Irreducibility of Severi varieties on K3 surfaces

Abstract: Let $(S,L)$ be a general primitively polarized $K3$ surface of genus $g$. For every $0\leq \delta \leq g$ we consider the Severi variety parametrizing integral curves in $|L|$ with exactly $\delta$ nodes as singularities. We prove that its closure in $|L|$ is connected as soon as $\delta\leq g-1$. If $\delta\leq g-4$, we obtain the stronger result that the Severi variety is irreducible, as predicted by a well-known conjecture. The results are obtained by degeneration to Halphen surfaces.