In this article, we apply the Bestvina–Mess type formula for relatively hyperbolic groups, which is established by Tomohiro Fukaya, to automorphism groups of K3 surfaces, and we show that the virtual cohomological dimension of automorphism groups of K3 surfaces is determined by the covering dimension of the blown-up boundaries associated with their ample cones.

Given a general polarized $K3$ surface $S\subset \mathbb P^g$ of genus $g\le 14$, we study projections of minimal degree and their variational structure. In particular, we prove that the degree of irrationality of all such surfaces is at most $4$, and that for $g=7,8,9,11$ there are no rational maps of degree $3$ induced by the primitive linear system. Our methods combine vector bundle techniques à la Lazarsfeld with derived category tools and also make use of the rich theory of singular curves on $K3$ surfaces.

Mukai’s program in [16] seeks to recover a K3 surface X from any curve C on it by exhibiting it as a Fourier–Mukai partner to a Brill–Noether locus of vector bundles on the curve. In the case X has Picard number one and the curve $C\in |H|$ is primitive, this was confirmed by Feyzbakhsh in [11, 13] for $g\geq 11$ and $g\neq 12$. More recently, Feyzbakhsh has shown in [12] that certain moduli spaces of stable bundles on X are isomorphic to the Brill–Noether locus of curves in $|H|$ if g is sufficiently large. In this paper, we work with irreducible curves in a nonprimitive ample linear system $|mH|$ and prove that Mukai’s program is valid for any irreducible curve when $g\neq 2$, $mg\geq 11$ and $mg\neq 12$. Furthermore, we introduce the destabilising regions to improve Feyzbakhsh’s analysis in [12]. We show that there are hyper-Kähler varieties as Brill–Noether loci of curves in every dimension.

Works by O’Grady allow to associate with a two-dimensional Gushel–Mukai (GM) variety, which is a K3 surface, a double Eisenbud–Popescu–Walter (EPW) sextic. We characterize the $K3$ surfaces whose associated double EPW sextic is smooth. As a consequence, we are able to produce symplectic actions on some families of smooth double EPW sextics which are hyper-Kähler manifolds.

We also provide bounds for the automorphism group of GM varieties in dimension 2 and higher.

Let $X$ and $Y$ be compact hyper-Kähler manifolds deformation equivalent to the Hilbert scheme of length $n$ subschemes of a $K3$ surface. A class in $H^{p,p}(X\times Y,{\mathbb {Q}})$ is an analytic correspondence, if it belongs to the subring generated by Chern classes of coherent analytic sheaves. Let $f:H^2(X,{\mathbb {Q}})\rightarrow H^2(Y,{\mathbb {Q}})$ be a rational Hodge isometry with respect to the Beauville–Bogomolov–Fujiki pairings. We prove that $f$ is induced by an analytic correspondence. We furthermore lift $f$ to an analytic correspondence $\tilde {f}: H^*(X,{\mathbb {Q}})[2n]\rightarrow H^*(Y,{\mathbb {Q}})[2n]$, which is a Hodge isometry with respect to the Mukai pairings and which preserves the gradings up to sign. When $X$ and $Y$ are projective, the correspondences $f$ and $\tilde {f}$ are algebraic.

We prove that any hyper-Kähler sixfold $K$ of generalized Kummer type has a naturally associated manifold $Y_K$ of $\mathrm {K}3^{[3]}$ type. It is obtained as crepant resolution of the quotient of $K$ by a group of symplectic involutions acting trivially on its second cohomology. When $K$ is projective, the variety $Y_K$ is birational to a moduli space of stable sheaves on a uniquely determined projective $\mathrm {K}3$ surface $S_K$. As an application of this construction we show that the Kuga–Satake correspondence is algebraic for the K3 surfaces $S_K$, producing infinitely many new families of $\mathrm {K}3$ surfaces of general Picard rank $16$ satisfying the Kuga–Satake Hodge conjecture.

In characteristic $0$, symplectic automorphisms of K3 surfaces (i.e., automorphisms preserving the global $2$-form) and non-symplectic ones behave differently. In this paper, we consider the actions of the group schemes $\mu _{n}$ on K3 surfaces (possibly with rational double point [RDP] singularities) in characteristic p, where n may be divisible by p. We introduce the notion of symplecticness of such actions, and we show that symplectic $\mu _{n}$-actions have similar properties, such as possible orders, fixed loci, and quotients, to symplectic automorphisms of order n in characteristic $0$. We also study local $\mu _n$-actions on RDPs.

We show that the K-moduli spaces of log Fano pairs $\left(\mathbb {P}^1\times \mathbb {P}^1, cC\right)$, where C is a $(4,4)$ curve and their wall crossings coincide with the VGIT quotients of $(2,4)$, complete intersection curves in $\mathbb {P}^3$. This, together with recent results by Laza and O’Grady, implies that these K-moduli spaces form a natural interpolation between the GIT moduli space of $(4,4)$ curves on $\mathbb {P}^1\times \mathbb {P}^1$ and the Baily–Borel compactification of moduli of quartic hyperelliptic K3 surfaces.

We give the first examples of derived equivalences between varieties defined over non-closed fields where one has a rational point and the other does not. We begin with torsors over Jacobians of curves over $\mathbb {Q}$ and $\mathbb {F}_q(t)$, and conclude with a pair of hyperkähler 4-folds over $\mathbb {Q}$. The latter is independently interesting as a new example of a transcendental Brauer–Manin obstruction to the Hasse principle. The source code for the various computations is supplied as supplementary material with the online version of this article.

Yoshikawa in [Invent. Math. 156 (2004), 53–117] introduces a holomorphic torsion invariant of $K3$ surfaces with involution. In this paper we completely determine its structure as an automorphic function on the moduli space of such $K3$ surfaces. On every component of the moduli space, it is expressed as the product of an explicit Borcherds lift and a classical Siegel modular form. We also introduce its twisted version. We prove its modularity and a certain uniqueness of the modular form corresponding to the twisted holomorphic torsion invariant. This is used to study an equivariant analogue of Borcherds’ conjecture.

Let ${\mathcal{F}}_{g}^{\mathbf{N}}$ be the moduli space of polarized Nikulin surfaces $(Y,H)$ of genus $g$ and let ${\mathcal{P}}_{g}^{\mathbf{N}}$ be the moduli of triples $(Y,H,C)$, with $C\in |H|$ a smooth curve. We study the natural map $\unicode[STIX]{x1D712}_{g}:{\mathcal{P}}_{g}^{\mathbf{N}}\rightarrow {\mathcal{R}}_{g}$, where ${\mathcal{R}}_{g}$ is the moduli space of Prym curves of genus $g$. We prove that it is generically injective on every irreducible component, with a few exceptions in low genus. This gives a complete picture of the map $\unicode[STIX]{x1D712}_{g}$ and confirms some striking analogies between it and the Mukai map $m_{g}:{\mathcal{P}}_{g}\rightarrow {\mathcal{M}}_{g}$ for moduli of triples $(Y,H,C)$, where $(Y,H)$ is any genus $g$ polarized $K3$ surface. The proof is by degeneration to boundary points of a partial compactification of ${\mathcal{F}}_{g}^{\mathbf{N}}$. These represent the union of two surfaces with four even nodes and effective anticanonical class, which we call half Nikulin surfaces. The use of this degeneration is new with respect to previous techniques.

Moduli spaces of stable objects in the derived category of a $K3$ surface provide a large class of holomorphic symplectic varieties. In this paper, we study the interplay between Chern classes of stable objects and zero-cycles on holomorphic symplectic varieties which arise as moduli spaces. First, we show that the second Chern class of any object in the derived category lies in a suitable piece of O’Grady’s filtration on the $\text{CH}_{0}$-group of the $K3$ surface. This solves a conjecture of O’Grady and improves on previous results of Huybrechts, O’Grady, and Voisin. Second, we propose a candidate for the Beauville–Voisin filtration on the $\text{CH}_{0}$-group of the moduli space of stable objects. We discuss its connection with Voisin’s recent proposal via constant cycle subvarieties, and prove a conjecture of hers on the existence of special algebraically coisotropic subvarieties for the moduli space.

By work of Looijenga and others, one understands the relationship between Geometric Invariant Theory (GIT) and Baily–Borel compactifications for the moduli spaces of degree-$2$ $K3$ surfaces, cubic fourfolds, and a few other related examples. The similar-looking cases of degree-$4$ $K3$ surfaces and double Eisenbud–Popescu–Walter (EPW) sextics turn out to be much more complicated for arithmetic reasons. In this paper, we refine work of Looijenga in order to handle these cases. Specifically, in analogy with the so-called Hassett–Keel program for the moduli space of curves, we study the variation of log canonical models for locally symmetric varieties of Type IV associated to $D$-lattices. In particular, for the $19$-dimensional case, we conjecturally obtain a continuous one-parameter interpolation between the GIT and Baily–Borel compactifications for the moduli of degree-$4$ $K3$ surfaces. The analogous $18$-dimensional case, which corresponds to hyperelliptic degree-$4$ $K3$ surfaces, can be verified by means of Variation of Geometric Invariant Theory (VGIT) quotients.

We give a proof of the formality conjecture of Kaledin and Lehn: on a complex projective K3 surface, the differential graded (DG) algebra $\operatorname{RHom}^{\bullet }(F,F)$ is formal for any sheaf $F$ polystable with respect to an ample line bundle. Our main tool is the uniqueness of the DG enhancement of the bounded derived category of coherent sheaves. We also extend the formality result to derived objects that are polystable with respect to a generic Bridgeland stability condition.

We study abelian varieties and K3 surfaces with complex multiplication defined over number fields of fixed degree. We show that these varieties fall into finitely many isomorphism classes over an algebraic closure of the field of rational numbers. As an application we confirm finiteness conjectures of Shafarevich and Coleman in the CM case. In addition we prove the uniform boundedness of the Galois invariant subgroup of the geometric Brauer group for forms of a smooth projective variety satisfying the integral Mumford–Tate conjecture. When applied to K3 surfaces, this affirms a conjecture of Várilly-Alvarado in the CM case.

Let $Y$ be an abelian variety over a subfield $k\subset \mathbb{C}$ that is of finite type over $\mathbb{Q}$. We prove that if the Mumford–Tate conjecture for $Y$ is true, then also some refined integral and adelic conjectures due to Serre are true for $Y$. In particular, if a certain Hodge-maximality condition is satisfied, we obtain an adelic open image theorem for the Galois representation on the (full) Tate module of $Y$. We also obtain an (unconditional) adelic open image theorem for K3 surfaces. These results are special cases of a more general statement for the image of a natural adelic representation of the fundamental group of a Shimura variety.

We exhibit a Cremona transformation of $\mathbb{P}^{4}$ such that the base loci of the map and its inverse are birational to K3 surfaces. The two K3 surfaces are derived equivalent but not isomorphic to each other. As an application, we show that the difference of the two K3 surfaces annihilates the class of the affine line in the Grothendieck ring of varieties.

Let $K$ be the field of fractions of a local Henselian discrete valuation ring ${\mathcal{O}}_{K}$ of characteristic zero with perfect residue field $k$ . Assuming potential semi-stable reduction, we show that an unramified Galois action on the second $\ell$ -adic cohomology group of a K3 surface over $K$ implies that the surface has good reduction after a finite and unramified extension. We give examples where this unramified extension is really needed. Moreover, we give applications to good reduction after tame extensions and Kuga–Satake Abelian varieties. On our way, we settle existence and termination of certain flops in mixed characteristic, and study group actions and their quotients on models of varieties.

The aim of this paper is to prove that a $\text{K3}$ surface is the minimal model of the quotient of an Abelian surface by a group $G$ (respectively of a $\text{K3}$ surface by an Abelian group $G$ ) if and only if a certain lattice is primitively embedded in its Néron-Severi group. This allows one to describe the coarse moduli space of the $\text{K3}$ surfaces that are (rationally) $G$ -covered by Abelian or $\text{K3}$ surfaces (in the latter case $G$ is an Abelian group). When $G$ has order 2 or $G$ is cyclic and acts on an Abelian surface, this result is already known; we extend it to the other cases.

Moreover, we prove that a $\text{K3}$ surface ${{X}_{G}}$ is the minimal model of the quotient of an Abelian surface by a group $G$ if and only if a certain configuration of rational curves is present on ${{X}_{G}}$ . Again, this result was known only in some special cases, in particular, if $G$ has order 2 or 3.

Smooth cubic hypersurfaces $X\subset \mathbb{P}^{5}$ (over $\mathbb{C}$ ) are linked to K3 surfaces via their Hodge structures, due to the work of Hassett, and via a subcategory ${\mathcal{A}}_{X}\subset \text{D}^{\text{b}}(X)$ , due to the work of Kuznetsov. The relation between these two viewpoints has recently been elucidated by Addington and Thomas. In this paper, both aspects are studied further and extended to twisted K3 surfaces, which in particular allows us to determine the group of autoequivalences of ${\mathcal{A}}_{X}$ for the general cubic fourfold. Furthermore, we prove finiteness results for cubics with equivalent K3 categories and study periods of cubics in terms of generalized K3 surfaces.