Rational points on pencils of conics and quadrics with many degenerate fibres (Q2251007)

The primary result of this paper concerns conic bundle surfaces over \(\mathbb{Q}\), with degenerate fibres all defined over \(\mathbb{Q}\). Such a surface automatically has rational points, but it is proved that these are Zariski dense, and that the Brauer-Manin obstruction is the only obstruction to weak approximation. This applies for example to the surface given by \[ f_0(t)x_0^2+f_1(t)x_1^2+f_2(t)x_2^2=0 \] when the \(f_i\) split completely over \(\mathbb{Q}\). Previously no such result was known when the number of generic fibres was \(7\) or more. A further result handles more general varieties \[ \sum_{i=0}^nf_i(t_1,\dots,t_m)x_i^2=0 \] in which the \(f_i\) again split into linear factors over \(\mathbb{Q}\). These results are derived by a descent argument from a further theorem: Let \(V\in\mathbb{A}^{2r+s}\) be the affine variety given by \[ 0\not=x_i^2-a_i y_i^2=f_i(u_1,\dots,u_s),\;\;\; (1\leq i\leq r), \] where the \(a_i\) are non-square rationals, and the \(f_i\) are pairwise nonproportional homogeneous linear forms over \(\mathbb{Q}\). Then the rational points are Zariski-dense in \(V\) as long as there is at least one rational point. Moreover \(V\) satisfies the Hasse principle and weak approximation. The proof of this latter result builds on work of the second author [Acta Arith. 154, No. 3, 235--306 (2012; Zbl 1294.11169); ibid. 158, No. 3, 245--252 (2013; Zbl 1294.11170)] using additive combinatorics.