Theta blocks

Abstract

We define theta blocks as products of Jacobi theta functions divided by powers of the Dedekind eta function and show that they give a new powerful method to construct Jacobi forms and Siegel modular forms, with applications also in lattice theory and algebraic geometry. One of the central questions is when a theta block defines a Jacobi form. It turns out that this seemingly simple question is connected to various deep problems in different fields ranging from Fourier analysis over infinite-dimensional Lie algebras to the theory of moduli spaces in algebraic geometry. We give several answers to this question.