Bergman kernel and period map for curves

As for any symmetric space the tangent space to Siegel upper-half space is endowed with an operation coming from the Lie bracket on the Lie algebra. We consider the pull-back of this operation to the moduli space of curves via the Torelli map. We characterize it in terms of the geometry of the curve, using the Bergman kernel form associated to the curve. It is known that the second fundamental form of the Torelli map outside the hyperelliptic locus can be seen as the multiplication by a certain meromorphic form. Our second result says that the Bergman kernel form is the harmonic representative—in a suitable sense—of this meromorphic form.