On rational connectedness of globally \(F\)-regular threefolds (Q2346034)

A Fano manifold is a smooth projective variety such that its anti-canonical divisor \(-K_X\) is ample. By a result of Kollár-Mori-Miyaoka [\textit{J. Kollár} et al., J. Differ. Geom. 36, No. 3, 765--779 (1992; Zbl 0759.14032)], it is known that if \(X\) is a Fano manifold defined over a field \(k\) of characteristic 0, then \(X\) is rationally connected (so that two general points \(x,y\in X\) can be connected via a rational curve \(x,y\in C\subset X\)). This result was generalized (in characteristic 0) by \textit{Q. Zhang} [J. Reine Angew. Math. 590, 131--142 (2006; Zbl 1093.14059)] and \textit{C. D. Hacon} and \textit{J. McKernan} [Duke Math. J. 138, No. 1, 119--136 (2007; Zbl 1128.14028)] to log Fano varieties i.e., projective Kawamata log terminal pairs \((X,B)\) such that \(-(K_X+B)\) is ample. In positive characteristic, by a result of \textit{J. Kollár} [Ann. Sci. Éc. Norm. Supér. (4) 24, No. 3, 339--361 (1991; Zbl 0753.14036)] it is known that smooth Fano varieties are rationally chain connected (so that two general points can be connected by a sequence of rational curves). In this paper, the authors prove that globally F-regular 3-folds defined over an algebraically closed field of characteristic \(p\geq 11\) are rationally chain connected. Note that global F-regularity is a natural analog of the log Fano condition in positive characteristics. In fact it is known that if \(X\) is globally F-regular, then \((X,B)\) is log Fano for an appropriate boundary \(B\).