Picard functor of a curve (${\mathrm{Pic}}_{C/k}^d$)

For a smooth projective geometrically connected algebraic curve $C/k$, this functor assigns to a scheme $T$ the line bundles on $C\times T$ having degree $d$ on each geometric fibre, modulo bundles pulled back from $T$. One generally takes the associated sheaf for faithfully flat covers. A rational point of $C$ permits normalization of every line bundle along that point; normalized bundles have no automorphisms preserving their normalization and satisfy effective descent. The resulting functor is represented by the degree-$d$ component of the Picard scheme of a curve.

For a smooth projective algebraic curve of genus $g$, this smooth proper $g$-dimensional scheme represents degree-$d$ line bundles in families. Charts come from nonspecial degree-$g$ bundles: their first sheaf cohomology vanishes, so the Riemann-Roch theorem gives exactly one independent global section, whose zero Cartier divisor varies algebraically. Twisting by fixed line bundles gives charts covering every degree-$d$ class. For degree zero the tensor product gives the Jacobian variety; other components are its torsors.

A degree-$g$ line bundle with vanishing first sheaf cohomology has exactly one section up to scale, by Riemann-Roch theorem. Its zero divisor is unique and varies in families by cohomology and base change for line bundles on a curve. For a fixed divisor $B$ of degree $N-g$, the open subset of $C^{(g)}$ where $\mathcal{O}(E)$ has vanishing first cohomology gives a chart in degree $N$, by $E\mapsto \mathcal{O}(B+E)$. Different charts are glued by the unique residual divisor of $\mathcal{O}(B+E-B^{\prime })$ wherever that line bundle is again nonspecial. Normalizing the universal bundles along a fixed rational point gives their canonical compatible gluing and a representing scheme for the Picard functor of a curve.