Characterizations of \({\mathbb{P}}^N\) in arbitrary characteristic (Q5929539): Difference between revisions

There are several results which characterize \(\mathbb{P}^n\) among projective varieties. The first substantial theorem in this direction is due to \textit{F. Hirzebruch} and \textit{K. Kodaira} [J. Math. Pure Appl. 36, 201-216 (1957; Zbl 0090.38601)], using the topological properties of \(\mathbb{C} \mathbb{P}^n \). Later characterizations approached \(\mathbb{P}^n\) as the projective variety with the most negative canonical bundle. The first such theorem is due to \textit{S. Kobayashi} and \textit{T. Ochiai} [J. Math. Kyoto Univ. 13, 31-47 (1973; Zbl 0261.32013)] and later it was generalized in the papers by \textit{P. Ionescu} [Math. Proc. Cambr. Philos. Soc. 99, 457-472 (1986; Zbl 0619.14004)] and by \textit{T. Fujita} [Adv. Stud. Pure Math. 10, 167-178 (1987; Zbl 0659.14002)]. The results in the papers cited above ultimately relied on the Kodaira vanishing theorem, thus they were restricted to characteristic zero. The aim of this note is to provide an argument which does not use higher cohomologies of line bundles. This makes the proofs work in arbitrary characteristic. Thus (1) generalizes the papers by Ionescu and Fujita (loc. cit.) and (2) is a characteristic free version of the Kobayashi-Ochiai-paper (loc. cit.). The proofs of the papers by Ionescu and Fujita (loc. cit.) work if we know enough about extremal contractions of smooth varieties. Thus the results have been known in any characteristic for surfaces and they can be read off from the classification of contractions of smooth 3-folds in positive characteristic developed in the following papers: \textit{J. Kollár}, Ann. Sci. Ec. Norm. Supér. 24, 339-361 (1991; Zbl 0753.14036); \textit{N. I. Shepherd-Barron}, Compos. Math. 105, 237-265 (1997; Zbl 0889.14021); \textit{G. Megyesi}, J. Algebr. Geom. 7, 207-218 (1998; Zbl 0959.14026).