Secant Sheaves and Weil Classes on Abelian Varieties

Let K be a CM-field, i.e., a totally complex quadratic extension of a totally real field F. Let X be a g-dimensional abelian variety admitting an algebra embedding of F into the rational endomorphisms of X. Let A be the product of X and Pic^0(X). We construct an embedding e of K into the rational endomorphism algebra of A associated to a choice of an F-blilinear polarization on X and a totally imaginary element q in K. We get the [K:Q]-dimensional subspace HW(A,e) of Hodge Weil classes in the d-th cohomology of A, where d:=4g/[K:Q]. We detail a strategy for proving the algebraicity of the Weil classes on all deformation of (A,e,h) as a polarized abelian variety of split Weil type, where h is an e(K) compatible polarization. We then specialize to the case F=Q, so that K is an imaginary quadratic number field. We survey how the above strategy was used to prove the algebraicity of the Weil classes on polarized abelian sixfolds of split Weil type. The algebraicity of the Weil classes on all abelian fourfold of Weil type follows. The Hodge conjecture for abelian varieties of dimension at most 5 is known to follow from the latter result.