The Picard group of a compact toric variety (Q1196066)

In this paper there is given a formula for the calculation of the Picard group of an arbitrary compact toric variety \(X_ \Sigma\). This improves the standard result in that \(X_ \Sigma\) may be singular and a previous result of the author in that \(X_ \Sigma\) may be non-projective. The main difference between the singular and the nonsingular case is that in the nonsingular case the rank of the Picard group of the variety \(X_ \Sigma\) is known to be determined by the combinatorial structure of \(\Sigma\) whereas in the singular case \(\text{Pic} X_ \Sigma\) may depend on metrical properties of the fan. The proof of the formula is based on the geometric description of special \(T\)-invariant (i.e. invariant under the action of the torus \(T)\) Cartier divisors by a set of points which is called a Cartier set of \(\Sigma\). It is proved that these special divisors always exist and metric properties of the points in the corresponding Cartier set are used in order to develop the formula. An example of two combinatorially equivalent fans \(\Sigma_ 1\) and \(\Sigma_ 2\) is given such that \(X_{\Sigma_ 1}\) is projective with a non-trivial Picard group and \(X_{\Sigma_ 2}\) is non-projective with a surprisingly trivial Picard group. Furthermore, it is shown that \(\Sigma_ 2\) is a fan which cannot be spanned by any topological sphere which is the union of \((d-1)\)-polytopes such that the polytopes correspond exactly to the full dimensional cones of \(\Sigma_ 2\).