On the cylinder homomorphism for a family of algebraic cycles (Q1179302)

Let \(V\) be a smooth irreducible complex projective fourfold in \(\mathbb{P}^ N\) with \(H_ 3(V;\mathbb{Z})=0\). Assume that there is a dominant map \(f:F\to(\mathbb{P}^ N)^*\), where \(F_ s=f^{-1}(s)\) parametrizes a family of curves on the hyperplane section \(X_ s=V\cdot H_ s\). Then there are Abel-Jacobi mappings \(F_ s\to\text{Alb}(F_ s)\to J(X_ s)\), where \(J(X_ s)\) is the intermediate Jacobian of \(X_ s\), which induce ``cylinder homomorphisms'' \(H_ 1(F_ s;\mathbb{Z})\to H_ 3(X_ s;\mathbb{Z})\). In Ann. Math., II. Ser. 117, 71-76 (1983; Zbl 0512.14004), \textit{H. Clemens} established that under certain hypotheses, the cylinder homomorphism (hence also the Abel-Jacobi map \(\text{Alb}(F_ s)\to J(X_ s))\) is surjective for \(s\) generic, by showing that its image contains a vanishing cycle, hence all by the irreducibility of the monodromy representation on vanishing homology (which is the whole of \(H_ 3(X_ s;\mathbb{Z})\) here since \(H_ 3(V;\mathbb{Z})=0)\). This applies in particular if \(X_ s\) is a generic cubic threefold and \(F_ s\) the family of lines on it. The author of the present article vastly generalizes this result to the following situation. Let \(V\) be a smooth irreducible complex projective variety of dimension 2m+1 with two very ample line bundles \(L\) and \(M\). For \(s\) in \(| L|\), write \(X_ s\) for the corresponding hyperplane section of \(V\), and for \(t\) in \(| M|\), write \(Y_{s,t}\) for the corresponding hyperplane section of \(X_ s\). Consider two generic lines \(\mathbb{P}^ 1_ L\) in \(| L|\) and \(\mathbb{P}^ 1_ M\) in \(| M|\), and a family of effective \(k\)-cycles on \(Y_{s,t}\). Then, as above, there are cylinder homomorphisms \(H_{2m-1-2k}(F_{s,t};\mathbb{Z})\to H_{2m-1}(Y_{s,t};\mathbb{Z})\), and, since \(F_ s=f^{-1}(\{s\}\times\mathbb{P}^ 1_ M)\) parametrizes \(k\)- cycles on \(X_ s\), homomorphisms \(H_{2m-2k}(F_ s;\mathbb{Z})\to H_{2m}(X_ s;\mathbb{Z})\). The main theorem implies that under certain hypotheses, and for \(s\) and \(t\) generic, the images of both of these cylinder homomorphisms contain the vanishing cycles. In contrast with earlier works on the same subject, the proof is local and uses the fact that an even-dimensional vanishing cycle has a non-zero self-intersection number. The applications (given without proof) include the following nice result: if \(W\), general non-degenerate complete intersection of \(odd\) dimension in \(\mathbb{P}^ N\), is covered by \(k\)-planes, then the corresponding cylinder homomorphism is an isomorphism modulo torsion.