Tau-function on Hurwitz spaces

We consider special series in ratios of the Schur functions which are defined by integers $\textsc{f}\ge 0$ and $\textsc{e} \le 2$, and also by the set of $3k$ parameters $n_i,q_i,t_i,\,i=1,..., k$. These series may be presented in form of matrix integrals. In case $k=0$ these series generates Hurwitz numbers for the $d$-fold branched covering of connected surfaces with a given Euler characteristic $\textsc{e}$ and arbitrary profiles at $\textsc{f}$ ramification points. If $k...

We study "pure-cycle" Hurwitz spaces, parametrizing covers of the projective line having only one ramified point over each branch point. We start with the case of genus-0 covers, using a combination of limit linear series theory and group theory to show that these spaces are always irreducible. In the case of four branch points, we also compute the associated Hurwitz numbers. Finally, we give a conditional result in the higher-genus case, requiring at least 3g simply branched...

We show that the canonical bundle of the Hurwitz stack classifying covers of genus g>1 and degree k>2 of the projective line is big. We show that all coarse moduli spaces of trigonal curves of genus g>1 are of general type.

We study the relationship between tropical and classical Hurwitz moduli spaces. Following recent work of Abramovich, Caporaso and Payne, we outline a tropicalization for the moduli space of generalized Hurwitz covers of an arbitrary genus curve. Our approach is to appeal to the geometry of admissible covers, which compactify the Hurwitz scheme. We define and construct a moduli space of tropical admissible covers, and study its relationship with the skeleton of the Berkovich a...

In this article, to each generic real meromorphic function (i.e., having only simple branch points in the appropriate sense) we associate a certain combinatorial gadget which we call the park of a function. We show that the park determines the topological type of the generic real meromorphic function and that the set of all parks is in $1-1$-correspondence with the set of all connected components in the space of generic real meromorphic functions. For any of the above compone...

We review the concept of $\tau$-function for simple analytic curves. The $\tau$-function gives a formal solution to the 2D inverse potential problem and appears as the $\tau$-function of the integrable hierarchy which describes conformal maps of simply-connected domains bounded by analytic curves to the unit disk. The $\tau$-function also emerges in the context of topological gravity and enjoys an interpretation as a large $N$ limit of the normal matrix model.

This article contains a new argument which proves vanishing of the first cohomology for negative vector bundles over a complex projective variety if the rank of the bundle is smaller than the dimension of the base. Similar argument is applied to the construction of holomorphic functions on the universal covering of the complex projective variety .

We provide a formula describing the G-module structure of the Hurwitz-Hodge bundle for admissible G-covers in terms of the Hodge bundle of the base curve, and more generally, for describing the G-module structure of the push-forward to the base of any sheaf on a family of admissible G-covers. This formula can be interpreted as a representation-ring-valued relative Riemann-Hurwitz formula for families of admissible G-covers.

Graber, Harris and Starr proved, when n >= 2d, the irreducibility of the Hurwitz space H^0_{d,n}(Y) which parametrizes degree d coverings of a smooth, projective curve Y of positive genus, simply branched in n points, with full monodromy group S_d (math.AG/0205056). We sharpen this result and prove that H^0_{d,n}(Y) is irreducible if n >= max{2,2d-4} and in the case of elliptic Y if n >= max{2,2d-6}. We extend the result to coverings simply branched in all but one point of th...

We solve the Hurwitz monodromy problem for degree-4 covers. That is, the Hurwitz space H_{4,g} of all simply branched covers of P^1 of degree 4 and genus g is an unramified cover of the space P_{2g+6} of (2g+6)-tuples of distinct points in P^1. We determine the monodromy of pi_1(P_{2g+6}) on the points of the fiber. This turns out to be the same problem as the action of pi_1(P_{2g+6}) on a certain local system of Z/2-vector spaces. We generalize our result by treating the ana...