Diagonal subschemes and vector bundles

DOI10.4310/PAMQ.2008.V4.N4.A11MaRDI QIDQ959032zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Piotr Pragacz, Vishwambhar Pati, V. Srinivas

Publication date 10 December 2008

Published in Pure and Applied Mathematics Quarterly (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/math/0609381

zbMATH Keywords

cohomologically trivial line bundlediagonalvector bundle

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Topological properties in algebraic geometry (14F45) Topology of vector bundles and fiber bundles (57R22)

Abstract: We study when a smooth variety $X$, embedded diagonally in its Cartesian square, is the zero scheme of a section of a vector bundle of rank $dim(X)$ on $XimesX$. We call this the diagonal property (D). It was known that it holds for all flag manifolds ${mSL}_n/P$. We consider mainly the cases of proper smooth varieties, and the analogous problems for smooth manifolds (the topological case). Our main new observation in the case of proper varieties is a relation between (D) and cohomologically trivial line bundles on $X$, obtained by a variation of Serre's classic argument relating rank 2 vector bundles and codimension 2 subschemes, combined with Serre duality. Based on this, we have several detailed results on surfaces, and some results in higher dimensions. For smooth affine varieties, we observe that for an affine algebraic group over an algebraically closed field, the diagonal is in fact a complete intersection; thus (D) holds, using the trivial bundle. We conjecture the existence of smooth affine complex varieties for which (D) fails; this leads to an interesting question on projective modules. The arguments in the topological case have a different flavour, with arguments from homotopy theory, topological K-theory, index theory etc. There are 3 variants of the diagonal problem, depending on the type of vector bundle we want (arbitrary, oriented or complex). We obtain a homotopy theoretic reformulation of the diagonal property as an extension problem for a certain homotopy class of maps. We also have detailed results in several cases: spheres, odd dimensional complex projective quadric hypersurfaces, and manifolds of even dimension $leq6$ with an almost complex structure.

Review text

The paper deals with the question of whether the diagonal subscheme \(X\subset X\times X\) of an \(n\)-dimensional scheme is the zeroes of a section of a rank \(n\) vector bundle on \(X\times X\). Similar questions can be raised in various other contexts other than algebraic geometry and the paper deals with some of these too. For the case of smooth projective curves, of course the answer is trivially yes. But even in the case of smooth projective surfaces, this condition is very restrictive as the authors show. Let me quote just one of the several results. Let \(X\) be a smooth projective variety with Picard group the group of integers with the ample generator having a non-zero section. If the diagonal is the zeroes of a section of an appropriate rank vector bundle, then \(X\) is a Fano variety of index at least 2. The authors relate the required property in many cases to the existence of a cohomologically trivial line bundle ( a line bundle all of its cohomologies vanish) on \(X\). Similar results are proved in the category of smooth manifolds, oriented manifolds etc.

Recommendations

• Toric Varieties and the Diagonal Property
• The diagonal property for abelian varieties
• Miscellany on the zero schemes of sections of vector bundles
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 404404
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 1889681

Cited in

(15)

• Diagonal subalgebras and blow-ups of projective spaces
• Positivity of the diagonal
• Embedding divisorial schemes into smooth ones
• Representing a point and the diagonal as zero loci in flag manifolds
• Diagonal property of the symmetric product of a smooth curve
• Rank-two vector bundles on Hirzebruch surfaces
• Weak point property and sections of Picard bundles on a compactified Jacobian over a nodal curve
• A NOTE ON SUB-BUNDLES OF VECTOR BUNDLES
• Miscellany on the zero schemes of sections of vector bundles
• The diagonal property for abelian varieties
• Vector bundles satisfying the point property
• A note on vector bundles on Hirzebruch surfaces
• Diagonal property and weak point property of higher rank divisors and certain Hilbert schemes
• Cohomological descent of derived category and Fourier-Mukai to singular rational cohomology
• Finite Schur filtration dimension for modules over an algebra with Schur filtration.

This page was built for publication: Diagonal subschemes and vector bundles

Report a bug (only for logged in users!)Click here to report a bug for this page (MaRDI item Q959032)