Pseudo-effectivity of the relative canonical divisor and uniruledness in positive characteristic

We show that if $f\colon X \to T$ is a surjective morphism between smooth projective varieties over an algebraically closed field $k$ of characteristic $p>0$ with geometrically integral and non-uniruled generic fiber, then $K_{X/T}$ is pseudo-effective. The proof is based on covering $X$ with rational curves, which gives a contradiction as soon as both the base and the generic fiber are not uniruled. However, we assume only that the generic fiber is not uniruled. Hence, the hardest part of the proof is to show that there is a finite smooth non-uniruled cover of the base for which we show the following: If $T$ is a smooth projective variety over $k$ and $\mathcal{A}$ is an ample enough line bundle, then a cyclic cover of degree $p \nmid d$ given by a general element of $\left|\mathcal{A}^d\right|$ is not uniruled. For this we show the following cohomological uniruledness condition, which might be of independent interest: A smooth projective variety $T$ of dimenion $n$ is not uniruled whenever the dimension of the semi-stable part of $H^n(T, \mathcal{O}_T)$ is greater than that of $H^{n-1}(T, \mathcal{O}_T)$. Additionally, we also show singular versions of all the above statements. Comment: Comments are more than welcome

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Épijournal de Géométrie Algébrique
Published
2025-04-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.46298/epiga.2025.11595
Primary Topic
Algebraic Geometry and Number Theory
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Pseudo-effectivity of the relative canonical divisor and uniruledness in positive characteristic

Zsolt Patakfalvi
Épijournal de Géométrie Algébrique
Algebraic Geometry and Number Theory
article

Pseudo-effectivity of the relative canonical divisor and uniruledness in positive characteristic

Zsolt Patakfalvi
article en

Abstract

We show that if $f\colon X \to T$ is a surjective morphism between smooth projective varieties over an algebraically closed field $k$ of characteristic $p>0$ with geometrically integral and non-uniruled generic fiber, then $K_{X/T}$ is pseudo-effective. The proof is based on covering $X$ with rational curves, which gives a contradiction as soon as both the base and the generic fiber are not uniruled. However, we assume only that the generic fiber is not uniruled. Hence, the hardest part of the proof is to show that there is a finite smooth non-uniruled cover of the base for which we show the following: If $T$ is a smooth projective variety over $k$ and $\mathcal{A}$ is an ample enough line bundle, then a cyclic cover of degree $p \nmid d$ given by a general element of $\left|\mathcal{A}^d\right|$ is not uniruled. For this we show the following cohomological uniruledness condition, which might be of independent interest: A smooth projective variety $T$ of dimenion $n$ is not uniruled whenever the dimension of the semi-stable part of $H^n(T, \mathcal{O}_T)$ is greater than that of $H^{n-1}(T, \mathcal{O}_T)$. Additionally, we also show singular versions of all the above statements. Comment: Comments are more than welcome

Épijournal de Géométrie AlgébriqueVol. Volume 9
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (CH)
National Science Foundation, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
Openalex Percentile: Top 87%
Algebraic Geometry and Number Theory
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.

Pseudo-effectivity of the relative canonical divisor and uniruledness in positive characteristic — Zsolt Patakfalvi · Épijournal de Géométrie Algébrique (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS