Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 159 3 Solution 2026-09-28
The irregularity of an algebraic surface and the geometric genus of an algebraic surface are respectively
If is the blowup at a point with exceptional divisor , thenA holomorphic two-form on pulls back to one on . Conversely, a holomorphic two-form on descends across : locally it is a form on the punctured smooth surface , and its coefficients extend over the codimension-two point . Equivalently, . Pullback is therefore an isomorphismwhich proves the birational invariance of the geometric genus of a surface in this case.
Let , where both smooth projective curves have positive genus. The Künneth theorem gives the irregularity of a product of curvesIf a surface is a hypersurface in projective space, dimension forces it to be a smooth hypersurface . Fromand the intermediate cohomology vanishing for line bundles on projective space, one obtains . Thus every such hypersurface has irregularity zero, whereas has positive irregularity. Hence is not isomorphic to a hypersurface. This is the product of positive-genus curves is not a projective hypersurface obstruction.
The Albanese variety is the universal abelian variety receiving a pointed morphism from , andLet the smooth image curve of the Albanese morphism be of genus . Pullback of holomorphic one-forms along the dominant map is injective, giving . On the other hand, the universal property of the Jacobian extends to a homomorphismThe Albanese image generates the entire Albanese variety, so this homomorphism is surjective and . Therefore the Irregularity from a smooth Albanese curve image is