A criterion for existence of Néron models of jacobians

Abstract

Néron models of abelian varieties do not necessarily exist if the base $S$ has dimension higher than 1. We introduce a new condition, called toric additivity, on a family of smooth curves having nodal reduction over a normal crossing divisor $D\subset S$. The condition is necessary and sufficient for existence of a Néron model of the jacobian of the family; it depends only on the Betti numbers of the dual graphs of the fibres of the family, or on the toric ranks of the fibres of the jacobian.

35 pages. Comments are very welcome