Equidistribution of small subvarieties of an Abelian variety (Q1774350)

Let \(A\) be an Abelian variety over a number field \(K\). Using the choice of an embedding of \(\overline K\) into \(\mathbb{C}\), the set \(A(\overline K)\) may then be viewed as a subset of \(A(\mathbb{C})\), and any symmetric ample line bundle \(L\) on \(A\) can be equipped with a so-called cubical metric, i.e., a smooth Hermitean metric whose curvature form is invariant under translations in \(A\) [cf. \textit{L. Moret-Bailly}, Exp. IV, Astérisque 127, 29--87 (1985; Zbl 0588.14028)]. The resulting metrized line bundle gives rise to a canonical height function \(\widehat h_L\) on the set of closed subvarieties of \(A\), which actually does not depend on the choice of a cubical metric on \(L\) [cf. \textit{S. Zhang}, J. Algebr. Geom. 4, 281--300 (1995; Zbl 0861.14019)] and coincides with the classical Néron-Tate canonical height with respect to \(L\) on closed points \(x\in A(\overline K)\). Finally, a small strict sequence of closed subvarieties of \(A\) is a sequence \((X_n)_{n\in\mathbb{N}}\) of closed subvatieties such that \(\lim_{n\to\infty}\,\widehat h(X_n)= 0\) and such that no proper closed torsion subvariety of \(A\) contains an infinite subsequence of \((X_n)_{n\in\mathbb{N}}\). With respect to this general set-up, the authors of the paper under review provide a detailed proof of the following equidistribution result: Theorem 1.1. Let \(A\) be an Abelian variety over a number field \(K\), let \(L\) be a symmetric ample line bundle on \(A\), and let \((X_n)_{n\in\mathbb{N}}\) be a small strict sequence of closed subvarieties of \(A\). Then for each complex embedding of \(\overline K\) into \(\mathbb{C}\) and for every real-valued function \(f\) on \(A(\mathbb{C})\) the sequence of integrals \(\int_{A(\mathbb{C})} f\mu_n\) converges to the integral \(\int_{A(\mathbb{C})}f\mu\) as \(n\to\infty\), where setting \(d_n= \dim X_n\) and \(g= \dim A\) the occurring measures are \[ \mu_n= (c_1(L_{X_n})^{-d_n}\cdot c_1(L)^{d_n}\cdot \delta_{X_n}\quad \text{and}\quad \mu= c_1(\overline L)^g\cdot c_1(L)^{-g}. \] This amounts to saying that the sequence \((\mu_n)_{n\in\mathbb{N}}\) of measures weakly converges to the Haar measure \(\mu\) of total mass 1 on \(A(\mathbb{C})\). This result generalizes the corresponding equidistribution theorem for small strict sequences of points in an Abelian variety \(A\) over \(K\), which was proven by \textit{L. Szpiro}, \textit{E. Ullmo} and \textit{S. Zhang} [Invent. Math. 127, No. 2, 337--347 (1997; Zbl 0991.11035)]. In fact, the authors' proof of their higher-dimensional equidistribution theorem is partially based on the foregoing Szpiro-Ullmo-Zhang approach. Namely, they first show how to approximate the height of each subvariety \(X_n\) by Néron-Tate heights of points on \(X_n\) thereby using \textit{S.-W. Zhang}'s theorem [Ann. Math. (2) 147, No. 1, 159--165 (1998; Zbl 0991.11034)], and apply then the method of proof of Szpiro-Ullmo-Zhang to a particular subsequence of such points.