Varieties with vanishing holomorphic Euler characteristic (Q2249344)

A smooth complex projective variety \(X\) is said to be of maximal Albanese dimension if its Albanese mapping \(X \to \text{Alb}(X)\) is generically finite. For such varieties Green and Lazarsfeld showed that \(\chi(X, \omega_X) \geq 0\) and, later, \textit{L. Ein} and \textit{R. Lazarsfeld} [J. Am. Math. Soc. 10, No. 1, 243--258 (1997; Zbl 0901.14028)] constructed examples of threefolds of general type of this kind satisfying \(\chi(X, \omega_X)=0\). In the paper under review the authors investigate the structure of varieties \(X\) of maximal Albanese dimension and of general type with \(\chi(X, \omega_X)=0\). This class of varieties is stable under modifications, étale covers, and products with any other variety of maximal Albanese dimension. Moreover, if \(X\) is a smooth projective variety of maximal Albanese dimension with a fibration whose general fiber \(F\) satisfies \(\chi(F, \omega_F)=0\), then \(\chi(X, \omega_X)=0\). Focusing on smooth projective varieties \(X\) of general type with \(\chi(X, \omega_X)=0\), which admit a generically finite morphism \(X \to A\) onto an abelian variety, the authors prove a general structure theorem implying that \(A\) has at least three simple factors. Examples where these factors are three can be constructed following Ein and Lazarsfeld, and the authors speculate that this construction describes all cases in which \(A\) has three simple factors. They prove several results in this direction, obtaining a complete description in dimension \(3\). A further source of examples is provided by varieties \(X\) of maximal Albanese dimension such that \(h^0(X, \omega_X)=1\); actually, it follows from work of Ueno that they satisfy \(\chi(X, \omega_X)=0\). \textit{J. A. Chen} and \textit{C. D. Hacon} constructed examples of such \(X\)'s, which are of general type [Commun. Algebra 32, No. 1, 203--215 (2004; Zbl 1137.14008)], and in dimension \(3\) again, the authors prove that they are the only ones up to abelian étale covers. The paper also contains a conjecture on the possible general structure of smooth projective varieties \(X\) of maximal Albanese dimension and of general type such that \(\chi(X, \omega_X)=0\): after taking modifications and étale covers, \(X\) should admit a non-trivial fibration which is either isotrivial or whose general fiber \(F\) satisfies \(\chi(F, \omega_F)=0\).