Maximal linear spaces contained in the base loci of pencils of quadrics

The geometry of the Fano variety of maximal linear spaces contained in the base locus of a pencil of quadrics has been studied by algebraic geometers when the base field is algebraically closed. In this paper, we work over an arbitrary base field of characteristic not equal to 2 and show how these Fano varieties are related to the Jacobians of hyperelliptic curves. In particular, if B is the base locus of a generic pencil of quadrics in P 2n+1 and F is the Fano variety of (n -1)-planes contained in B, then F is a component of a disconnected commutative algebraic group G = Pic 0 (C) F Pic 1 (C) F , where C is the hyperelliptic curve defined by the discriminant form of the pencil. In the second half of this paper, we study regular pencils of quadrics, where the hyperelliptic curve defined by the discriminant may be singular.