We consider threefolds that admit a fibration by K3 surfaces over a nonsingular curve, equipped with a divisorial sheaf that defines a polarisation of degree two on the general fibre. Under certain assumptions on the threefold we show that its relative log canonical model exists and can be explicitly reconstructed from a small set of data determined by the original fibration. Finally we prove a converse to the above statement: under certain assumptions, any such set of data determines a threefold that arises as the relative log canonical model of a threefold admitting a fibration by K3 surfaces of degree two.

We classify minimal surfaces of general type with $p_g=q=2$ and $K^2=6$ whose Albanese map is a generically finite double cover. We show that the corresponding moduli space is the disjoint union of three generically smooth irreducible components $\mathcal{M}_{Ia}$, $\mathcal{M}_{Ib}$, $\mathcal{M}_{II}$ of dimension $4$, $4$, $3$, respectively.

In this article, we study the correspondence between the geometry of del Pezzo surfaces $S_{r}$ and the geometry of the $r$-dimensional Gosset polytopes $(r-4)_{21}$. We construct Gosset polytopes $(r-4)_{21}$ in $\operatorname{Pic} S_{r}\otimes\mathbb{Q}$ whose vertices are lines, and we identify divisor classes in $\operatorname{Pic} S_{r}$ corresponding to $(a-1)$-simplexes ($a\leq r$), $(r-1)$-simplexes and $(r-1)$-crosspolytopes of the polytope $(r-4)_{21}$. Then we explain how these classes correspond to skew $a$-lines($a\leq r$), exceptional systems, and rulings, respectively. As an application, we work on the monoidal transform for lines to study the local geometry of the polytope $(r-4)_{21}$. And we show that the Gieser transformation and the Bertini transformation induce a symmetry of polytopes $3_{21}$ and $4_{21}$, respectively.

In this note we search the parameter space of Horrocks-Mumford quintic threefolds and locate a Calabi-Yau threefold that is modular, in the sense that the $L$-function of its middle-dimensional cohomology is associated with a classical modular form of weight 4 and level 55.

In this paper, we give several pictorial fractal representations of the ample or Kähler cone for surfaces in a certain class of $K3$ surfaces. The class includes surfaces described by smooth $(2,2,2)$ forms in ${\mathbb P^1\times\mathbb P^1\times \mathbb P^1}$ defined over a sufficiently large number field $K$ that have a line parallel to one of the axes and have Picard number four. We relate the Hausdorff dimension of this fractal to the asymptotic growth of orbits of curves under the action of the surface's group of automorphisms. We experimentally estimate the Hausdorff dimension of the fractal to be $1.296 \pm .010$.

An inductive approach to classifying all toric Fano varieties is given. As an application of this technique, we present a classification of the toric Fano threefolds with at worst canonical singularities. Up to isomorphism, there are $674,\!688$ such varieties.

Very ampleness criteria for rank $2$ vector bundles over smooth, ruled surfaces over rational and elliptic curves are given. The criteria are then used to settle open existence questions for some special threefolds of low degree.

Let $\mathcal{F}$ be a coherent rank $2$ sheaf on a scheme $Y \subset \mathbb{P}^{n}$ of dimension at least two and let $X \subset Y$ be the zero set of a section $\sigma \in H^0(\mathcal{F})$. In this paper, we study the relationship between the functor that deforms the pair $(\mathcal{F},\sigma)$ and the two functors that deform $\mathcal{F}$ on $Y$, and $X$ in $Y$, respectively. By imposing some conditions on two forgetful maps between the functors, we prove that the scheme structure of \emph{e.g.,} the moduli scheme ${\rm M_Y}(P)$ of stable sheaves on a threefold $Y$ at $(\mathcal{F})$, and the scheme structure at $(X)$ of the Hilbert scheme of curves on $Y$ become closely related. Using this relationship, we get criteria for the dimension and smoothness of $ {\rm M_{Y}}(P)$ at $(\mathcal{F})$, without assuming $ {\textrm{Ext}^2}(\mathcal{F} ,\mathcal{F} ) = 0$. For reflexive sheaves on $Y=\mathbb{P}^{3}$ whose deficiency module $M = H_{*}^1(\mathcal{F})$ satisfies $ {_{0}\! \textrm{Ext}^2}(M ,M ) = 0 $ (\emph{e.g.,} of diameter at most 2), we get necessary and sufficient conditions of unobstructedness that coincide in the diameter one case. The conditions are further equivalent to the vanishing of certain graded Betti numbers of the free graded minimal resolution of $H_{*}^0(\mathcal{F})$. Moreover, we show that every irreducible component of ${\rm M}_{\mathbb{P}^{3}}(P)$ containing a reflexive sheaf of diameter one is reduced (generically smooth) and we compute its dimension. We also determine a good lower bound for the dimension of any component of ${\rm M}_{\mathbb{P}^{3}}(P)$ that contains a reflexive stable sheaf with ``small'' deficiency module $M$.

We give some examples of Calabi--Yau $3$-folds with $\rho=1$ and $\rho=2$, defined over $\mathbb{Q}$ and constructed as $4$-codimensional subvarieties of $\mathbb{P}^7$ via commutative algebra methods. We explain how to deduce their Hodge diamond and top Chern classes from computer based computations over some finite field $\mathbb{F}_{p}$. Three of our examples (of degree $17$ and $20$) are new. The two others (degree $15$ and $18$) are known, and we recover their well-known invariants with our method. These examples are built out of Gulliksen--Neg{\aa}rd and Kustin--Miller complexes of locally free sheaves. Finally, we give two new examples of Calabi--Yau $3$-folds of $\mathbb{P}^6$ of degree $14$ and $15$ (defined over $\mathbb{Q}$). We show that they are not deformation equivalent to Tonoli's examples of the same degree, despite the fact that they have the same invariants $(H^3,c_2\cdot H, c_3)$ and $\rho=1$.

We classify linear weighted graphs up to the blowing-up and blowing-down operations which are relevant for the study of algebraic surfaces.

In this paper we study ruled surfaces which appear as an exceptional surface in a succession of blowing-ups. In particular we prove that the $e$-invariant of such a ruled exceptional surface $E$ is strictly positive whenever its intersection with the other exceptional surfaces does not contain a fiber (of $E$). This fact immediately enables us to resolve an open problem concerning an intersection configuration on such a ruled exceptional surface consisting of three nonintersecting sections. In the second part of the paper we apply the non-vanishing of $e$ to the study of the poles of the well-known topological, Hodge and motivic zeta functions.

In this article we prove some new results on projective normality, normal presentation and higher syzygies for surfaces of general type, not necessarily smooth, embedded by adjoint linear series. Some of the corollaries of more general results include: results on property $N_p$ associated to $K_S \otimes B^{\otimes n}$ where $B$ is base-point free and ample divisor with $B\otimes K^*$ {\it nef}, results for pluricanonical linear systems and results giving effective bounds for adjoint linear series associated to ample bundles. Examples in the last section show that the results are optimal.

We classify normal affine surfaces with trivial Makar-Limanov invariant and finite Picard group of the smooth locus, realizing them as open subsets of weighted projective planes. We also show that such a surface admits, up to conjugacy, one or two $G_a$-actions.

For most of the finite subgroups of $\SL(3,\mathbf{C})$, we give explicit formulae for the Molien series of the coinvariant algebras, generalizing McKay's formulae \cite{M99} for subgroups of $\SU(2)$. We also study the $G$-orbit Hilbert scheme $\Hilb^G(\mathbf{C}^3)$ for any finite subgroup $G$ of $\SO(3)$, which is known to be a minimal (crepant) resolution of the orbit space $\mathbf{C}^3/G$. In this case the fiber over the origin of the Hilbert-Chow morphism from $\Hilb^G(\mathbf{C}^3)$ to $\mathbf{C}^3/G$ consists of finitely many smooth rational curves, whose planar dual graph is identified with a certain subgraph of the representation graph of $G$. This is an $\SO(3)$ version of the McKay correspondence in the $\SU(2)$ case.

A Hopf surface is the quotient of the complex surface $\mathbb{C}^2 \setminus \{0\}$ by an infinite cyclic group of dilations of $\mathbb{C}^2$. In this paper, we study the moduli spaces $\mathcal{M}^n$ of stable $\SL (2,\mathbb{C})$-bundles on a Hopf surface $\mathcal{H}$, from the point of view of symplectic geometry. An important point is that the surface $\mathcal{H}$ is an elliptic fibration, which implies that a vector bundle on $\mathcal{H}$ can be considered as a family of vector bundles over an elliptic curve. We define a map $G \colon \mathcal{M}^n \rightarrow \mathbb{P}^{2n+1}$ that associates to every bundle on $\mathcal{H}$ a divisor, called the graph of the bundle, which encodes the isomorphism class of the bundle over each elliptic curve. We then prove that the map $G$ is an algebraically completely integrable Hamiltonian system, with respect to a given Poisson structure on $\mathcal{M}^n$. We also give an explicit description of the fibres of the integrable system. This example is interesting for several reasons; in particular, since the Hopf surface is not K\"ahler, it is an elliptic fibration that does not admit a section.

We describe the irrational pencils on surfaces of general type with $p_{g}=q=2$.

A theorem of Donaldson on the existence of Hermitian-Einstein metrics on stable holomorphic bundles over a compact K\"ahler surface is extended to bundles which are parabolic along an effective divisor with normal crossings. Orbifold methods, together with a suitable approximation theorem, are used following an approach successful for the case of Riemann surfaces.

The Russell-Koras contractible threefolds are the smooth affine threefolds having a hyperbolic $\mathbb{C}^*$-action with quotient isomorphic to the corresponding quotient of the linear action on the tangent space at the unique fixed point. Koras and Russell gave a concrete description of all such threefolds and determined many interesting properties they possess. We use this description and these properties to compute the equivariant Grothendieck groups of these threefolds. In addition, we give certain equivariant invariants of these rings.

We describe the embedded resolution of an irreducible quasi-ordinary surface singularity $(V,p)$ which results from applying the canonical resolution of Bierstone-Milman to $(V,p)$. We show that this process depends solely on the characteristic pairs of $(V,p)$, as predicted by Lipman. We describe the process explicitly enough that a resolution graph for $f$ could in principle be obtained by computer using only the characteristic pairs.

We make precise the structure of the first two reduction morphisms associated with codimension two non-singular subvarieties of non-singular quadrics $\Q^n$, $n\geq 5$. We give a coarse classification of the same class of subvarieties when they are assumed not to be of log-general-type.}