Seshadri constants and degrees of defining polynomials (Q2439298)

Let \(X\) be a projective variety and \(L\) be an ample line bundle on \(X\). The Seshadri constant of \((X,L)\) at a point \(p \in X\) provides a measure of the positvity of \(L\) at \(p\). It is defined as \(\epsilon (X,L;p)=\max\{t\geq 0: \; \mu^*L-tE \text{ is nef }\}\), where \(\mu\) stands for the blowing up of \(X\) at \(p\) and \(E\) for the exceptional divisor. Equivalently the Seshadri constant can be defined as the infimum, in the set of curves \(C\) through \(p\), of the quotient between the \(L\)-degree of \(C\) and its multiplicity at \(p\). The paper under review deals with the case in which \(L\) is very ample and then provides an embedding \(X \subset \mathbb{P}^N\). The main result (see Theorem 2) relates the Seshadri constant of \((X,L)\) at \(p\) with the smallest degree \(d_p(X)\) of the hypersurfaces cutting scheme theoretically \(X \subset \mathbb{P}^N\) at \(p\). To be concrete, if there is no line on \(X \subset \mathbb{P}^N\) through \(p\) (which in fact means \(\epsilon (X,L;p) >1\)), then \(\epsilon (X,L;p) \geq d_p(X)/(d_p(X)-1)\). The bound is shown to be sharp, existing for any dimension and any degree \(d\) triplets \((X,L,p)\) for which \(d_p(L)=d\) and \(\epsilon (X,L;p)=d/(d-1)\). Therefore, the authors can compute Seshadri constants of some embedded varieties \(X \subset \mathbb{P}^N\) by finding a curve \(C\) such that the quotient of the degree of \(C\) by its multiplicity at \(p\) is just \(d_p(X)/(d_p(X)-1)\). In particular, see Theorem. 3 (=Corollary 1), the Seshadri constants of Fano varieties obtained as complete intersections in rational homogeneous spaces of Picard number one are computed.