Polynomiality of monotone Hurwitz numbers in higher genera

Hurwitz numbers count branched covers of the Riemann sphere with specified ramification, or equivalently, transitive permutation factorizations in the symmetric group with specified cycle types. Monotone Hurwitz numbers count a restricted subset of these branched covers, related to the expansion of complete symmetric functions in the Jucys–Murphy elements, and have arisen in recent work on the asymptotic expansion of the Harish-Chandra–Itzykson–Zuber integral. In previous work we gave an explicit formula for monotone Hurwitz numbers in genus zero. In this paper we consider monotone Hurwitz numbers in higher genera, and prove a number of results that are reminiscent of those for classical Hurwitz numbers. These include an explicit formula for monotone Hurwitz numbers in genus one, and an explicit form for the generating function in arbitrary positive genus. From the form of the generating function we are able to prove that monotone Hurwitz numbers exhibit a polynomiality that is reminiscent of that for the classical Hurwitz numbers, i.e.  , up to a specified combinatorial factor, the monotone Hurwitz number in genus g$g$ with ramification specified by a given partition is a polynomial indexed by g$g$ in the parts of the partition.     

Hurwitz spaces and liftings to the Valentiner group

We study the components of the Hurwitz scheme of ramified coverings of ${\mathbb{P}}^1$ with monodromy given by the alternating group $A_6$ and elements in the conjugacy class of product of two disjoint cycles. In order to detect the connected components of the Hurwitz scheme, inspired by the case of the spin structures studied by Fried for the 3-cycles, we use as invariant the lifting to the Valentiner group, a triple covering of $A_6$. We prove that the Hurwitz scheme has two irreducible components when the genus of the covering is greater than zero, in accordance with the asymptotic solution found by Bogomolov and Kulikov.     

Moduli spaces of weighted pointed stable curves

A weighted pointed curve consists of a nodal curve and a sequence of marked smooth points, each assigned a number between zero and one. A subset of the marked points may coincide if the sum of the corresponding weights is no greater than one. We construct moduli spaces for these objects using methods of the log minimal model program, and describe the induced birational morphisms between moduli spaces as the weights are varied. In the genus zero case, we explain the connection to Geometric Invariant Theory quotients of points in the projective line, and to compactifications of moduli spaces studied by Kapranov, Keel, and Losev-Manin.     

Strongly omnipresent integral operators

An operatorT on the spaceH(G) of holomorphic functions on a domainG is strongly omnipresent whenever there is a residual set of functionsfH(G) such thatT f exhibits an extremely wild behaviour near the boundary. The concept of strong omnipresence was recently introduced by the first two authors. In this paper it is proved that a large class of integral operators including Volterra operators with or without a perturbation by differential operators has this property, completing earlier work about differential and antidifferential operators.The work of the first two authors has been partially supported by DGES grant PB96-1348 and the Junta de Andalucía.     

Affine threefolds whose log canonical bundles are not numerically effective

Let X?(T,D) be a compactification of an affine 3-fold X into a smooth projective 3-fold T such that the (reduced) boundary divisor D is SNC. In this paper, as an affine counterpart to the work due to S. Mori (cf. [S. Mori, Threefolds whose canonical bundles are not numerically effective, Ann. of Math. 116 (1982) 133-176]), we shall classify (K+D)-negative extremal rays on T. In particular, if such an extremal ray R=R₊[C] intersects K non-negatively, we shall describe the log flips and divisorial contractions appearing explicitly.     

Birational aspects of the geometry of Varieties of Sums of Powers

Varieties of Sums of Powers describe the additive decompositions of a homogeneous polynomial into powers of linear forms. The study of these varieties dates back to Sylvester and Hilbert, but only few of them, for special degrees and number of variables, are concretely identified. In this paper we aim to understand a general birational behavior of VSP. To do this we birationally embed these varieties into Grassmannians and prove the rational connectedness of many VSP in arbitrary degrees and number of variables.     

Prime and composite Laurent polynomials

In the paper [J. Ritt, Prime and composite polynomials, Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 23 (1922) 51-66] Ritt constructed the theory of functional decompositions of polynomials with complex coefficients. In particular, he described explicitly polynomial solutions of the functional equation f(p(z))=g(q(z)). In this paper we study the equation above in the case where f,g,p,q are holomorphic functions on compact Riemann surfaces. We also construct a self-contained theory of functional decompositions of rational functions with at most two poles generalizing the Ritt theory. In particular, we give new proofs of the theorems of Ritt and of the theorem of Bilu and Tichy.     

Conjectured statistics for the q,t-Catalan numbers

We introduce the distribution function F_n(q,t) of a pair of statistics on Catalan words and conjecture F_n(q,t) equals Garsia and Haiman's q,t-Catalan sequence C_n(q,t), which they defined as a sum of rational functions. We show that F_n,s(q,t), defined as the sum of these statistics restricted to Catalan words ending in s ones, satisfies a recurrence relation. As a corollary we are able to verify that F_n(q,t)=C_n(q,t) when t=1/q. We also show the partial symmetry relation F_n(q,1)=F_n(1,q). By modifying a proof of Haiman of a q-Lagrange inversion formula based on results of Garsia and Gessel, we obtain a q-analogue of the general Lagrange inversion formula which involves Catalan words grouped according to the number of ones at the end of the word.     

Towards the multiplicative behavior of the K-theoretical McKay correspondence

When the quotient of a symplectic vector space by the action of a finite subgroup of symplectic automorphisms admits as a crepant projective resolution of singularities the Hilbert scheme of regular orbits of Nakamura, then there is a natural isomorphism between the Grothendieck group of this resolution and the representation ring of the group, given by the Bridgeland-King-Reid map. However, this isomorphism is not compatible with the ring structures. For the Hilbert scheme of points on the affine plane, we study the multiplicative behavior of this map.     

Applications of minor summation formula III, Plücker relations, lattice paths and Pfaffian identities

The initial purpose of the present paper is to provide a combinatorial proof of the minor summation formula of Pfaffians in [Ishikawa, Wakayama, Minor summation formula of Pfaffians, Linear and Multilinear Algebra 39 (1995) 285-305] based on the lattice path method. The second aim is to study applications of the minor summation formula for obtaining several identities. Especially, a simple proof of Kawanaka's formula concerning a q-series identity involving the Schur functions [Kawanaka, A q-series identity involving Schur functions and related topics, Osaka J. Math. 36 (1999) 157-176] and of the identity in [Kawanaka, A q-Cauchy identity involving Schur functions and imprimitive complex reflection groups, Osaka J. Math. 38 (2001) 775-810] which is regarded as a determinant version of the previous one are given.     

Abel maps for curves of compact type

Recently, the first Abel map for a stable curve of genus g≥2 has been constructed. Fix an integer d≥1 and let C be a stable curve of compact type of genus g≥2. We construct two d-th Abel maps for C, having different targets, and we compare the fibers of the two maps. As an application, we get a characterization of hyperelliptic stable curves of compact type with two components via the second Abel map.     

Irreducibility of Hurwitz spaces of coverings with one special fiber and monodromy group a Weyl group of type <Emphasis Type="Italic">D</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">d</Emphasis></Subscript>

Let Y be a smooth, connected, projective complex curve. In this paper, we study the Hurwitz spaces which parameterize branched coverings of Y whose monodromy group is a Weyl group of type D _d and whose local monodromies are all reflections except one. We prove the irreducibility of these spaces when and successively we extend the result to curves of genus g ≥ 1.     

Coincidence Nielsen numbers for covering maps for smooth manifolds

Let be maps between closed smooth manifolds of the same dimension, and let and be finite regular covering maps. If the manifolds are nonorientable, using semi-index, we introduce two new Nielsen numbers. The first one is the Linear Nielsen number NL(f,g), which is a linear combination of the Nielsen numbers of the lifts of f and g. The second one is the Nonlinear Nielsen number NED(f,g). It is the number of certain essential classes whose inverse images by p are inessential Nielsen classes. In fact, N(f,g)=NL(f,g)+NED(f,g), where by abuse of notation, N(f,g) denotes the coincidence Nielsen number defined using semi-index.     

The compactified Picard scheme of the compactified Jacobian

Let C be an integral projective curve in any characteristic. Given an invertible sheaf L on C of degree 1, form the corresponding Abel map , which maps C into its compactified Jacobian, and form its pullback map , which carries the connected component of 0 in the Picard scheme back to the Jacobian. If C has, at worst, double points, then is known to be an isomorphism. We prove that always extends to a map between the natural compactifications, , and that the extended map is an isomorphism if C has, at worst, ordinary nodes and cusps.     

The derived category of quasi-coherent sheaves and axiomatic stable homotopy

We prove in this paper that for a quasi-compact and semi-separated (nonnecessarily noetherian) scheme X, the derived category of quasi-coherent sheaves over X, D(Aqc(X)), is a stable homotopy category in the sense of Hovey, Palmieri and Strickland, answering a question posed by Strickland. Moreover we show that it is unital and algebraic. We also prove that for a noetherian semi-separated formal scheme X, its derived category of sheaves of modules with quasi-coherent torsion homologies Dqct(X) is a stable homotopy category. It is algebraic but if the formal scheme is not a usual scheme, it is not unital, therefore its abstract nature differs essentially from that of the derived category Dqc(X) (which is equivalent to D(Aqc(X))) in the case of a usual scheme.     

Optimal control of the insurance company with proportional reinsurance policy under solvency constraints

This paper considers the optimal control problem of the insurance company with proportional reinsurance policy under solvency constraints. The management of the company controls the reinsurance rate and dividends payout processes to maximize the expected present value of the dividend until the time of bankruptcy. This is a mixed singular-regular control problem. However, the optimal dividend payout barrier may be too low to be acceptable. The company may be prohibited to pay dividend according to external reasons because this low dividend payout barrier will result in bankruptcy soon. Therefore, some constraints on the insurance company’s dividend policy will be imposed. One reasonable and normal constraint is that if b is the minimum dividend barrier, then the bankrupt probability should not be larger than some predetermined ε within the time horizon T. This paper is to work out the optimal control policy of the insurance company under the solvency constraints.     

Two remarks on sextic double solids

We study the potential density of rational points on double solids ramified along singular reduced sextic surfaces. Also, we investigate elliptic fibration structures on nonsingular sextic double solids defined over a perfect field of characteristic 5.     

Fourier-Mukai transforms for Gorenstein schemes

We extend to singular schemes with Gorenstein singularities or fibered in schemes of that kind Bondal and Orlov's criterion for an integral functor to be fully faithful. We also prove that the original condition of characteristic zero cannot be removed by providing a counterexample in positive characteristic. We contemplate a criterion for equivalence as well. In addition, we prove that for locally projective Gorenstein morphisms, a relative integral functor is fully faithful if and only if its restriction to each fibre is also fully faithful. These results imply the invertibility of the usual relative Fourier-Mukai transform for an elliptic fibration as a direct corollary.     

On the global convergence of path-following methods to determine all solutions to a system of nonlinear equations

In this paper we prove a general theorem stating a sufficient condition for the inverse image of a point under a continuously differentiable map from ℝ ⁿ to ℝ ^k to be connected. This result is applied to the trajectories generated by the Newton flow. Several examples demonstrate the applicability of the results to nontrivial problems. This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.