Abstract
For a (smooth irreducible) curveC of genus g and Clifford indexc>2 with a linear seriesg d r computing c (so\(r = \frac{{d - c}}{2}\)) it is well known thatc + 2 ≤d ≤2 (c + 2), and if\(d > \frac{3}{2}(c + 2)\) then 2c + 1 ≤g ≤ 2c + 4 unlessd = 2c + 4 in which caseg = 2c + 5.
Let c ≥ 0 andg be integers. If 2c + 1 ≤g ≤2c + 4 we prove that for any integerd <g such thatd ≡c mod 2 andc + 2 ≤d < 2(c + 2) there exists a curve of genus g and Clifford index c with a gd r computing c. Ford ≥c + 6 (i.e.r ≥ 3) we construct this curve on a surface of degree 2r-2 in ℙr, and ford ≥c + 8 (i.e.r ≥ 4) we show that such a curve cannot be found on a surface in ℙr of smaller degree. In fact, if gd r computes the Clifford index c of C such thatc + 8 ≤d ≤ 2c + 3 then the birational morphism defined by this series cannot map C onto a (maybe, singular) curve contained in a surface of degree at most 2r-3 in ℙr.
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Communicated by: O. Riemenschneider