Let X be a Fano manifold of pseudoindex i_X whose Picard number is at least two and let R be an extremal ray of X with exceptional locus Exc(R). We prove an inequality which bounds the length of R in terms of i_X and of the dimension of Exc(R) and we investigate the border cases. In particular we classify Fano manifolds X of pseudoindex i_X obtained blowing up a smooth variety Y along a smooth subvariety T such that dim T < i_X.
We consider extremal contractions on smooth Fano fourfolds whose second Chern character is positive. We show that such contractions can neither be of fiber type nor contract a divisor to a point.
We show that a toric Fano contraction associated to an extremal ray whose length is greater than the dimension of its fiber is a projective space bundle.
We classify smooth Fano manifolds X with the Picard number $ρ_X \geq 3$ such that there exists an extremal ray which has a birational contraction that maps a divisor to a point.
The minimum of intersection numbers of the anti-canonical divisor with rational curves on a Fano manifold is called pseudo-index. It is expected that the intersection number of anti-canonical divisor attains to the minimum on an extremal ray, i.e. there exists an extremal rational curve whose intersection number with the anti-canonical divisor equals the pseudo-index. In this note, we prove this for smooth Fano 4-folds having birational contractions.
This article treats smooth weak Fano 3-folds having an extremal ray of type D. Smooth weak Fano 3-folds with an extremal ray of type D except of degree 6 are classified into 47 deformation types.
Let X be the blow-up of a smooth projective 4-fold Y along a smooth curve C and let E be the exceptional divisor. Assume that X is a Fano manifold and has an elementary extremal contraction $ϕ: X \to Z$ of (3,1)-type such that E is $ϕ$-ample (recall that a contraction map for a 4-fold is called (3,1)-type if the exceptional locus is a divisor and its image is a curve). We show that if the exceptional divisor of $ϕ$ is smooth, then Y is isomorphic to $\mathbb{P}^{4}$ and C is an elliptic curve of degree 4.
Let X be a Fano variety of dimension n, pseudoindex i_X and Picard number ρ_X. A generalization of a conjecture of Mukai says that ρ_X(i_X-1)\le n. We prove that the conjecture holds if: a) X has pseudoindex i_X \ge \frac{n+3}{3} and either has a fiber type extremal contraction or does not have small extremal contractions b) X has dimension five.
In this paper, we provide examples of Sarkisov links of type II between complex projective Fano threefolds $X$ with $ρ(X) = 1$. To show examples of these links, we study smooth weak Fano threefolds with extremal rays of type $E$. We further assume that the pluri-anticanonical morphism contracts only a finite number of curves. We numerically classify smooth weak Fano threefolds with $ρ(X) = 2$ having an extremal ray of type $E$ both before and after a flop as well as prove the existence of some of these numerical cases.
In this short note we show that the closed cone of moving curves of a smooth Fano-threefold is polyhedral. The proof relies on a famous result of Bucksom, Demailly, Paun and Peternell which says that the strongly movable cone is dual to the cone of pseudoeffective divisors. Finally, we relate the extremal rays of the cone of moving curves on a threefold with extremal rays in the cone of strongly movable curves on a birational model obtained by a Mori contraction.
We discuss the ascending chain condition for lengths of extremal rays. We prove that the lengths of extremal rays of $n$-dimensional $\mathbb Q$-factorial toric Fano varieties with Picard number one satisfy the ascending chain condition.
In this paper, we obtain a complete classification of smooth toric Fano varieties equipped with extremal contractions which contract divisors to curves for any dimension. As an application, we obtain a complete classification of smooth projective toric varieties which can be equivariantly blown-up to Fano along curves.
We prove that the lengths of extremal rays of log canonical Fano surfaces with Picard number one satisfy the ascending chain condition. This confirms the 2-dimensional case of a conjecture stated by Fujino and Ishitsuka
We survey recent results on ample cones and birational contractions of holomorphic symplectic varieties of K3 type, focusing on explicit constructions and concrete examples.
In view of Mori theory, rational homogenous manifolds satisfy a recursive condition: every elementary contraction is a rational homogeneous fibration and the image of any elementary contraction also satisfies the same property. In this paper, we show that a smooth Fano $n$-fold with the same condition and Picard number greater than $n-6$ is either a rational homogeneous manifold or the product of $n-7$ copies of $\mathbb{P}^1$ and a Fano $7$-fold $X_0$ constructed by G. Ottaviani. We also clarify that $X_0$ has non-nef tangent bundle and in particular is not rational homogeneous.
We propose a general framework governing the intersection properties of extremal rays of irreducible holomorphic symplectic manifolds under the Beauville-Bogomolov form. Our main thesis is that extremal rays associated to Lagrangian projective subspaces control the behavior of the cone of curves. We explore implications of this philosophy for examples like Hilbert schemes of points on K3 surfaces and generalized Kummer varieties. We also collect evidence supporting our conjectures in specific cases.
We prove the boundedness theorem for Fano threefolds with log-terminal singularities of any fixed index. This is an improvement of our earlier result, where we required additionally that the variety is Q-factorial, with Picard number 1. The new ideas of the paper include the following. 1. Using Alexeev Minimal Model program with suitable boundary to find horizontal extremal contractions. 2. Using Kollár's effective Base Point Freeness theorem. 3. Using Kawamata's result on the length of extremal curves with suitable boundary to avoid gluing curves in some cases.
In this paper we study the geometry of mildly singular Fano varieties on which there is an effective prime divisor of Picard number one. Afterwards, we address the case of toric varieties. Finally, we treat the lifting of extremal contractions to universal covering spaces in codimension 1.
Let X be a projective variety with terminal singularities and let L be an ample Cartier divisor on X. We prove that if f is a birational contraction associated to an extremal ray $ R \subset \bar {NE(X)}$ such that R.(K_X+(n-2)L)<0, then f is a weighted blow-up of a smooth point. We then classify divisorial contractions associated to extremal rays R such that R.(K_X+rL)<0, where r is a non-negative rational number, and the fibres of f have dimension less or equal to r+1.
Let $X$ be a smooth complex projective variety and let $L$ be a line bundle on it. We describe the structure of the pre-polarized manifold $(X,L)$ for non integral values of the invariant $τ_L(R):=-K_X\cdotΓ/(L \cdot Γ)$, where $Γ$ is a minimal curve of an extremal ray $R:=\mathbb R_+[Γ]$ on $X$ such that $L \cdot R>0$.
Let $X$ be a smooth complex projective variety and let $H \in \pic(X)$ be an ample line bundle. Assume that $X$ is covered by rational curves with degree one with respect to $H$ and with anticanonical degree greater than or equal to $(\dim X -1)/2$. We prove that there is a covering family of such curves whose numerical class spans an extremal ray in the cone of curves $\cone(X)$.
In the present paper Mori extremal rays of a smooth projective manifold X are divided into two classes: L-supported and L-negligible (where ``L'' stands for ``Lefschetz'' since the division comes from Hard Lefschetz Theorem). Roughly speaking: L-supported rays are strongly distinguishable in topology while L-negligible rays have very mild geometry. Each L-supported ray R defines hyperplane in H^2(X,R) on which Lefschetz duality degenerates so it is a cohomology ring invariant. The hyperplane carries a multiplicity (cohomology ring invariant) which is related to the geometry of the ray R. The n…
Let X be a complex Fano manifold of dimension n. Let s(X) be the sum of l(R)-1 for all the extremal rays of X, the edges of the cone NE(X) of curves of X, where l(R) denotes the minimum of (-K_X \cdot C) for all rational curves C whose class [C] belongs to R. We show that s(X)\leq n if n\leq 4. And for n\leq 4, we completely classify the case the equality holds. This is a refinement of the Mukai conjecture on Fano fourfolds.
We show that certain divisors of Brill-Noether and Gieseker-Petri type span extremal rays of the effective cone in the moduli space of stable genus one curves with $n$ ordered marked points. In particular, they are different from the infinitely many extremal rays found in \cite{ChenCoskun}.
This work is concerned with the study of the extreme rays of the convex cone of $3\times 3$ quasiconvex quadratic forms (denoted by ${\cal C}_3$). We characterize quadratic forms $f\in {\cal C}_3,$ the determinant of the acoustic tensor of which is an extremal polynomial, and conjecture/discuss about other cases. We prove that in the case when the determinant of the acoustic tensor of a form $f\in {\cal C}_3$ is an extremal polynomial other than a perfect square, then the form must itself be an extreme ray of ${\cal C}_3;$ when the determinant is a perfect square, then the form is either an ex…
The Hermitian eigenvalue problem asks for the possible eigenvalues of a sum of $n\times n$ Hermitian matrices, given the eigenvalues of the summands. The regular faces of the cones $Γ_n(s)$ controlling this problem have been characterized in terms of classical Schubert calculus by the work of several authors. We determine extremal rays of $Γ_n(s)$ (which are never regular faces) by relating them to the geometry of flag varieties: The extremal rays either arise from "modular intersection loci", or by "induction" from extremal rays of smaller groups. Explicit formulas are given for both the extr…
Let X be a smooth complex Fano variety. We define and study 'quasi elementary' contractions of fiber type f: X -> Y. These have the property that rho(X) is at most rho(Y)+rho(F), where rho is the Picard number and F is a general fiber of f. In particular any elementary extremal contraction of fiber type is quasi elementary. We show that if Y has dimension at most 3 and Picard number at least 4, then Y is smooth and Fano; if moreover rho(Y) is at least 6, then X is a product. This yields sharp bounds on rho(X) when dim(X)=4 and X has a quasi elementary contraction, and other applications in hig…
We examine the extremal rays of the cone of dominant weights $(μ, \widehatμ)$ for groups $G\subseteq \widehat G$ for which there exists $N \gg0$ such that $$ \left(V(Nμ)\otimes V(N\widehat μ)\right)^G\ne (0). $$ We exhibit formulas for a class of rays ("type I") on any regular face of the cone. These rays are identified thanks to a generalization of Fulton's conjecture, which we prove along the way. We verify that the remaining rays ("type II") on the face are the images of extremal rays for a smaller cone under a certain map, whose formula is given. A procedure is given for finding the rays o…
We prove the following main result: Let X be a Fano 3-fold with terminal Q-factorial singularities and X does not have a small extremal ray and a face of Kodaira dimension 1 or 2 for Mori polyhedron of X. Then the Picard number ρ(X) < 8.
By using the classification of Fano 3-folds we prove: Let $X$ be Fano 3-fold. Assume that the tangent bundle $T_X$ of $X$ is not stable (i.e. semi-stable or unstable). Then $b_2\geq 2$ and a relative tangent sheaf $T_{X/Y}$ of a contraction $f:X\longrightarrow Y$ of an extremal face on $X$ is a destabilising subsheaf of $T_X$.
The Hermitian eigenvalue problem asks for the possible eigenvalues of a sum of Hermitian matrices given the eigenvalues of the summands. This is a problem about the Lie algebra of the maximal compact subgroup of $G=\operatorname{SL}(n)$ . There is a polyhedral cone (the "eigencone") determining the possible answers to the problem. These eigencones can be defined for arbitrary semisimple groups $G$, and also control the (suitably stabilized) problem of existence of non-zero invariants in tensor products of irreducible representations of $G$. We give a description of the extremal rays of the eig…
We consider the cones of curves and divisors on the moduli space of stable pointed rational curves,M_n, and on the quotient by the symmetric group, Q_n, which is a moduli space of pairs. We find generators for contractible extremal rays of the cone of curves NE_1(M_n), and for the cone of divisors NE^1(Q_n). This second cone turns out to be simplicial. We give complete descriptions of NE_1(M_n) and NE_1(Q_n) for small n (< 8 in the first case, < 11 in the second). We also have results of independent interest on when curves in a divisor generate the cone of curves of the ambient variety.
Let $X$ be a smooth $n$-dimensional projective variety over an algebraically closed field $k$ such that $K_X$ is not nef. We give a characterization of non nef extremal rays of $X$ of maximal length (i.e of length $n-1$); in the case of $\ch(k) = 0$ we also characterize non nef rays of length $n-2$.
We consider blowups at a general point of weighted projective planes and, more generally, of toric surfaces with Picard number one. We give a unifying construction of negative curves on these blowups such that all previously known families appear as boundary cases of this. The classification consists of two classes of said curves, each depending on two parameters. Every curve in these two classes is algebraically related to other curves in both classes; this allows us to find their defining equations inductively. For each curve in our classification, we consider a family of blowups in which th…
We construct explicit examples of elementary extremal contractions, both birational and of fiber type, from smooth projective n-dimensional varieties, n\geq 4, onto smooth projective varieties, arising from classical projective geometry and defined over sufficiently small fields, not necessarily algebraically closed. The examples considered come from particular special homaloidal and subhomaloidal linear systems, which usually are degenerations of general phenomena classically investigated by Bordiga, Severi, Todd, Room, Fano, Semple and Tyrrell and more recently by Ein and Shepherd-Barron. Th…
Let M be a smooth complex projective variety and let L be a line bundle on it. Rays-positive manifolds, namely pairs (M,L) such that L is numerically effective and L\cdotR > 0 for all extremal rays R on M, are studied. Several illustrative examples and some applications are provided. In particular, projective varieties with crepant singularities and of small degree with respect to the codimension are classified, and the non-negativity of the sectional genus g(M,L) is proven, describing as well the pairs with g(M,L) = 0,1.
Let (X,D) be a dlt pair, where X is a normal projective variety. Let S denote the support of the rounddown of D, and K the canonical divisor of X. We show that any smooth family of canonically polarized varieties over X§is isotrivial if the divisor -(K+D) is ample. This result extends results of Viehweg-Zuo and Kebekus-Kovacs. To prove this result we show that any extremal ray of the moving cone is generated by a family of curves, and these curves are contracted after a certain run of the minimal model program. In the log Fano case, this generalizes a theorem by Araujo from the klt to the dlt …
Relations among fundamental invariants play an important role in algebraic geometry. It is known that an $n$-dimensional variety of general type with nef canonical divisor and canonical singularities, whose image $Y$ under the canonical map is of maximal dimension, satisfies $K_X^n \ge 2 (p_g-n)$. We investigate the very interesting extremal situation $K_X^n=2(p_g-n)$, which appears in a number of geometric situations. Since these extremal varieties are natural higher dimensional analogues of Horikawa surfaces, we name them Horikawa varieties. These varieties have been previously dealt with in…
Let $ξ$ be a stable Chern character on $\mathbb{P}^1 \times \mathbb{P}^1$, and let $M(ξ)$ be the moduli space of Gieseker semistable sheaves on $\mathbb{P}^1 \times \mathbb{P}^1$ with Chern character $ξ$. In this paper, we provide an approach to computing the effective cone of $M(ξ)$ after showing that it is a Mori dream space for all $ξ$. We find Brill-Noether divisors spanning extremal rays of the effective cone using resolutions of the general elements of $M(ξ)$ which are found using the machinery of exceptional bundles. We use this approach to provide many examples of extremal rays in thes…
Let $X$ be a smooth projective variety defined over an algebraically closed field of positive characteristic $p$ whose tangent bundle is nef. We prove that $X$ admits a smooth morphism $X \to M$ such that the fibers are Fano varieties with nef tangent bundle and $T_M$ is numerically flat. We also prove that extremal contractions exist as smooth morphisms. As an application, we prove that, if the Frobenius morphism can be lifted modulo $p^2$, then $X$ admits, up to a finite étale Galois cover, a smooth morphism onto an ordinary abelian variety whose fibers are products of projective spaces.
We give new estimates of lengths of extremal rays of birational type for toric varieties. We can see that our new estimates are the best by constructing some examples explicitly. As applications, we discuss the nefness and pseudo-effectivity of adjoint bundles of projective toric varieties. We also treat some generalizations of Fujita's freeness and very ampleness for toric varieties.
We investigate nef and movable cones of hypersurfaces in Mori dream spaces. The first result is: Let $Z$ be a smooth Mori dream space of dimension at least four whose extremal contractions are of fiber type of relative dimension at least two and let $X$ be a smooth ample divisor in $Z$, then $X$ is a Mori dream space as well. The second result is: Let $Z$ be a Fano manifold of dimension at least four whose extremal contractions are of fiber type and let $X$ be a smooth anti-canonical hypersurface in $Z$, which is a smooth Calabi--Yau variety, then the unique minimal model of $X$ up to isomorph…
We prove the general diagram method theorem valid for the quite large class of 3-folds with Q-factorial singularities (see Basic Theorem 1.3.2 and also Theorem 2.2.6). This gives the generalization of our results about Fano 3-folds with Q-factorial terminal singularities (Preprint alg-geom/9311007). As an application, we get the following result about 3-dimensional Calabi-Yau manifolds X: Assume that the Picard number ρ(X) > 93. Then one of two cases (i) or (ii) holds: (i) there exists a small extremal ray on X; (ii) There exists a nef element h such that h^3=0 (thus, the nef cone NEF(X) and t…
We discuss some properties of the extremal rays of the cone of effective curves of surfaces that are obtained by blowing up the projective plane at points in very general position. The main motivation is to rectify an incorrect interpretation, in terms of the geometry of this cone, of the Segre--Harbourne--Gimigliano--Hirschowitz conjecture. Even though the arguments are based on elementary computations, the point of view leads to observe some other properties of the Mori cone, among which the fact that in the case of ten or more points the cone is not countably generated.
In the present paper we prove that, on a hyperkähler manifold, walls of the kähler cone and extremal rays of the Mori cone are determined by all divisors satisfying certain numerical conditions.
