Minimal degree equations for curves and surfaces (variations on a theme of Halphen) (Q2181693)

The authors consider the following problem. For varieties \(X\) of fixed dimension \(m\) in \(\mathbb P^n\), which are not contained in hypersurfaces of degree \(s-1\), determine the minimal possible value \(d_{s,n,m}\) of the degree, and the maximal possible value \(\alpha_{s,n,m}\) of \(h^0(\mathcal I_X(s))\). The two problems can be seen as a natural extension of the Castelnuovo-Halphen theory for the invariants of projective curves, in the framework of the general study of properties of linear series on projective varieties. The authors analyze in particular the case of curves and surfaces (\(m=1,2\)). For curves, the authors determine the value of the minimal degree \(d_{s,n,1}\), and study cases in which the minimum is attained. For \(\alpha_{d,n,1}\), the authors propose a conjectured bound, which is supported by some evidence. In the case of surfaces, the achievements are more partial. Some bounds are determined and the authors describe examples of surfaces whose invariants attain, or almost attain, the bounds.