Computational aspects of gonal maps and radical parametrization of curves

Abstract

We develop in this article an algorithm that, given a projective curve $C$, computes a \textit{gonal map}, that is, a finite morphism from $C$ to the projective line of minimal degree. Our method is based on the computation of scrollar syzygies of canonical curves. We develop an improved version of our algorithm for curves with a unique gonal map and we discuss a characterization of such curves in terms of Betti numbers. Finally, we derive an efficient algorithm for radical parametrization of curves of gonality $\le 4$.