Vector bundles as direct images of line bundles (Q1322370)

R. L. E. Schwarzenberger had proved that any rank two vector bundle on a smooth surface \(X\) can be obtained as the direct image of a line bundle on a double covering of \(X\) [\textit{R. L. E. Schwarzenberger}, Proc. Lond. Math. Soc., III. Ser. 11, 623-640 (1961; Zbl 0212.260)]. The authors generalise this result as follows: Let \(E\) be a vector bundle of rank \(r\) on a smooth irreducible projective variety \(X\) over an algebraically closed field \(k\), \(\dim X \geq 1\). Then there exists a smooth irreducible projective variety \(Z\) over \(k\), a line bundle \(L\) on \(Z\) and a surjective separable morphism \(f:Z \to X\) such that \(f\) is finite outside an algebraic subset of codimension \(\geq 3\), \(E\) is the direct image \(f_ *L\) of \(L\) by \(f\), and all higher direct images of \(L\) by \(f\) are zero. In particular, \(f\) is finite if \(X\) is a curve or a surface. The authors give examples of stable vector bundles \(E\) of rank 2 on \(\mathbb{P}_ 3 (\mathbb{C})\) (with \(C_ 1 (E) = 0\), \(C_ 2 (E) > 0)\) which cannot be obtained as the direct images of line bundles by finite morphisms. In case \(X\) is a curve, the authors show that \(Z,L,f\) can be chosen such that the infinitesimal deformation map \(H^ 1 (Z, {\mathcal O}_ Z) \to H^ 1 (X, \text{End} E)\) (for the variation of \(f_ *L\) with \(L\) on \(Z)\) is surjective. This implies that `most' stable bundles of given rank and degree can be obtained as direct images of line bundles on a fixed covering \(Z\) of \(X\).