Essential Dimensions of Algebraic Groups and a Resolution Theorem for G-Varieties

Rational and birational maps (14E05) Global theory and resolution of singularities (algebro-geometric aspects) (14E15) Geometric invariant theory (14L24) Group actions on varieties or schemes (quotients) (14L30) Linear algebraic groups over arbitrary fields (20G15)

Review text

Let \(G\) be an algebraic group over an algebraically closed field \(k\). This paper is concerned with ed\((G) ,\) the essential dimension of \(G\), defined to be the smallest positive integer \(d\) such that ed\((X) \geq d\) for all generically free \(G\)-varieties \(X\). To this end, the authors introduce a procedure whereby a generically free \(G\)-variety \(X\) is resolved through a series of blowups. More explicitly, given such an \(X=X_{0}\) there exists a sequence \(X_{1},\) \(X_{2},\dots ,X_{n}\) for smooth \(G\)-varieties and blowups \(\pi _{i}:X_{i}\rightarrow X_{i-1}\) with smooth \(G\)-invariant centers with the property that the stabilizer of any \( x\in X_{n}\) is isomorphic to a semi-direct product of a unipotent group and a diagonalizable group. The construction is done in such a way that \(X_{n}\) is in standard form with respect to a divisor which depends on a closed nowhere dense \(G\)-invariant subvariety \(Y\) of \(X\) such that \(G\) acts freely on \(X\setminus Y\), and so we say that \(X_{n}\) is simply in standard form. The result above is used to study the essential dimension of \(G\). The following results are obtained. Let \(H\) be an abelian subgroup of \(G.\) If \(G\) is connected and semisimple and the centralizer of \(H\) in \(G\) is finite, then ed\((G) \geq \,\)rank\((H);\) furthermore if \(H\) is a \(p\)-group ed\((G;p) \geq \,\)rank\((H) \) (where ed\( (G;p) \) is the essential dimension of \(G\) at \(p\)). If \(G\) is not connected, then if its identity component \(G^{0}\) is semisimple and the centralizer of \(H\cap G^{0}\) in \(G^{0}\) is finite then ed\((G) \geq \,\)rank\((H) ,\) furthermore if \(H\) is a \(p\)-group then ed\( (G;p) \geq \,\)rank\((H).\) Next, some applications to the above theorem are obtained. As an immediate consequence we have ed\((\text{O}_{n};2) \geq n\) for \(n\geq 1\) and ed\((\text{SO}_{n};2) \) and ed\((\text{PO}_{n};2) \) are both at least \(n-1\) for every \(n\geq 3.\) Since ed\((G) \geq \, \)ed\((G;p) \) for all \(p\), lower bounds on ed\((G) \) are also obtained in these cases. The case where \(G=\,\)P\,\(\lim\text{GL}_{n}\) is treated as well but is a bit more complicated -- results include that ed\( (\text{P}\lim\text{GL}_{n};p) =\,\)ed\((\text{P}\lim\text{GL} _{p^{r}};p) \geq 2r\) where \(p^{r}\) is the highest power of \(p\) dividing \(n\), ed\((\text{P}\lim\text{GL}_{n};p) =0\) if \(n\) is not divisible by \(p\), and ed\((\text{P}\lim\text{GL}_{p};p) =2.\) For spin groups it is shown that ed\((\text{Spin}_{n};2) \geq \left[ n/2\right] +1\) whenever \(n\equiv -1,0,\) or \(1\) \((\text{mod}\,8) .\) Lastly some exceptional groups are studied, and it is shown that ed\((G_{2};2) \geq 3,\) ed\((F_{4};2) \geq 5,\) ed\((F_{4};2) \geq 3,\) and ed\((3E_{6};3) \geq 4.\) Finally, an application for Tschirnhaus transformations is given. Let \(E/F\) be a degree \(n\) field extension with \(k\subset F.\) If \(E=F(z) \) we have minimal polynomial \(f_{z}(t) =t^{n}+\alpha _{1}(z) t^{n-1}+\cdots +\alpha _{n}(z) .\) We wish to pick \(z\) in such a way as to have tr\,deg\(_{k}k(\alpha _{1}(z) ,\dots ,\alpha _{n}(z) ) \) as small as possible -- the smallest such number will be denoted \(\tau (E/F) .\) The authors prove the following. Suppose \(n/2\leq m\leq n-1,\) and let \(a_{m},\dots ,a_{n}\) be algebraically independent variables over \(k\), let \(F=k(a_{m},\dots ,a_{n}) \) and let \(E=F(z) \) where \(z\) is a root of \(x^{n}+a_{m}x^{n-m}+\cdots +a_{n-1}x+a_{n}.\) Then \(\tau (E/F) =n-m.\) Thus no Tschirnhaus transformation can simplify this situation. At the end of this paper there is an appendix entitled ``Fixed points of group actions and rational maps by \textit{J. Kollár} and \textit{E. Szabó} which is concerned with the behavior of fixed points of finite group actions under rational maps. In this section the authors mentioned above provide simple proofs of the results in section 5 of the original paper concerning fixed points going up and going down a blowup map.

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