Projective normality of canonical symmetric squares

Recall that a smooth complex projective curve has a very ample canonical bundle when it is non-hyperelliptic, and according to a theorem of M. Noether the resulting embedding is projectively normal. A theorem of Petri further asserts that the homogeneous ideal is generated by quadrics if the curve is neither trigonal nor a smooth plane quintic. In this note, we prove an analogue of Noether’s theorem for the symmetric square of the curve - namely, the canonical bundle of the symmetric square determines a projectively normal embedding exactly when the curve itself is neither hyperelliptic, trigonal nor a smooth plane quintic. The theorem of Petri highlights the governing role played by quadric generation of the ideal of the curve.