Alternating groups as monodromy groups in positive characteristic

Irene I. Bouw, Stefan Wewers

Published 2004-02-26, updated 2004-09-21Version 2

Let $X$ be a generic curve of genus $g$ defined over an algebraically closed field $k$ of characteristic $p\geq 0$. We show that for $n$ sufficiently large there exists a tame rational map $f:X\to \PP^1_k$ with monodromy group $A_n$. This generalizes a result of Magaard--V\"olklein to positive characteristic.