d)\mathcal{W}(r,d) admits dimension h1\leq h-1. By induction, a sublocus 𝒲(k,hk+1,1,,1)\mathcal{W}(k,h-k+1,1,...,1) admits Krull dimension kk (otherwise Symh(X)\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X) has dimension >h>h from the above filtration of closed subvarieties). In particular, the aforementioned filtration of standard subloci supports the fact that Krull dimension of the wobbly locus inside Symh(X)\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X) is h1h-1. Finally, every standard wobbly sublocus is a projective variety because XX is a projective variety and a symmetric product of XX is a projective variety. We organize the discussion in the following commutative diagram. This concludes a version of Drinfeld’s claim ([12]) on an elliptic curve.

(3.3.8) {\emptyset}X{X}{\ldots}X×Symh2(X){X\times\mbox{Sym}^{h-2}(X)}Symh(X){\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X)}{\emptyset}𝒲(1,h){\mathcal{W}(1,h)}{\ldots}𝒲(h1,2,1,1){\mathcal{W}(h-1,2,1...,1)}Xss(r,d).{\mathcal{M}_{X}^{ss}(r,d).}{\subsetneq}{\subsetneq}{\cong}{\subsetneq}{\subsetneq}{\cong}{\cong}{\subsetneq}{\subsetneq}{\subsetneq}{\subsetneq}

For pXp\in X, we have a natural closed embedding ip:Symm(X)Symm+1(X)i_{p}:\mbox{Sym}^{m}(X)\hookrightarrow\mbox{Sym}^{m+1}(X) with DD+pD\mapsto D+p The image of ipi_{p} is the hyperplane of a fixed component pp inside Symm+1(X)\mbox{Sym}^{m+1}(X). Going one step further, X×Symhs(X)X×Symhs+1(X)X\times\mbox{Sym}^{h-s}(X)\hookrightarrow X\times\mbox{Sym}^{h-s+1}(X) is given by (p,D)(p,ip(D))(p,D)\mapsto(p,i_{p}(D)). The embedding [sp+D]=[(s1)p+ip(D)][s\cdot p+D]=[(s-1)\cdot p+i_{p}(D)] (as pXp\in X and DSymhs(X)D\in\mbox{Sym}^{h-s}(X)) fits in the commutative diagram 3.3.8.

Corollary 3.3.6.

The very stable locus 𝒱(r,d,𝒪X)\mathcal{V}(r,d,\mathcal{O}_{X}) is an open dense subset of Xss(r,d)\mathcal{M}_{X}^{ss}(r,d). We denote

𝒱(k,i1,,ik)=Xss(r,d)\𝒲(k,i1,,ik).\mathcal{V}(k,i_{1},...,i_{k})=\mathcal{M}_{X}^{ss}(r,d)\backslash\mathcal{W}(k,i_{1},...,i_{k}).

There is a filtration of open dense subsets in Symh(X)\emph{Sym}^{h}(X) by

Symh(X)𝒱(1,h)𝒱(2,h1,1)𝒱(3,h2,1,1)𝒱(h1,2,1,1)=𝒱(r,d,𝒪X).\emph{Sym}^{h}(X)\supsetneq\mathcal{V}(1,h)\supsetneq\mathcal{V}(2,h-1,1)\supsetneq\mathcal{V}(3,h-2,1,1)\supsetneq...\supsetneq\mathcal{V}(h-1,2,1...,1)=\mathcal{V}(r,d,\mathcal{O}_{X}).

The following proposition is immediate.

Proposition 3.3.7.

Let h2h\geq 2. For each of the numbers i=1,,h1i=1,...,h-1, there is a (h2)!(h-2)!-fold holomorphic covering fi:Xh1𝒲(r,d,𝒪X)f_{i}:X^{h-1}\to\mathcal{W}(r,d,\mathcal{O}_{X}) restricting f(h1,1,,2ith position,,1)f_{(h-1,1,...,\underbrace{2}_{i-\text{th position}},...,1)}.

Proof.

We address fi:Xh1𝒲(r,d,𝒪X)f_{i}:X^{h-1}\to\mathcal{W}(r,d,\mathcal{O}_{X}) defined as

(3.3.9) (E1,,Eh1)[E12EiEh1].(E_{1},...,E_{h-1})\mapsto[E_{1}\oplus...\oplus 2E_{i}\oplus...\oplus E_{h-1}].

These maps are holomorphic surjective defined between compact complex manifolds of the same complex dimension h1h-1. Let us choose the open dense subset of 𝒲(r,d,𝒪X)\mathcal{W}(r,d,\mathcal{O}_{X}) consisting of the polystable bundles with exactly two repeating components.

(3.3.10) V=𝒲(h1,2,1,1)\𝒲(h2,3,1,1).V=\mathcal{W}(h-1,2,1...,1)\backslash\mathcal{W}(h-2,3,1...,1).

To prove that the degree of fif_{i} is (h2)!(h-2)!, it suffices to focus on i=1i=1 only. Choose two different representatives of a polystable bundle (in the image of VV)

(3.3.11) 2E1E2Eh12F1F2Fh1.2E_{1}\oplus E_{2}\oplus...\oplus E_{h-1}\cong 2F_{1}\oplus F_{2}\oplus...\oplus F_{h-1}.

From the definition of f1f_{1} we have EiEjE_{i}\ncong E_{j} and FiFjF_{i}\ncong F_{j} for all iji\neq j. So E1F1E_{1}\cong F_{1}. Indeed E1FjE_{1}\cong F_{j} and E1FkE_{1}\cong F_{k} for the repeating component in the left hand side. This is possible precisely if j=k=1j=k=1. Thus E2,,Eh1E_{2},...,E_{h-1} and F2,,Fh1F_{2},...,F_{h-1} are unique up to a permutation leading to the fact that each fiber of f1f_{1} contains exactly (h2)!(h-2)! distinct points. ∎

3.4. Computation of topological invariants of the wobbly locus

An element of the wobbly locus, as an effective divisor, defines a unique holomorphic line bundle on Symh(X)\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X). Recall that the finite holomorphic covering map XhSymh(X)X^{h}\to\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X) of h!h! sheets by the underlying group action defines a group homomorphism Pic(Symh(X))Pic(Xh)\mbox{Pic}(\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X))\to\mbox{Pic}(X^{h}). Also LPic(Xh)L\in\mbox{Pic}(X^{h}) is of the form L=i=1hpriLiL=\otimes_{i=1}^{h}\mbox{pr}_{i}^{*}L_{i} while pri:XhX\mbox{pr}_{i}:X^{h}\to X denotes the ii-th projection morphism. We can identify the Picard variety of Symh(X)\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X) as the class of representatives [i=1hpriLi][\otimes_{i=1}^{h}\mbox{pr}_{i}^{*}L_{i}] so that

(3.4.1) i=1hpriLii=1hprσ(i)Li\bigotimes\limits_{i=1}^{h}\mbox{pr}_{i}^{*}L_{i}\cong\bigotimes\limits_{i=1}^{h}\mbox{pr}_{\sigma(i)}^{*}L_{i}

holds for all σSh\sigma\in S_{h}. On a smooth generic curve of genus >1>1 the Néron-Severi group of Symh(X)\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X) is generated with two elements ([1], [11]). Instead we recall the computations of the fundamental classes of the wobbly subloci (in the subring of algebraic parts of the graded rational cohomology ring H(Symh(X),)H^{*}(\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X),\mathbb{Q})) on an elliptic curve from [13].

We first fix our conventions. We denote with ‘\cdot’ the cup-product operation of integral cohomology groups or simply juxtapose two elements. On a complex elliptic curve XX, recall that H1(X,)H^{1}(X,\mathbb{Z}) is generated by two elements α,α\alpha,\alpha^{\prime} over the ring of integers and αα=β\alpha\cdot\alpha^{\prime}=\beta generates H2(X,)H^{2}(X,\mathbb{Z}) induced by the orientation of XX. The set of elements {α,α,β}\{\alpha,\alpha^{\prime},\beta\} generates the graded cohomology ring H(X,)H^{*}(X,\mathbb{Z}). The relations satisfied for α,α,β\alpha,\alpha^{\prime},\beta are the following:

αα=αα=β2=0;αα=αα=β.\alpha\cdot\alpha^{\prime}=\alpha^{\prime}\cdot\alpha=\beta^{2}=0;~{}\alpha\cdot\alpha^{\prime}=-\alpha^{\prime}\cdot\alpha=\beta.

Let nn\in\mathbb{N}. Then αk:=1αkth component1\alpha_{k}:=1\otimes...\otimes\underbrace{\alpha}_{k-\text{th component}}\otimes...\otimes 1 and αk:=1αkth component1\alpha_{k}^{\prime}:=1\otimes...\otimes\underbrace{\alpha^{\prime}}_{k-\text{th component}}\otimes...\otimes 1 and βk:=1βkth component1\beta_{k}:=1\otimes...\otimes\underbrace{\beta}_{k-\text{th component}}\otimes...\otimes 1. Furthermore, ξ(resp.ξ;η)=k=1nαk(resp.k=1nαk\xi~{}(\text{resp.}~{}\xi^{\prime};~{}\eta)=\sum_{k=1}^{n}\alpha_{k}~{}(\text{resp.}~{}\sum_{k=1}^{n}\alpha_{k}^{\prime} and k=1nβk)\sum_{k=1}^{n}\beta_{k}). The graded cohomology ring H(Symn(X),)H^{*}(\mbox{Sym}^{n}(X),\mathbb{Z}) is generated by ξ,ξ,η\xi,\xi^{\prime},\eta over \mathbb{Z} under the conditions that ξ,ξ\xi,\xi^{\prime} anticommute with each other and commute with η\eta and (ξξη)ηn1=0(\xi\cdot\xi^{\prime}-\eta)\cdot\eta^{n-1}=0 (cf. [13] 6.3). We denote with σ\sigma the element ξξ\xi\cdot\xi^{\prime}.

As usual we identify Pic0(X)\mbox{Pic}^{0}(X) with XX and pXp\in X is a fixed base point. Then there is a holomorphic map ϕ(n):Symn(X)X\phi(n):\mbox{Sym}^{n}(X)\to X given by D𝒪(Dnp)D\mapsto\mathcal{O}(D-np) and ϕ(n)1(u)\phi(n)^{-1}(u) is a PGL(n1,)PGL(n-1,\mathbb{C}) bundle which has fiber n1\mathbb{P}^{n-1} at uXu\in X. For n2n\geq 2 there is a vector bundle E(n)XE(n)\to X of rank nn so that Symn(X)\mbox{Sym}^{n}(X) is the projective bundle associated to E(n)E(n). The map ip:Symn1(X)Symn(X)i_{p}:\mbox{Sym}^{n-1}(X)\to\mbox{Sym}^{n}(X) defines a projective subbundle (E(n1))(E(n))\mathbb{P}(E(n-1))\hookrightarrow\mathbb{P}(E(n)). The degree of E(n)E(n) is given by 1αα1-\alpha\cdot\alpha^{\prime}. Recall that the minimal equation satisfied by η\eta is ηn+ϕ(n)(deg(E(n))ηn1=0\eta^{n}+\phi(n)^{*}(\deg(E(n))\cdot\eta^{n-1}=0 (it is only a special case of the general formula available for a projective bundle). Comparing this equation with (ξξη)ηn1=0(\xi\cdot\xi^{\prime}-\eta)\cdot\eta^{n-1}=0 the degree of E(n)E(n) is computed. The morphism ipi_{p} further induces ip:Hi(Symn1,)Hi+2(Symn(X),){i_{p}}_{*}:H^{i}(\mbox{Sym}^{n-1},\mathbb{Z})\to H^{i+2}(\mbox{Sym}^{n}(X),\mathbb{Z}) with ip(ω)=ηω{i_{p}}_{*}(\omega)=\eta\cdot\omega. The Chern class of Symn(X)\mbox{Sym}^{n}(X) is computed as (1+η)n1(1+ησ)(1+\eta)^{n-1}\cdot(1+\eta-\sigma).

Recall the diagonal morphism once again

(3.4.2) ΦN:Symn1(X)××Symnk(X)Symh(X);D1++Dki1D1++ikDk.\Phi_{N}:\mbox{Sym}^{n_{1}}(X)\times...\times\mbox{Sym}^{n_{k}}(X)\to\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X);D_{1}+...+D_{k}\mapsto i_{1}D_{1}+...+i_{k}D_{k}.

The cohomology class of the image of ΦN\Phi_{N} is the coefficient of y1n1yknky_{1}^{n_{1}}...y_{k}^{n_{k}} in the polynomial

Pν1ηnν1(Pη+Q(ησ))P^{\nu-1}\eta^{n-\nu-1}(P\eta+Q(\eta-\sigma))

while P=i1y1++ikykP=i_{1}y_{1}+...+i_{k}y_{k}Q=(i12i1)y1++(ik2ik)ykQ=(i_{1}^{2}-i_{1})y_{1}+...+(i_{k}^{2}-i_{k})y_{k} and ν=n1++nk\nu=n_{1}+...+n_{k}. In particular, we write δs=cl(Δ(s,1hs))\delta_{s}=\mbox{cl}(\Delta(s,1^{h-s})) by the formula

δs=s[hηs1(s1)ηs2σ]\delta_{s}=s\cdot[h\cdot\eta^{s-1}-(s-1)\eta^{s-2}\cdot\sigma]

and further s=2s=2 we have the cohomology class of the wobbly locus which gives the first chern class of the wobbly divisor. This statement can be viewed as an application of Poincaré duality combining the push-pull projection formula on forms ω=ξaξbσcηqH2ν(Symh(X),)\omega=\xi^{a}\xi^{\prime b}\sigma^{c}\eta^{q}\in H^{2\nu}(\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X),\mathbb{Z}) where a,b,c{0,1}a,b,c\in\{0,1\} and q=2νabcq=2\nu-a-b-c (while ν\nu runs from 11 to hh).

Remark 3.4.1.

Let LL be a line bundle on XX and deg(L)=d2\deg(L)=d\geq 2. Here we modify LL with L1=L𝒪(A)hdL_{1}=L\otimes\mathcal{O}(A)^{h-d} about the base point AA for which we identify Xss(r,d)Symh(X)\mathcal{M}_{X}^{ss}(r,d)\cong\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X). We recall that the collection Xss(r,L)\mathcal{M}_{X}^{ss}(r,L) of semistable bundles with fixed determinant LL is identified with (H0(L1))\mathbb{P}(H^{0}(L_{1})) inside the symmetric power Symh(X)\mbox{Sym}^{h}(X) (fiber of the Abel-Jacobi morphism). We will investigate the wobbly loci 𝒲(1,h,L),,𝒲(h1,2,1,1,L)\mathcal{W}(1,h,L),...,\mathcal{W}(h-1,2,1...,1,L) of fixed determinant LL. 𝒲(1,h,L)\mathcal{W}(1,h,L) is a finite set of points. Rest of these varieties are smooth closed subvarieties isomorphic to the total spaces of projective bundles (EL1(hs))\mathbb{P}(E_{L_{1}}(h-s)) for s=h1,,2s=h-1,...,2 and (EL1(hs))\mathbb{P}(E_{L_{1}}(h-s)) admits (EL1(hs1))\mathbb{P}(E_{L_{1}}(h-s-1)) as a closed subvariety. For a chosen point pXp\in X and chosen ss in the above integer bound, consider the holomorphic line bundle M(s)=L1𝒪(sp)M(s)=L_{1}\otimes\mathcal{O}(-s\cdot p) of degree hsh-s on XX. We first give a reader-friendly description of projective fibers. We identify (H0(M(s)))\mathbb{P}(H^{0}(M(s))) as hs1\mathbb{P}^{h-s-1} based at a point pp. Fix a nonzero section 𝔰(p)\mathfrak{s}(p) vanishing at pp. There is an injective morphism of \mathbb{C}-vector spaces 𝔰(p):H0(M(s+1))H0(M(s))\otimes\mathfrak{s}(p):H^{0}(M(s+1))\to H^{0}(M(s)) (denoting with 𝔰(p)\mathfrak{s}(p) a nonzero section of 𝒪(p)\mathcal{O}(p)). This leads to a closed embedding (H0(M(s+1)))(H0(M(s)))\mathbb{P}(H^{0}(M(s+1)))\to\mathbb{P}(H^{0}(M(s))) contributing the hyperplane at infinity.

We obtain the standard wobbly loci of a fixed determinant LL as a projective bundle on the elliptic curve XX. We define a bundle EL1(hs)XE_{L_{1}}(h-s)\to X with fiber {(x,s):sH0(L1(sx))}\{(x,s):s\in H^{0}(L_{1}(-s\cdot x))\} at xXx\in X. Existence of the bundle EL1(hs)E_{L_{1}}(h-s) is approved by Grauert’s semicontinuity theorem ([7] Corollary 12.9). Consider the Poincaré line bundle ([4], Theorem 5.1 or [24]) Pic1(X)×X\mathcal{L}\to\mbox{Pic}^{1}(X)\times X for which |{M}×XM\mathcal{L}_{|\{M\}\times X}\cong M. Consider the sheaf

=πPic1(X)(sπXL1)Pic1(X)\mathcal{L}^{\prime}={\pi_{\mbox{Pic}^{1}(X)}}_{*}(\mathcal{L}^{-s}\otimes\pi_{X}^{*}L_{1})\to\mbox{Pic}^{1}(X)

that is locally free of rank hsh-s same as the complex dimension of H0(L(sx))H^{0}(L(-s\cdot x)). Since XPic1(X)X\cong\mbox{Pic}^{1}(X), we obtain a bundle on XX associated to \mathcal{L}^{\prime} which we call EL1(hs)E_{L_{1}}(h-s). Finally, the wobbly loci of fixed determinant LL are obtained as (EL1(hs))\mathbb{P}(E_{L_{1}}(h-s)) that admits complex dimension hsh-s. There is an injective morphism of projective bundles: at xXx\in X choose sH0(L1(hs1))s\in H^{0}(L_{1}(h-s-1)) defined by a divisor ajxj\sum a_{j}x_{j} and map it to the effective divisor ajxj+x\sum a_{j}x_{j}+x. We pass to the action by nonzero complex numbers to write a closed immersion (EL1(hs1))(EL1(hs))\mathbb{P}(E_{L_{1}}(h-s-1))\hookrightarrow\mathbb{P}(E_{L_{1}}(h-s)) and organize this fact in the following filtration of closed subvarieties (a version of Drinfeld’s claim for very stable bundles of a fixed determinant line bundle)

(3.4.3) {\emptyset}𝒲(1,h,L){\mathcal{W}(1,h,L)}{\ldots}𝒲(h1,2,1,1,L){\mathcal{W}(h-1,2,1...,1,L)}Xss(r,d,L){\mathcal{M}_{X}^{ss}(r,d,L)}{\emptyset}{L(i)}i=1h2{\{L(i)\}_{i=1}^{h^{2}}}{\ldots}(EL(h2)){\mathbb{P}(E_{L}(h-2))}h1.{\mathbb{P}^{h-1}.}{\subsetneq}{\subsetneq}{\cong}{\subsetneq}{\subsetneq}{\cong}{\cong}{\subsetneq}{\subsetneq}{\subsetneq}{\subsetneq}

Here L(1),,L(h2)L(1),...,L(h^{2}) count h2h^{2} many distinct line bundles so that L(i)h=L1L(i)^{h}=L_{1}. This commutative diagram 3.4.3 appears as the restriction of 3.3.8 on the moduli space of semistable bundles of fixed determinant LL. However, we are not yet able to conclude that (EM1(n))(EM2(n))\mathbb{P}(E_{M_{1}}(n))\cong\mathbb{P}(E_{M_{2}}(n)) (at least as smooth projective varieties, even if not as n1\mathbb{P}^{n-1}-bundles on XX) in case, deg(M1)=deg(M2)\deg(M_{1})=\deg(M_{2}). There are more unsettled questions left. Denote the induced morphism π:(EL1(n))X\pi:\mathbb{P}(E_{L_{1}}(n))\to X. Then the graded cohomology ring H((EL1(n)))H^{*}(\mathbb{P}(E_{L_{1}}(n))) is the polynomial ring generated by the first Chern class of the tautological line bundle c1(π𝒪(1))=ξc_{1}(\pi^{*}\mathcal{O}(1))=\xi with coefficients from H(X)H^{*}(X) under the constraint ξn+c1(E(n))ξn1=0\xi^{n}+c_{1}(E(n))\cdot\xi^{n-1}=0. The restriction of the diagonal morphism Φ:(EL1(hs))h1\Phi:\mathbb{P}(E_{L_{1}}(h-s))\to\mathbb{P}^{h-1} induces a morphism Φ:H((EL1(hs)),)H(h1,)\Phi_{*}:H^{*}(\mathbb{P}(E_{L_{1}}(h-s)),\mathbb{Z})\to H^{*}(\mathbb{P}^{h-1},\mathbb{Z}). There is a generator αH2(h1,)\alpha\in H^{2}(\mathbb{P}^{h-1},\mathbb{Z}) of H(h1,)H^{*}(\mathbb{P}^{h-1},\mathbb{Z}) so that αh=0\alpha^{h}=0. Unfortunately, at this stage we do not know the exact formula of Φ(ξ)\Phi_{*}(\xi) in terms of (the powers of) α\alpha.

The symmetric powers of a curve XX being a generalized construction of the complex projective spaces deserve a few comments on cellular decompositions. The nn-th projective space n\mathbb{P}^{n} is isomorphic to Symn(1)\mbox{Sym}^{n}(\mathbb{P}^{1}) with a cell decomposition of n=nn10\mathbb{P}^{n}=\mathbb{C}^{n}\cup\mathbb{C}^{n-1}\cup...\cup\mathbb{C}^{0}. For higher genus curves, a cell decomposition of a symmetric product is not easily achievable. We provide a pseudo-cell decomposition for a symmetric power of an elliptic curve XX, which is possible because of its group law. First, observe that Symn+1(X)\ip(Symn(X))\mbox{Sym}^{n+1}(X)\backslash i_{p}\left(\mbox{Sym}^{n}(X)\right) is the open subset Symn+1(X\{p})\mbox{Sym}^{n+1}(X\backslash\{p\}) that avoids the divisors containing the point pp. Also the subset Symn+1(X\{p})\mbox{Sym}^{n+1}(X\backslash\{p\}), for an arbitrary choice of a base point pp, is a noncompact connected complex manifold unique up to an isomorphism. Let qq be another point on XX. There is an automorphism on XX that maps pp to qq: for any zXz\in X consider the divisor zp+qz-p+q that is linearly equivalent to a unique point wXw\in X. From this automorphism we can identify Symn(X\{p})Symn(X\{q})\mbox{Sym}^{n}(X\backslash\{p\})\cong\mbox{Sym}^{n}(X\backslash\{q\}) for all nn. The noncompact curve X\{p}X\backslash\{p\} is an affine curve. We denote Symn(X\{p})=Vn\mbox{Sym}^{n}(X\backslash\{p\})=V_{n} and for practical purposes we can choose a base point pp to define the map ipi_{p}. Note that Vn¯=Symn(X)\overline{V_{n}}=\mbox{Sym}^{n}(X), thus VnV_{n} is analogous to a Bruhat cell and Symn(X)\mbox{Sym}^{n}(X) is analogous to a Schubert variety. It is customary to mention that Symn(X)=VnVn1V0\mbox{Sym}^{n}(X)=V_{n}\cup V_{n-1}\cup...\cup V_{0} (based at pp) followed by a flag of closed subvarieties

Sym0(X)Sym1(X)Symn(X).\mbox{Sym}^{0}(X)\subsetneq\mbox{Sym}^{1}(X)\subsetneq...\subsetneq\mbox{Sym}^{n}(X).

Let LXL\to X be a line bundle of degree n+1n+1. The projective space n=(H0(L))\mathbb{P}^{n}=\mathbb{P}(H^{0}(L)) is a subvariety of Symn+1(X)\mbox{Sym}^{n+1}(X). The set of linearly equivalent effective divisors of LL that avoid pp (that is, the holomorphic sections of LL not vanishing at pp) is Symn+1(X\{p})n\mbox{Sym}^{n+1}(X\backslash\{p\})\cap\mathbb{P}^{n}. Observe that a global section of LL that vanishes at 0 is a tensor product of a section of L𝒪(p)1=L(p)L\otimes\mathcal{O}(p)^{-1}=L(-p) with a nonzero section of 𝒪(p)\mathcal{O}(p). Thus we obtain, via the restriction of a pseudo-cell decomposition, the usual cell decomposition on projetive spaces below

Symn+1(X\{p})(H0(L))=(H0(L))\(H0(L(p)))n.\mbox{Sym}^{n+1}(X\backslash\{p\})\cap\mathbb{P}(H^{0}(L))=\mathbb{P}(H^{0}(L))\backslash\mathbb{P}(H^{0}(L(-p)))\cong\mathbb{C}^{n}.

The divisor at infinity (H0(L(p)))\mathbb{P}(H^{0}(L(-p))) admits an very nice nn-dimensional complex manifold structure with an underlying vector space structure. Let v1,,vnv_{1},...,v_{n} be linearly independent global sections of L(p)L(-p). Then the linearly independent sections v1𝔰(p),,vn𝔰(p)v_{1}\otimes\mathfrak{s}(p),...,v_{n}\otimes\mathfrak{s}(p) of LL extend to a global basis of H0(L)H^{0}(L) attaching a global section vn+1v_{n+1}. Obviously, vn+1v_{n+1} does not vanish at pp. We consider the (n+1)(n+1)-tuples of coefficients of the ordered basis {v1𝔰(p),,vn𝔰(p),vn+1}\{v_{1}\otimes\mathfrak{s}(p),...,v_{n}\otimes\mathfrak{s}(p),v_{n+1}\} with the nonzero contributions from vn+1v_{n+1}.

We obtain similar straight forward cases of pseudo-cell decomposition on the standard wobbly loci.

(3.4.4) X×Symn(X)=(X×Vn)(X×V0).X\times\mbox{Sym}^{n}(X)=(X\times V_{n})\cup...\cup(X\times V_{0}).

We mimic the cell decomposition for the wobbly loci of a fixed determinant LL by restricting the previous cell decomposition. At a fixed base point pp we have a canonical closed embedding ip:(EL1(p)(hs))(EL1(hs+1))i_{p}:\mathbb{P}(E_{L_{1}(-p)}(h-s))\to\mathbb{P}(E_{L_{1}}(h-s+1)) by (x,D)(x,D+p)(x,D)\mapsto(x,D+p). We obtain the open subset

(EL1(hs+1))\ip((EL1(p)(hs)))=(EL1(hs+1)\EL1(hs))\mathbb{P}(E_{L_{1}}(h-s+1))\backslash i_{p}(\mathbb{P}(E_{L_{1}(-p)}(h-s)))=\mathbb{P}(E_{L_{1}}(h-s+1)\backslash E_{L_{1}}(h-s))

and

(3.4.5) (EL1(hs+1))=(EL1(hs+1)\EL1(hs))(EL1(1))\mathbb{P}(E_{L_{1}}(h-s+1))=\mathbb{P}(E_{L_{1}}(h-s+1)\backslash E_{L_{1}}(h-s))\cup...\cup\mathbb{P}(E_{L_{1}}(1))

Here we are yet to conclude if the holomorphic structure of the open set (EL1(hs+1)\EL1(hs))\mathbb{P}(E_{L_{1}}(h-s+1)\backslash E_{L_{1}}(h-s)) depends at all on the choice of a base point pp.

Remark 3.4.2.

As a final exercise, we compute the Poincaré polynomial of a standard wobbly sublocus 𝒲(hs+1,s,1,1(hs)times)\mathcal{W}(h-s+1,s,\underbrace{1,...1}_{(h-s)~{}\text{times}}) and of a standard wobbly sublocus 𝒲(hs+1,s,1,1(hs)times,L)\mathcal{W}(h-s+1,s,\underbrace{1,...1}_{(h-s)~{}\text{times}},L) with a fixed determinant LL. We do this by applying a Künneth decomposition on the Poincaré polynomials of XX, Symhs\mbox{Sym}^{h-s}, and projective bundles on a curve. The Betti numbers of symmetric products of a curve are by now classical, and were computed in [13]. We obtain

𝒫(𝒲(hs+1,s,1,1(hs)times),z)=(1+2z+z2)(1+2z++2z2(hs)1+z2(hs))\displaystyle\mathcal{P}(\mathcal{W}(h-s+1,s,\underbrace{1,...1}_{(h-s)~{}\text{times}}),z)=(1+2z+z^{2})\cdot(1+2z+...+2z^{2(h-s)-1}+z^{2(h-s)})
=z2(hs)+2+4z2(hs)+1+7z2(hs)+8z2(hs)1++8z3+7z2+4z+1\displaystyle=z^{2(h-s)+2}+4z^{2(h-s)+1}+7z^{2(h-s)}+8z^{2(h-s)-1}+...+8z^{3}+7z^{2}+4z+1

and

𝒫(𝒲(hs+1,s,1,1(hs)times,L),z)=i=02(hs)hi((EL(hs)))zi\displaystyle\mathcal{P}(\mathcal{W}(h-s+1,s,\underbrace{1,...1}_{(h-s)~{}\text{times}},L),z)=\sum\limits_{i=0}^{2(h-s)}h^{i}(\mathbb{P}(E_{L}(h-s)))\cdot z^{i}
={h2;h=s;1+2(z++z2(hs)1)+z2(hs);h<s\displaystyle=\begin{cases}h^{2};~{}h=s;\\ 1+2\left(z+...+z^{2(h-s)-1}\right)+z^{2(h-s)};~{}h<s\end{cases}

Here, ss runs from 22 to hh. We implement the formula hi((EL(hs)),)=t=0hs1hi2t(X,)h^{i}(\mathbb{P}(E_{L}(h-s)),\mathbb{Z})=\sum_{t=0}^{h-s-1}h^{i-2t}(X,\mathbb{Z}).

References