Paper 4, Section II, G

Algebraic Geometry
Part II, 2009

State the Riemann-Roch theorem for a smooth projective curve VV, and use it to outline a proof of the Riemann-Hurwitz formula for a non-constant morphism between projective nonsingular curves in characteristic zero.

Let VP2V \subset \mathbb{P}^{2} be a smooth projective plane cubic over an algebraically closed field kk of characteristic zero, written in normal form X0X22=F(X0,X1)X_{0} X_{2}^{2}=F\left(X_{0}, X_{1}\right) for a homogeneous cubic polynomial FF, and let P0=(0:0:1)P_{0}=(0: 0: 1) be the point at infinity. Taking the group law on VV for which P0P_{0} is the identity element, let PVP \in V be a point of order 3 . Show that there exists a linear form Hk[X0,X1,X2]H \in k\left[X_{0}, X_{1}, X_{2}\right] such that VV(H)={P}V \cap V(H)=\{P\}.

Let H1,H2k[X0,X1,X2]H_{1}, H_{2} \in k\left[X_{0}, X_{1}, X_{2}\right] be nonzero linear forms. Suppose the lines {Hi=0}\left\{H_{i}=0\right\} are distinct, do not meet at a point of VV, and are nowhere tangent to VV. Let WP3W \subset \mathbb{P}^{3} be given by the vanishing of the polynomials

X0X22F(X0,X1),X32H1(X0,X1,X2)H2(X0,X1,X2)X_{0} X_{2}^{2}-F\left(X_{0}, X_{1}\right), \quad X_{3}^{2}-H_{1}\left(X_{0}, X_{1}, X_{2}\right) H_{2}\left(X_{0}, X_{1}, X_{2}\right)

Show that WW has genus 4 . [You may assume without proof that WW is an irreducible smooth curve.]