Stability of Tschirnhausen Bundles

Abstract

Let $\alpha : X \to Y$ be a general degree $r$ primitive map of nonsingular, irreducible, projective curves over an algebraically closed field of characteristic zero or larger than $r$. We prove that the Tschirnhausen bundle of $\alpha$ is semistable if $g(Y) \geq 1$ and stable if $g(Y) \geq 2$.