Prym loci of branched double coverings and generalized Andreotti-Mayer loci

Abstract

The Andreotti-Mayer locus is a subset of the moduli space of principally polarized abelian varieties, defined by a condition on the dimension of the singular locus of the theta divisor. It is known that the Jacobian locus in the moduli space is an irreducible component of the Andreotti-Mayer locus. In this paper, we generalize the Andreotti-Mayer locus to the case of the moduli space of abelian varieties with non-principal polarization and prove that the Prym locus of branched double coverings is an irreducible component of the generalized Andreotti-Mayer locus.

17 pages