On Shokurov's rational connectedness conjecture (Q2370125)

It is classically known that the exceptional locus of a birational morphism between smooth varieties is covered by rational curves, see [\textit{S. Abhyankar}, Am. J. Math. 78, 321--348 (1956; Zbl 0074.26301)]. More recently, \textit{S. Mori} proved that a smooth Fano variety is covered by rational curves [Ann. Math. (2) 110, 593--606 (1979; Zbl 0423.14006)]. The paper under review generalizes both results to special singular varieties, essentially dlt pairs, by solving a conjecture of \textit{V. V. Shokurov} on rational connectedness [Math. Notes 68, No. 5, 652--660 (2000); translation from Mat. Zametki 68, No. 5, 771--782 (2000; Zbl 1047.14006)]. The statement of the main theorem, too technical to be stated in a review, implies the results afore mentioned for dlt pairs and much more. The rational connectedness of a fiber, say \(F\), can be desumed by studying rational maps starting from \(F\). To do this the authors produce, after a subtle analysis of Fano fibrations and a lifting theorem inherited from [\textit{C. D. Hacon} and \textit{J. McKernan}, Invent. Math. 166, No.~1, 1--25 (2006; Zbl 1121.14011)], a log pair \((F,\Delta)\) that shows by standard arguments the rational connectedness of \(F\). It has to be noted that the ideas of lifting and producing ad hoc log varieties from a starting one are central in MMP and has been, subsequently, used by the authors in proving the Minimal Model Conjecture.